CARY - Rabbi Yisroel Cotlar looked down from the stepladder at hundreds of dimly lit faces, the crowd below speckled with yarmulkes and glow sticks.

He began to sing the three blessings, "Baruch ata Ado-nai, Elo-heinu Melech ha'olam," and his audience joined in a warm, hushed chorus.

The rabbi lit the rightmost candle of the huge menorah, marking the first night of Hanukkah.

Tuesday was Cary's first town-sponsored menorah ceremony, presented as part of a broader Jewish cultural festival.

Visitors from across the Triangle crowded into the pavilion of the Cary Arts Center, drawn by curiosity and faith.

"Seeing a sea of hundreds of people, it's very emotional," said Cotlar, rabbi for the Chabad of Cary.

The hours-long event, a collaboration of the town, the Chabad, The Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary and Beth Shalom of Cary, attracted more than a thousand people, tripling Cotlar's predictions, he said.

Young families rolled clay dreidels, Jewish dancers and storytellers performed, and Rabbi Pinchas Herman of Raleigh pressed and extracted olive oil to burn in the menorah.

The ceremony was a celebration of freedom, hope and light, the rabbis said.

Morty Berkowitz, president of the Chabad of Cary, had never seen a Jewish ceremony so well-attended.

"Last time I saw a thousand Jews was in the Bronx," he said. For members of the faith, the event was a rare unification of a widespread community.

"Not knowing too many Jewish people in North Carolina, it's nice to come out and see more than just the few you know," said Josh Klein, a former Cary resident who came from Durham for the festival. "I was absolutely shocked" by the turnout, said his wife, Sadie.

Nicholas and Candace, a young Christian couple, brought their children from Holly Springs to see the ceremony.

"We wanted to see what Hanukkah was all about," the husband said. "We wanted to celebrate with God's people."