Smiles in Abundance at Purim Festival
More than 700 people streamed into a Purim celebration Sunday at Temple Beth Hillel in Valley Village, where children jumped on an inflatable Moonwalk, adults swung to klezmer music and local celebrities, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, helped judge a chili cook-off.
Sunday marked the beginning of Purim, the most festive of Jewish holidays, which celebrates the triumph of Queen Esther, who foiled a plot against Persian Jews more than 2,000 years ago.
The winners of the chili contest were Bruce Pompan, of Studio City, and Sisterhood, a women’s service group of Temple Beth Hillel.
Those who ventured away from the chili could, like the girl shown above, strap themselves to a bungee cord or, like the two girls at right, go for a ride on a motorized train. At left, preschool instructor Becky Israel shows off the makeup she donned for the festival.
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