BRIEFLY IN RELIGION

Surfboard menorah up for Hanukkah

Chabad of Laguna Beach will light a surfboard menorah at 2 p.m. Sunday at Main Beach.

The menorah is being constructed of old, damaged and unusable surfboards donated by Laguna Beach friends and congregants. The menorah was designed by Steve Sachse, who shared the idea with contractors Mike Tomkins and Tony Hempen, who volunteered their time to put it together.

“Our Main Beach Hanukkah display needed a new twist after all these years,” said Rabbi Eli Goorevitch of the Chabad Jewish Center. “Why not a surfboard menorah? It’s Laguna Beach.”

The Hanukkah celebration will feature live music with Israeli musicians Jimmy Gamliel and friends, children singing, dancing, arts and crafts, dreidel cookie decorating, face painting, hot latkes and chocolate gelt.

For more information, call (949) 499-0770, or visit www.chabadof laguna.com

Christmas Eve service planned

Neighborhood Congregational Church of Laguna Beach is holding a Christmas Eve service at 7 p.m. featuring music and readings from Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas Eve and Other Stories.

Through vocal soloists accompanied by piano and guitar, hear the story of an angel’s quest on Christmas Eve to find the true meaning of Jesus’ birth “” a story beginning with a father’s prayer for his daughter to come home, and journeying through an old city bar filled with people who had long abandoned the hope of that magic night.

The Christmas Eve service includes a candlelight singing of “Silent Night.”

Call (949) 494-8061 for directions.