Light Dispels Darkness Chanukah Menorah Lighting Sunday 12/21/25 at 4:00 P.M. Downtown Fort Myers

Drive through downtown Fort Myers this time of year and the holidays are hard to miss. Presents, giant red bows, green garland wrapped around lamp posts, and this year there's something new. >> Lo and behold, there's a giant manora in here, which is awesome. You know, >> Adam walks his dog Roxy through Common Ground Park every morning. >> She likes to get out and and sniff around, and it's a little different from just walking around in the neighborhood and all of that. During the holidays, decor becomes part of Roxy and Adam's routine. >> We have like little LED lit up candy canes and the palm trees are all sort of wrapped like candy canes and uh you got some nutcracker elements and stuff like that. It's great. >> Adam says the manura is a pleasant addition, one he believes is long overdue. >> I can't believe it's taken them this long to be honest. >> And people in our local Jewish community say having this manora in downtown Fort Myers is a symbol of light and resilience in a time of darkness. This following a mass shooting on Sydney's Bondi Beach in Australia on the first night of Hanukkah. >> It's painful. It's traumatic. There's nothing positive about that experience. Nothing. >> For Rabbi Minkowitz with the Habad Lubovich of Southwest Florida, the manora stands as a symbol of remembrance. One of the several that were killed is a Kabad young rabbi, Rabbi Schlanganger, who I know personally >> and from the community, a response to stop the violence. >> Our response is one response only, light. We have to continue to be a light to dispel the darkness. >> Happy Hanukkah. Light dispels darkness. And neighbors are welcome to join the lighting ceremony that will happen right here in Common Grounds Park for all eight nights of Hanukkah. In downtown Fort Myers, Bridget Pachchowski, Wink News.