Chicago’s Great Jewish Family Festival Attracts 6,000

Lag B’omer in Chicago is synonymous with the annual Great Jewish Family Festival, a joint program of the Chabad Centers in Illinois. A whopping 6,000 people of all ages attended this year from throughout the metropolitan Chicago area.

The six hour extravaganza featured a parade, circus, fair, bonfire, non-stop entertainment and an all you can eat BBQ. Highlighting the GJFF was the Aerial Storm Circus, a huge carnival with rides and inflatables, performances by Farbrengiton and Rock Simcha, and a kumsitz around the bonfire by the Even Shiseya Band.

The parade featured the Cheder Lubavitch marching band, floats on special bicycle cargo trailers, and the Mitzvah Marathon Train dedicated to the victims of the Boston bombings.

A lively rally was held prior to the circus, with the recitation of Tehillim and the Yud Beis Pesukim. A special treat was when every child was given Tzedokah to place in the giant 10’ foot Tzedokah pushka. This was all done lezchus a Refuah Sheleima for Hinda Gittel Alte Chaya bas Shifra Necha shetichyeh.

The great success of the event is a credit to the Chabad centers that joined together to sponsor and promote the GJFF, the Shluchim who put in the time, effort, and creativity to create such a professional event, and to the Anash community and the girls of the Lubavitch Girls High School who volunteered to run the program.

Most of all thanks go to Rabbi Yosef Shmuel Moscowitz, the Director of the Great Jewish Family Festival, a project of Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois.

Photos by VIM Studios and Avrohom Gershon