This year the Chanukah holiday begins Wednesday evening, Dec. 25, and lasts eight days until Thursday evening, Jan. 2.

The Chabad of Fountain Hills has scheduled two community events this year to celebrate the holiday of Chanukah.

On the first night of Chanukah, Wednesday, Dec. 25, there will be a parade of cars from Fountain Hills to Rio Verde to share the light of Chanukah and the message of Jewish pride and unity.

The parade line-up will begin at the back parking lot of Chabad of Fountain Hills, 16830 E. Avenue of the Fountains, at 4 p.m., with departure scheduled for 4:20 p.m.

The menorah lighting at the Rio Verde Fire Station #442 will take place at 5 p.m.

Those interested in participating in the parade should RSVP at JewishFountainHills.com/CarParade.

A second menorah lighting will take place Sunday, Dec. 29, at 4:30 p.m. when the Chabad of Fountain Hills will ignite a public 12-foot menorah erected on the Avenue of the Fountains in front of the Chabad, followed by a community-wide celebration.

The ceremony will feature local dignitaries, live music, hot latkes, jelly doughnuts, crafts for children and more.

These events are free and open to the public.

“The menorah serves as a symbol of Fountain Hills’ dedication to preserve and encourage the right and liberty of all its citizens to worship G-d freely, openly and with pride,” Chabad Rabbi Mendy Lipskier said. “Specifically in America, a nation that was founded upon and vigorously protects the right of every person to practice his or her religion free from restraint and persecution, the menorah takes on profound significance, embodying both religious and constitutional principles.”

For more information regarding Chabad’s Chanukah events visit JewishFountainHills.com, and for questions or to be an event sponsor, email info@JewishFountainHills.com or call 480-795-6292.

Those who would like to learn more about Chanukah can visit Chabad.org/Chanukah where they will find video games, how-to’s and video streams of menorah lightings in cities around the world including Moscow, Madrid, Melbourne, Milwaukee and the village of Modi’in in Israel, where the revolt of the Maccabees–the heroes of Chanukah–originally took place.