Sunday in the Park with Bagels

Attention, Families! Fun, Free, Interactive Tour of the Jewish Calendar through Food 

Have you ever wondered just what all of the many Jewish

holidays are about? Big Tent Judaism-Chicago and nine area organizations will

answer this question on Sunday, June 29 at Sunday in the Park with Bagels, a

free, family-friendly event that takes participants on a tour of the Jewish

calendar through food and activities. This interactive program will take place

from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Deerpath Park in Vernon Hills, Ill., and is geared

toward families with young children.

Children and parents alike will learn about Jewish holidays

in a creative and fun way at Deerpath Park (299 Onwentsia). Event goers will have
the opportunity to experience various Jewish holidays through food samples and
hands-on activities at booths set up south of the main parking lot at the park. 

Big Tent Judaism-Chicago is teaming up with area Jewish organizations to bring

this program to Vernon Hills. Volunteers from Congregation Beth Judea,

Congregation Or Shalom, InterfaithFamily Chicago, Jewish Community Center of Chicago,
Jewish Child & Family Services, Jewish United Fund, and Reform Jewish

Chicago will host the holiday booths. Some of the holidays highlighted include

Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year), and Passover, which will be

hosted by Pushing the Envelope Farm. A community farm and education center

rooted in Jewish tradition, Pushing the Envelope will be offering participants

a hands-on charoset (apple and nut
salad eaten at Passover)-making experience using a bicycle-powered blender. Other booths will have activities such as face painting, clay pot decorating with
a seed packet giveaway, as well as other crafts. In addition to the hands-on
activities taking place at the holiday booths, witty and family-friendly puppeteer
Marilyn Price will perform a fun-filled show for event-goers at 11 a.m.

Alyssa Latala, Big Tent Judaism Coordinator for Chicago, has been preparing for this event for several months. “I'm so excited to bring Sunday in the Park with Bagels to the Chicago area. It is a fun, hands-on, approachable way for families with young children to experience a taste of Jewish culture. Between the food, the music, and the crafts, there's something for everybody,” Latala said.

Sunday in the Park with Bagels was developed by, and is offered in partnership with, Big Tent Judaism/Jewish Outreach Institute. Big Tent Judaism is an independent, national, trans-denominational organization that reaches out to unaffiliated and intermarried families, and helps the Jewish community better welcome them in. Sunday in the Park with Bagels is one of several Public Space JudaismSM programs, a series of free programs developed by Big Tent Judaism to help Jewish communities engage newcomers by meeting them where they are in public secular spaces.

Event Details:

• Sunday in the Park with Bagels – A Free Tour
  
  of the Jewish Calendar through Food
• Sunday, June 29, 2014
• 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• 299 Onwentsia, Vernon Hills, Ill.
• For more information and weather updates
  
  please contact Alyssa Latala at ALatala@JOI.org or 224.323.3472.