A Purim Knight
Who: General population, Greek students.
What: Have a Megillah reading and Purim feast/celebration with a Medieval theme. Students dress up as knights, ladies, jesters, etc. As they tell the story of Purim, they have a medieval dinner with goblets, plates, etc. Medieval festivities such as jousting and juggling will also take place. Invite people with scroll invitations.
How: Jewish learning will take place in a couple of ways. There will be a discussion over dinner of how Purim was celebrated in different time period (in terms of celebration and food). There will be an emcee for the night-perferably the rabbi or Jewish educator as court jester-who will narrate the Megillah reading and add Jewish content. In addition, there could be a reenactment of the Raba and Rebbe Zera sacrifice.
When: First night of Purim.
Where: At Hillel if there is a big space; if not, reserve a room on campus.
Purim Party
Who: General population.
What: Canned food drive and Megillah reading/party.
How: Before the party, have someone dress up as town crier and give out invitations. Have a canned food drive or a clothing drive in conjunction with the party. For every item you donate (either before the party or at the party), you get a lottery ticket. The lottery tickets explain the term 'purim' and give some background information about the holiday. At the party/Megillah reading, have a drawing from the lottery tickets for an exciting prize. If you have a clothing drive, people can dress up in the donated clothes when they arrive. At the end of the evening, the wearers can either take home the clothes or give them back to be donated to a shelter. An alternative costume option is to have everyone come dressed up as their secret identity (lawyer, astronaut, superhero, etc).
When: First night of Purim
Where: ----
Masquerade Marathon
Who: Tzedek students, general population, and can be expanded to whole campus.
What: A 48-hour masquerade dance marathon to raise money for a homeless shelter. Shifts can be made up of the different communities invited – freshmen, Greeks, student clubs, faculty, staff. Sponsors from big corporations can sponsor each dancer for the amount of hours they dance.
How: Pieces of the Megillah hung on the walls around the room.
When: During the two days of Purim.
Where: Big Area - either the gym or the cafeteria.
The Whole Megillah
Who: General population - Greek students, women, non-engaged students, engaged students, etc.
What: For engaged students to hear the Megillah; for non-engaged students to see the Megillah.
How: A local rabbi will read the Megillah. Greek students will act out the Megillah while it is read. There will be a summary between chapters. For Mishloach Manot, there will be opportunities to sell/buy two hamentashen for a friend. To advertise for the event,
1) have a canned food drive the whole month
2) have a countdown sign on the quad
3) place ads in the paper
4) distribute fliers
5) ask engaged students to come in costume
At the Megillah reading, you can advertise for other events – a lunch feast to follow at Hillel, or a party to happen that evening.
When: Lunchtime (noon-1 p.m.), the busiest time.
Where: Campus quad/central location