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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; When one door closes another one opens, but in this case that&#8217;s literally true.</p><p>On Sunday, the Jewish Community Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania held its final Purim Carnival before the South River Street location closes its doors for good, as the Friedman Jewish Community Center is set to open next Sunday.</p><p>For David Schwager, the center has a multitude of sentimental memories.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not a sad day,&#8221; said Schwager, co-chair of the JCC building committee. &#8220;It&#8217;s a day to look back on over 60 years of very good memories.</p><p>&#8220;I remember swimming in the in-ground pool on the roof. I remember playing basketball on the courts and participating in plays and productions on the center&#8217;s stage.&#8221;</p><p>Schwager said he&#8217;s been working on finding the JCC&#8217;s new spot for a decade.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been a lot of work,&#8221; he said. &#8220;From getting control of the property to finding benefactors and an architect, we&#8217;ve all been really busy. But we are very happy that our new location will be a great spot for the community.&#8221;</p><p>The new Friedman JCC will offer a multitude of new services to the entire community, not just members of the Jewish faith.</p><p>According to Schwager, the new facility will have not only be more sustainable and energy efficient, it will have state-of-the-art athletic facilities, a catering facility and an early childhood education program.</p><p>The facility will also house the JCC&#8217;s administration office&#8217;s along with parking for more than 400 cars.</p><p>The administration still needs to raise roughly $2.5 million for the completion of the new JCC in Kingston.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve been able to raise about $10.5 million through grants and private benefactors,&#8221; Schwager said. &#8220;That&#8217;s why we need some help from the community to secure the rest.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Purim Carnival</strong></p><p>Before members of the Jewish community spoke, children along with the parents flooded the center for the Purim Carnival.</p><p>Purim, the feast of Lots, is a Jewish holiday of gift-giving and great fun. It celebrates the downfall of a tyrant who wished to wipe out the Jewish people but through God&#8217;s grace they were able to overcome it.</p><p>&#8220;This is a holiday of religious freedom,&#8221; said Barbara Sugarman, director for adult &amp; cultural services. &#8220;It&#8217;s very important, especially in times like these for the community to come together.&#8221;</p><p>Sugarman said it&#8217;s the only day that children are able to wear costumes in the Temple.</p><p>As part of the celebration, children dressed up in costumes, either religious ones or ones you would typically see on Halloween. They were also treated to pizza, popcorn and cotton candy.</p><p>Face painting, crafts and games were also part of the celebration.</p><p>For the closing ceremony, a mezuzah was taken off the wall by Saraea Kaplan, of Kingston, and Haley Freidman.</p><p>For people of the Jewish faith, a mezuzah is a piece of parchment that contains verses from the Torah that is commonly attached to the doorpost of homes to remind them that they belong to God.</p><p>The Sidney &amp; Pauline Friedman Jewish Community Center, located at 613 S.J. Strauss Lane (formerly 400 Third Ave.), will have its ribbon cutting on March 24 from 1 p.m. t0 3 p.m. Light refreshments will be served and tours will be available.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Rabbi Zvi Perlman offers remarks about the history of the Jewish Community Center on South River Street in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031819JCC-dan_4-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Rabbi Zvi Perlman offers remarks about the history of the Jewish Community Center on South River Street in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031819JCC-dan_3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jewish Community Center building committee co-chair David Schwager begins the closing ceremony of the center on S. River Street in Wilkes-Barre after the Purim carnival on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031819JCC-dan_3-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Jewish Community Center building committee co-chair David Schwager begins the closing ceremony of the center on S. River Street in Wilkes-Barre after the Purim carnival on Sunday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031819JCC-dan_2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Valerie Yelen, 7, of Kingston, follows through on a shot of shuffleboard bowling during the Purim carnival at the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031819JCC-dan_2-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Valerie Yelen, 7, of Kingston, follows through on a shot of shuffleboard bowling during the Purim carnival at the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031819JCC-dan_1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Six-year-old Chaya Weinberg, of Kingston, joins other children inside the bounce house during the Purim carnival at the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031819JCC-dan_1-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Six-year-old Chaya Weinberg, of Kingston, joins other children inside the bounce house during the Purim carnival at the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031819JCC-dan_5-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Saraea Kaplan, of Kingston, left, and Haley Friedman, of Dallas, remove a mezuzah from a doorway inside the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre during a closing ceremony. It will be transferred to the new Sidney &amp; Pauline Friedman Center for Jewish Life in Kingston next week. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031819JCC-dan_5-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Saraea Kaplan, of Kingston, left, and Haley Friedman, of Dallas, remove a mezuzah from a doorway inside the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre during a closing ceremony. It will be transferred to the new Sidney &amp; Pauline Friedman Center for Jewish Life in Kingston next week. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Door closes on JCC with ceremony, Purim event</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dan Stokes</p><p>dstokes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes</p></shirttailMeta></div>

One final carnival: JCC closes facility with ceremony, Purim event