Rain. Rain. Rain. It was coming down In buckets, leaving huge puddles in its wake.

Did we care? Not a bit.

We gathered in the community room, where Ron and Dave were making music. Deborah was in the kitchen with her staff, flipping those latkes — 450 by her count — onto platters, and hungry Hanukkah revelers were scarfing them up as fast as they appeared. And who made all those latkes? Women from CAST, learning that veggies as well as potatoes make tasty latkes. Thanks to Adrianne, the tables were set, and the decorations were up. Greenport’s Mayor and members of his staff were in attendance. Rabbi Gadi played host, and led the assembled in lighting the candles on the fourth night. Meanwhile, Madelyn was putting the final touches on the Silent Auction items so the bidding could continue, and bid we did, right up to the final seconds. Judith reached into the basket and picked out Christine’s name as the winner of the 50-50 raffle, an unexpected windfall for her. All of this was made possible by a bunch of folks working for weeks ahead of the big event: Madelyn, Caren, Roberta, Nina, Adrianne, Deborah, Miriam, Judith, Sara, CAST women, Greenporter staff, Silent Auction solicitors, contributors, purchasers, and 50-some, who despite the wet weather, came for latkes, sufganiyot, togetherness, and the joyous lights of Hanukkah.

Photos by Adrianne and Sara