The holiday of Purim, which begins on Wednesday night, is the Jewish version of Mardi Gras: to commemorate the Biblical tale of how Queen Esther saved her fellow Jews from annihilation, we dress up in costume, throw carnivals for the kids, bake triangular cookies known as hamentashen, and eat and drink way too much. Especially drink.
You’d think this had nothing to do with Jane Austen, wouldn’t you? But this year, you’d be wrong.
The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco is throwing a Clueless-themed Purim party on Thursday night. Queen Esther will be costumed as Cher, the Emma-like heroine of Amy Heckerling's classic 1995 film, and, SF Weekly reports, “there will be cocktails, a crafting station where you can make your own pink fluffy feather pen, a lip gloss bar, and access to the current exhibit on San Francisco's powerhouse impresario, Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution.”
I’m sure I speak for all us east coast Janeites when I say that it is way harsh that this is happening in California. My synagogue’s Purim celebration this year has a Star Wars theme. Which is fine and, you know, probably more fun for the under-8 set, but still: who among us has not wanted to make our own pink fluffy feather pen for Purim?