I'm Mario Luna, and I love to ce as a professional deejay and per I'm just getting started.

Ever since I was a kid, I loved being where the party wa and making sure everyone was having a good time.

After a career hosting the most amazing events from backyard barbecues to citywide celebrations, I realized Arkansans live in a beautiful place, and each and every one of us from every walk of life has a reason to celebrate.

And I want to see them all.

Let's go.

Join me as I search for the heart of the state and the life of the party.

My name on celebrating Arkansas holiday traditions is the year's end brings cold weath and warm memories to homes across Arkansas.

It also brings groups big and small together for countless celebrations and ancient traditions.

For many across the state, shorter days and longer nights bring Christmas like fest candlelight services, shiny tinsel and glowing fires.

Winter celebrations are truly a bright spot on the calen But few traditions have been bur as long as a menorah.

Little Rock is home to three Jewish congregations, each with a rabbi of their own.

Leaders and teachers not only for their members, but the rest of the community as Originally, the story of Kanika is told in t of First and second Maccabees.

When the land of Israel, known as the Kingdom of Judah at was occupied by the Solution Dyn that was a successor to Alexande the Great.

There was basically a civil war between the High priest who was aligned with the King.

Antiochus epiphany erected a statue of a Greek gods in the that caused the whole populace to really rise up against the hi the Syrian Greeks.

They capitulated pretty quickly and let the Jews rededicate the So the story in the Talmud is that when the Maccabees rededica the temple, they found only a little bitty j That was enough to light the menorah for one day, 124 hou And so there was a miracle.

And the oil lasted for eight day That's not the original story of That's a story that the rabbis emphasized later to emphasize the spiritual rather than the military.

Hanukkah with the story of a few individu who stood up for what they felt was moral wrongs taking place is that repeats itself again and again and again.

And if we find ourselves in a si in which we feel alone, we should feel helpless.

Think for a moment.

It's not the first time that this has happened.

We can choose to educate ourselv and our environments in a much more meaningful way so that when we're confronted with these challenges, it can be transformed into positive effects.

Some Jewish holidays are geared specifically for the Jewish people, and it's more of an internal event, wheth the Jewish New Year or the Jewish Day with Hangman.

These are more serious and solem but Hanukkah is something which is celebrated towards the because it does have a universal of light over the darkness, good over evil.

You know, to be Jewish, to do th and hence it's brought out to th arena as well.

The Congregation of Lubavitch of does just that, lighting the state's largest menorah for the public.

Each year.

The menorah that we relied on, Shannon Bowman is Arkansas's largest menorah.

Every year the governor comes to our menorah aligning to celebrate with the community, and we go up on a special lift to light the menorah.

We sing a few songs, we dance a little bit.

We celebrate the miracle, the fact that we're here and we every single night of Monaca rai Those are the times you need to you need to bring the warmth of the candles.

A reminder you need a wick, need a candle, need a flame, and all of them have to be brought together.

We need all the components.

We all have a soul.

We all have You have to bring it together and recognize it all.

Have meaning and purpose in life And that is something which is a celebration for ourselves and for each other.

We should never feel lonely in that aspect.

While Hanukkah can be enjoyed with the public by bringing people from across the globe together, it is also a deeply personal fam tradition for Jewish households Like is a pancake a golden panca Inside it is now.

We've done very good to it on iconic Alaska is a tree Bring it I was basically retired from being the educator at Temple de Israel.

There are Jewish families who don't celebrate many of the but everyone seems to celebrate and Hanukkah kind of go because just fun to play the games, to sing the songs, to light the to get gifts or Hanukkah gold.

Everybody loves a good spin of t to I l. hey, no.

Like, I'll share kids shine Obama and cha cha Savonarola hardly never shall find a new car.

We eat foods that are fried to r the oil, particularly potato a l Kids which are potato pancakes.

And those of us who don't necess eat fried food all the time, kind of look forward to this, I In Israel, they eat sufganiyot o because everybody likes a good f donut, right?

A lot of people eat jelly donuts Not everybody here lives jelly d So we're we have lemon right now They didn't have chocolate.

Chocolate be our favorite.

So we're going to put this out for our Hanukkah treats.

It's a it's a holiday that we look forward t You know, we're lighting candles bring light into the world.

We're bringing light and to ours It's a feel good story.

How is it?

Fantastic.

Judaism and Jewish practice is based on joy and light and that we as Jews, attain wholeness, as individuals, when we can bring joy and light into the world, which is the message of Hanukkah Part of what makes traditions like Hanukkah so powerful is the that they've been carried out practically unchanged for thousands of years.

Then there are other celebration that have been adapted to fit th And sometimes all folks need is to hit the street with the spirit of the season.

I drove 2 hours because I heard about this trick and the ambulance leaves.

Tell me about this ambulance.

Okay.

Every radio station likes to go and do remotes.

We wanted something a little bit different than just a car.

We went out and found an old amb It's a fun vehicle to be with because we still have the lights and all that stuff.

I want to see this ambulance when we go out and look at it, and I'll take you even for a rid if you want to go for a ride.

Well, let's do it to an old ambulance that I bought up in Mi Offer eBay.

eBay.

Yes.

Yes.

As you can check out the ambulance.

Come on in.

Everybody is with all of our Christmas sweate And we wear things like this or that beard over there.

And one Christmas, you know, he had it parked out in front of right after he bought it.

And we were just singing and having a good time.

And one of us said, Hey, my gosh, would be so funny if we all piled up in the Jameel and just went around caroling.

Really, It was not like super planned out ahead of time.

We really just did it.

And then it became a tradition.

The next year, all of our friend and family threw out Clinton.

We're like, Are you going to do that again?

So then we had to keep going by Grammy and people saying, that's nice.

Everyone else is like, God, we have a fun family.

So it's easy to just want to be around each othe We always have such a great time My mom and dad make sure that there's always something fun to do around the holidays.

We have another tradition after caroling to go karaoke.

Karaoke right from my head.

What does that say?

To go from the caroling to the k And I mean, honestly, it's just about laughs and having a good time.

That's how everything just got s the first place.

Is what can we do that's going t laugh?

It's that community feel the clo You feel like, you know everyone they just don't feel like family Let's go cruising.

All right.

We'll find out.

Okay.

That's good.

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jing The way.

what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh.

Hey, Bill Clinton is a super communit If there was a race for who's got the best town, I would put us right in there wi The people make that community, and we've got the best people in the world.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Back in the North Pole.

What a blessing that was for me, Thank you so much.

Coming up here next year, I'd love to come for dinner and go currently with you as my jingle bells will be ready It be awesome.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Even the King super powered radio tower in Clinton is no mat for a unique Christmas village in Jacksonville, Arkansas, affectionately known as the Santa on Sales.

This is the definition of insanity, according to Mrs. Claus, but we won't discuss that further.

This is about 20 odd years worth of collect me stuff.

When we moved here in 98, they had a little shindig they did every year.

It was a luminary night.

So my in the neighborhood put out the luminary bags and then folks would drive throu So I suppose this is just the dumbest dang th and I am not setting my grass on so somebody could be driving the neighborhood.

I was the only person in the neighborhood that didn't So it's like, okay, yeah, you got my attention.

So the next year we started with a single plastic snowman up on our front stoop and needless to say, it's got a little out of hand si to say the least.

We got roughly 170 inflatables, give or take, f Well, over 400 of the bowl molds come all strings of whites here and there, that kind of stu But yeah, the mathematics we gav businesses that come to see the and leave donations which the Murr family forward along to organized sessions they feel passionate about.

This young man cracked his paren and uncle live right behind us.

good buddy.

And mine was this peewee football coach when he was eight years old.

Right after the season was over, he was diagnosed with cancer and passed away before they could grant his wish.

So pardon?

Money goes to the Make-A-Wish Fo And every year we've done it in that young man' Our money goes to the Civil Heal Booster Club, All for my boys graduated from Sylvan Hills football, baseball, basketball when they were in jun high grass one If it was just for one of them, tried it at least once.

So far the money goes there.

And then my two youngest sons, fairly dad didn't yell at them enough.

One is a former Marine and one he's off active duty in the but joined up with the Arkansas National Guard.

So the rest of the money goes to Wounded Warrior Project in th So 100% of whatever we collect goes to one of those I'll be honest, I have met peopl from literally all over the plan you know, foreign exchange stude that were visiting, you know.

So it has been a real opportunit for me to just sit out here, wel rekindle friendships.

Some of my old neighbors always stop by guys that I work You name it, I, I have a blast.

I enjoyed this.

Didn't always it all.

It is truly inspiring.

The links that the Kings and the Burr family have gone to shared Christmas memories in their communities.

But some holiday memories seem once in a lifetime.

Your first smell, your first taste of nog, an enga you'll never get to live the special moments again.

That until you start digging into your parents attic.

I am the executive director of A Theater and I have a casting age Then I work as also as an actor doing films.

Hey, money and I write plays.

I've had 16 scripts published and a lot of hats, but I think creative people have to have a lot of options.

Christmas was really big for our so for Christmas in 1978, I asked for a movie camera, an e projection screen and a projecto and Christmas morning was all there for Christmas.

The year before I got all these toys and I made a little Star Wa and it all stop motion with the action figures.

And then my brother had gotten m the X-Wing fighter and a tie fig for Christmas a year before.

So I put up a black blanket and strings like those flying around That was my first movie that I m I was home this past spring and my mother cleaned up the att and she had a box of stuff that I kept a couple of items, but I found this old film reel, Super eight, very, very brittle.

It was 46 years old.

I couldn't tell what was on the film itself, and my mother at the time was do and had contacted an antique dealer, had an antique store in a flea m She said, You want to go up ther And I said, Sure.

And as I was going through the f market, this Ed caught my eye and it was the exact same Ed that my parents had got me for Christmas in 1978 So I brought the ED home and I put the film in not knowing what was on it and wound it through and then so And actually this is X-Wing Figh fly across the aisle in Finder.

There was a Star Wars, so it was 1978 again, and I was in our basement making I would say that at Christmas in 1978 was my number one Christ when you have a memory, but then you have something tang that is a record of that memory that you can go back to and look at over and over again and re-experience all of that.

I mean, that's pretty special to You know, I can always fire up t and my little bit of homemade St and think about mom and dad and look at that, whether it's lighting the candles of your menorah or singing karaoke in the back of a Super Def Jam ambulance.

One thing is for sure, when Arkansans celebrate, we do it together.

And when it comes to celebrating his favorite holiday, my man Candy knows how to bring together around the dinner table and the drum circle.

We're here at Conway at MLK Squa We're going to meet up with a go can be with his drum circle dinosaur.

Check this out and time.

Mario, thank you so much for joining us today.

Man.

Man, this is awesome.

I love what you're wearing.

Thank you so much, man.

Well, this is a dashiki.

So since you are now part of the circle, you're part of the community.

I would love to offer you some very good fun.

This is known.

Don't be jealous.

I'm gonna be a little warmer tha So today is the sixth day of Kwa which is Kuumba, which means cre And so traditionally, on that day, you'll have a day of festivities You can have a feast, you can have parties, dance, pla But the overarching theme is creating community.

And that's really what Kwanzaa is all about.

And so Kwanzaa is a seven day celebration and each day has its own principal.

And so the first day is Umoja, which means unity.

The second day is called Julia, and that means self-determinatio The third day is Ujima, which means collective work and responsibility.

Ujima is the fourth day, and that means cooperative econo So you're buying from businesses that are local and things like t The fifth day is Nia, which means purpose and the sixt What we're doing today is Katoom which means creativity.

And then the seventh day is Iman And that's actually our daughter's middle name.

And it means faith.

And so all these come together to become the principles of Kwan So it's been really exciting to be able to bring friends toge bring family together, and show that Kwanzaa has these underlying principles that carry us all throughout the entire year.

So that's why we're in the drum circle tod These instruments have been used so long as a way for people to talk to each other share feelings, and to share rites of passage, m funerals, everything, everything that the human existence goes th We can take all of that and take it into our everyday li here in the present.

It's not just a celebration or i It's a lifestyle.

It's a mindset Yes, very much so.

Very much so.

We're going to do something called Pass the Beat.

So I'll start a nice little for And then when I look at every person in the circle, they're going to join in with th And the goal is to make sure that we're listening to each oth and we're creating that unity, that community, the entire time for here And one thing, go back to one, be great.

Listen, we'll do a little call and response.

Listen first, respond.

Excellent again.

But you go, let's keep that rolling.

Wow.

Like this was amazing.

So what are we taking from here, What else do we get?

That's time to eat.

Eat?

Yes.

So I would love for you to come back to the house with u We're going to prepare a traditional dinner I'm hungry, man.

So, yeah, let's go.

Let's do it.

30 seconds.

Let's do it.

Mario, thank you so much for joi I love it.

Jollof Rice In many African coun it's a kind of the staple meal that people will have.

It's a spicy rice, it's warm, it's inviting.

And, you know, the word feast really encompasse much more than just the food.

It's we're feasting on each othe company.

We're feasting on each other's c And so that's why I'm so happy you're here, to be able much like that today.

Man.

What' Be ready.

I've been ready.

Let's go.

Chop that thing up.

This is how I slowly get you to do all the work for m Take a break.

I got you raw meat.

yes.

My mouth is watering and my stomach's rumbling, man.

So per section.

yeah.

This is going to sit for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Mario, this is the moment of truth, my Are you ready?

This right here.

I'll hand you the spoon.

my goodness.

Give it a try.

And give it a try.

I can't even.

I'm like, Give me more.

Right ahead.

These icons of man.

Yeah.

What do I say?

Carry the Kwanzaa.

Credit.

Kwanzaa.

Happy Kwanzaa.

Yeah.

This is awesome.

listen, we've made some oven bake tilapi and then we've got some collard based off of a Nigerian collard greens recipe.

It's got some stewed tomatoes, onions and spices.

And then we've got the centerpie all, the jollof rice.

This is a fantastic man.

It's a tremendous honor that you've made it into your ho with the love and the wonderful This has just been amazing.

So thank you so much.

Thank you for being with us.

We want to say thank you and say here is a Kwanzaa.

All right.

I want Hattie the Kwanzaa.

It was such an honor to be invited to Kandi and Jamie's home for their Kwanzaa celebration.

Kwanzaa principles left me inspi and that wonderful meal left me craving seconds.

So I called up my friend Chef Brooks to find out about the ultimate end of the ye Southern delicacy.

I'm Stephen Brooks and I own Chef Brooks Catering in Fayetteville, Arkans Thank you for coming to my Fayetteville ki We are going to be doing a great Carolina beans is what it is.

But it's hoppin John.

It's beans and rice.

We are making hoppin.

John.

It is a traditional Southern and superstitious kind that is traditionally used on New Year's Day.

For luck for the new year, we'll see Deacon celery and onions, bell peppers, and then the peas and rice we have of Pinos.

There's salt and pepper in there some fresh parsley as well.

And then some crushed red pepper for a little bit of spice.

We're going to start the dish with our skillet.

It's real hot and we're going to put in bacon, diced bacon.

And we want to render this down.

We want to let all the fat release right out of the bacon.

We'll just get it going here and stir it every now and again.

While that's going, I'm going to cut up my bell pepp and we'll take our lobes right away from our ribs.

And then from here we're just going to make some ni because the tradition calls for We are doing kale today and all we're going to do is just give it a rough chop, really just chop it up and just let it sit up and cook For over 30 years, What got me cooking was hunger.

So I'm from Alabama and the traditions for us, from my family was always black eyed rice, cornbread.

And my mom, I love her so much.

She started making Hoppin John early in my life.

I just saw her do it.

It just kind of became the thing But that's our been our traditio My wife and son, they they enjoy what over I'd do for New Year's Day.

They know it's going to be Black and some kind of greens.

Because if we want that look, our bacon is looking beautiful.

You start to see those soups get on the bottom of the pan.

You want to use your wooden spoo and scrape all of that up as you're cooking as the bacon renders let out the it'll pick all of that back up and just incorporate itself into your dish.

I'll take some of this bacon fat and put it over into this pan.

For our greens it's rendered.

You can see the fat in the botto of that pan.

We just need a little bit of tha fat out of there.

But that's going to be for our g We're going to start putting in the rest of our ingredients.

So we'll start first with our ce our onion, red onion and just start letting that cook Add our bell pepper as we're cooking it here.

We're going to add some salt and and that is going to be a beauti Okay, We're going to add our tom because we want those to just co These are heirloom tomatoes and we just cut those right in h This is crushed red pepper flake Just to give it a little bit mor we're going to add one jalapeno that's diced and we're going to add one clove of garlic.

We're adding that at the end.

We don't want it to burn.

Time for the fans favorite, our Black Eyed Peas to go into t This is our look for the new Yea and we're adding as many as we c because we want as much luck as we can get.

We're going to add our chicken s about a cup and a half right before we add our rice.

That'll give the rice something to love on.

To me, the end of the year always represents the completion This dish is about the same thin We're all going to make resoluti We're all going to have a tradit that we follow and we're going to make a new we're going to do something new for ourselves, for our family, for our health, whatever that is.

This was one cup of rice and one and a half cups of water And I do it ahead of time so I can cool the rice pa cook i Me It still has a little bit of right now, but once it soaks up all of this chicken stock, it is going to be delicious.

We get that all mixed together and we're going to bring it back to temperature.

And while it's coming up, we'll add some fresh parsley right to the top and we're going to season it aga Since we've added the rice with salt and pepper, we'll add our kale, man.

We're going to make ourselves a So you got to start with the kal put you some kale on the side of your plate.

It'll give you a really nice bit to the dish.

And the kale represents the money, the green, the dollar that you're going to have in the And then we'll take that beautif Hoppin John.

Black Eyed Peas represent the co that you're going to make this y Make sure you get a lot of those and then we're going to finish i A beautiful Microgreens.

And that's the money right there very literally representing the green and the coins.

That is money.

Instead of Hoppin John, they ought to call it money.

Our 40 minutes is up.

What a wonderfully tasty way to finish off the winter holidays and bid the old year fa And what incredible company to share such a moving meal.

This is why I love celebrating with people all over the state because no matter how small the circle of friends, how old, the tradition, how pleasant the memory or how loud the company, if we could meet our neighbors where they are and share in a celebration, then that's when the magic absol All right.

Ready to party?

Hey, who's got the no caller name?

What?

I thought it was.

Hey, who's got a jacket?

You got me.

I said, come on, baby.

Just celebrate.

This dream is coming for you.

John.

John.