Dozens of cars filed into the Union Y parking lot on Sunday, December 13, for an incredible evening of game show fun organized by Hillside/Elizabeth’s Adath Israel Youth Directors Yoni and Alyssa Sheer and the youth committee. As families arrived in their cars, they were handed a movie-style candy bucket filled with Chanukah gelt, popcorn, Mike and Ike’s, Chanukah stickers, glow sticks and more, to be enjoyed during the show. Accessing a local frequency, Yoni and Alyssa communicated with families and played Chanukah music via a radio station while participants read questions from large projector screens.

Esther, an 11-year-old participant, especially enjoyed hearing the game show over the radio. “It was something different from the usual,” she said. “I never heard my friends speak on the radio before and that was really cool.”

Families scanned QR codes from inside their candy buckets to gain entry to the games. The organizers began the game show by projecting letters on the big screen for several rounds of a Chanukah-themed Word Scramble game. Contestants were given a call-in number, and those with the fastest fingers had an opportunity to give their answer over the radio and win a prize. Yoni and Alyssa’s pizazz over the radio waves heightened everyone’s enthusiasm and made callers feel as though they were really on a radio program.

The show continued with grade-specific lightning rounds where students were charged with answering age-appropriate questions related to Chanukah. The champion was the competitor who submitted the most correct answers in the shortest amount of time.

The final competition was a high-intensity game of Family Feud. Families had 90 seconds to submit their answers for topics like Chanukah Heroes and Favorite Chanukah Presents. Among the prizes were Chanukah-themed items, including slippers, a sweater and a puzzle.

“My favorite part of the night was getting to be on the radio and win a dreidel keychain,” said 6-year-old Yehuda. “I also loved the glow sticks and getting doughnuts with sprinkles on the way out.”

Although families stayed in their vehicles for the entire program, the excitement and camaraderie of the evening was palpable. Each time a participant won a round, adults honked their horns and kids waved their glow sticks. Families laughed as their calls were answered on the radio and volunteers (in masks, of course) smiled as they distributed prizes and doughnuts.