LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Hanukkah was celebrated as part of an annual event in downtown Louisville on Sunday.

Chabad of Kentucky lit a giant Menorah at Fourth Street Live! to celebrated solidarity in the Jewish community. This year's theme was "Be A Light." 

Project Friendship distributed more than 50 bicycles to children from families in need. Project Friendship, a social service arm of Chabad of Kentucky, distributes millions of dollars of shoes, clothes and household items in Kentucky each year, according to a news release.

Former University of Louisville men's basketball star and current staff member Peyton Siva also joined the event. 

"The message was to be a light in the darkness and I support anything that's giving back to the community, anything that is trying to do something positive in the world today," Siva said.

It's the 50th year Menorahs have been publicly lit up in communities around the world. According to a news release, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, RabbiMenachem Mendel Schnnerson, suggested that the light and message of the Menorah should be shared with the world in 1974. There are now more than 15,000 public Menorah lightings around the U.S. 

To learn more about Chabad of Kentucky, click here. 

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