Assemblyman William Colton (D-47AD) will be joining the Purim Celebration at the Shore Parkway Jewish Center (SPJC), 8885 26th Avenue (off Cropsey Avenue) on Sunday, March 4th. The celebration starts at 1.00 P.M. and ends at 5:00 P.M. with a costume contest, Karaoke, games, prizes, carnival, a card tournament and food, of course…Hamantaschen, traditional holiday cookies.

Purim is the most festive of Jewish holidays, a time of prizes, noisemakers, costumes and treats, and Assemblyman Colton will be celebrating with his Jewish constituents, and joins with Shore Parkway Jewish Center’s Rabbi Baumgarten in inviting all neighborhood residents to join the happy holiday.

The Festival of Purim commemorates a major victory over oppression and is recounted in the Megillah, the scroll on which the Book of Esther is written. It tells the story of Queen Esther, King Ahasuerus, Esther's uncle (or cousin) Mordechai, and the king's chief advisor Haman, who was Esther’s adversary.

This year, Purim begins at sundown on the 3rd of March that falls on Saturday, which is the Jewish Sabbath, and will be celebrated at the Shore Parkway Jewish Center on Sunday. Though synagogues are mostly solemn places, the atmosphere changes as children dress up as their favorite Purim characters and rattle graggers (noisemakers) at every mention of Haman’s name, everyone boos, hisses, stamps their feet and twirls their graggers., the rectangular shape noisemakers used during the reading of the Megillah. Though graggers are the traditional noisemaker, any type of noisemaker can be used

Assemblyman Colton advises residents to call the SPJC at 718 449-5530 for reservations and information. Admission is $5 and includes five free tickets. For children under five years old, admission is free. Aside from celebrating, Assemblyman Colton and his staff will be manning an information table detailing all the services his new Community Office at 155 Kings Highway (opposite the Del Rio Diner) offers. The Assemblyman’s phone number has remained the same, 718-236-1598.