One of Atlanta’s oldest Jewish congregations marked a milestone Sunday with food, music and community celebration. Congregation Or VeShalom hosted its 49th Annual Hanukkah Bazaar, an event that drew crowds for authentic Sephardic and Mediterranean dishes, handmade pastries, local vendors and family-friendly activities as the synagogue celebrates its 111th anniversary.
The annual festival, held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., offered freshly prepared cuisine—including traditional Turkish, Spanish and Mediterranean recipes—along with a bustling bakery line and dozens of local artisans selling jewelry, crafts and holiday gifts. Children enjoyed games, art projects and face painting throughout the day.
“This is our forty-ninth annual bazaar… a combination of Sephardic, Spanish, Turkish, Mediterranean food, a wonderful food line,” said Ezra Cohen, chair of the event. “We have a bakery, we have vendors with holiday gifts, and tremendous activities for children. It’s really a family event—something for everybody.”
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Cohen said the bazaar not only celebrates Or VeShalom’s heritage but also brings together people across the broader Atlanta community. “It certainly brings our Sephardic community together, but it also brings the larger community together, both Jewish and non-Jewish,” he said.
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Kathie Alada, president of the Or VeShalom Sisterhood, said the event captures the heart of Hanukkah and the congregation’s commitment to maintaining cultural traditions. “We want to celebrate the Festival of Lights,” she said. “Our community comes to taste delicacies made by the ladies and gentlemen of our sisterhood—you won’t find them anywhere else. It’s important to have events like this to show our community that we’re active, that we’re here for each other and celebrating our culture.”
Admission was $5 at the door, and hundreds attended the bazaar at the synagogue’s Brookhaven location on North Druid Hills Road.
Congregation Or VeShalom—whose name means “Light and Peace”—was founded by Sephardic Jewish immigrants from the former Ottoman Empire and remains one of Atlanta’s most historic and family-centered congregations, with many fourth- and fifth-generation members.