Menorahs bring a warm glow to Vashon Center for the Arts

Published 1:30 am Monday, December 23, 2019

In early December, Vashon Center for the Arts gallery business manager Lynann Politte walked into VCA’s soaring lobby, filled with a Christmas tree and wreath, and noticed something missing — a spirit of inclusion for the island’s Jewish community.

Politte, looking for ideas, turned to her friend Risa Stahl, who immediately had an idea to correct the problem.

“‘Menorahs are a work of art and there are so many types. What about an installation of menorahs?,’” Stahl told Politte.

Stahl put out a call to her Vashon Jewish community. Within four days, 27 menorahs — many of them treasured family heirlooms and keepsakes — had been delivered to VCA and placed in the window sills of the tall west-facing walls of the center’s atrium.

The assortment of traditional, contemporary and artisan-created menorahs created a sensation, according to Politte.

All of them came with “a story and memories within the candle-wax drippings,” she said.