Hanukkah Festival

Photo of the lily pond at the Skirball lit up with large column spotlights mimicking a Hanukkah. Families stand along the pond looking at the lights. — Photo by Mercie Ghimire

Make Hanukkah memories at the Skirball with the whole family. Enjoy music, storytelling, food, art making, and a community candle lighting.

Date and Time

Sunday, December 14, 12:00–5:00 pm

Museum is open from 11:00 am–5:00 pm.

Pricing and Details

Tickets available starting Thursday, November 6 at 10:00 am.

$20 General
$15 Seniors and Full-Time Students
$13 Children 2–17
FREE to Members and Children under 2

Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Plan Your Visit

Find out how to get here and where you can park for FREE.
Learn about our shopping and dining options.
See what else is going on during the day of your visit.
Questions? Review our FAQs.

About the Program

Join us as we fill the first night of Hanukkah with joy! Watch Skirball Storytellers bring the timeless Hanukkah story to life, get creative in our art making area, let your light shine in a special Light Lab, take a spin around our Dreidel Lounge, join us for a special book talk and latke tasting, then shake a leg to live music! At sundown, take part in a special community candle lighting ceremony.

Interested in becoming a Skirball Member? Take advantage of a Hanukkah Festival membership offer—on site only on December 14!

“We had fun dancing and singing as a family. The food was great and the storytelling puppet show was wonderful.”

Visiting the Museum

Ticketholders can visit Visions and Values and our newest exhibitions Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston; Jack Kirby: Heroes and Humanity; Glass Sukkah: This Home Is Not a House; and TORN Project by Susan Lerner throughout the event. Children attending the Festival must be accompanied by an adult.

Note: Noah’s Ark will have limited walk-up tickets until sold out. The Archaeology Dig will be closed.

Zachary Oxman menorah on display at the Skirball. — Zachary Oxman (b. 1968). *In Celebration of Light and Liberty*, 2024. Stainless steel, copper, and granite. Vice President’s Residence Foundation.

In Celebration of Light and Liberty
On display starting Dec 2 | Main Lobby

While you’re here, come see a special Hanukkah lamp designed by Jewish American artist Zachary Oxman for the official residence of the Vice President of the United States. First displayed when former US Vice President Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff—the first Jewish Second Gentleman—lived in the residence, this menorah blends Jewish tradition with American history. Oxman shaped the lamp like a pomegranate tree, a symbol with deep meaning in Judaism. The arms evoke tree branches, with leaves made from copper salvaged from the old roof of the Grand Salon at Ellis Island—the first point of entry to the United States for millions of immigrants, including many Jews from Central and Eastern Europe.

About Hanukkah

Hanukkah commemorates the freedom that the Maccabees fought to preserve nearly 2,000 years ago. It is a winter festival of light that is observed by Jews around the world who gather with family and friends to light a Hanukkah menorah (hanukkiah) for eight nights—bringing more light into the world during the darkest season of the year.