Editor’s Note: Hanukkah Hullabaloo—the Brothers Lazaroff’s beloved Festival of Lights extravaganza—returns for its 15th anniversary on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Grandel Theatre. This year, the Jewish Light is spotlighting the artists who help bring the Hullabaloo to life.

Julie Lazaroff and Gayle Lazaroff don’t sing or play an instrument at Hanukkah Hullabaloo, but they share the stage with the band. The “latke ladies” play an important role feeding hungry audience members. Julie Lazaroff, who is married to Jeff Lazaroff, calls it “performance art.”

“It’s a lot of fun for everybody with people coming right up to the stage to get fresh fried latkes,” said Julie Lazaroff, 51. “The Hanukkah Hullabaloo has taken place in various places and I think everybody agrees it’s the most fun when we’re on stage with the musicians because it’s really a huge part of the celebration.”

The musical performance by the Brothers Lazaroff is the highlight of the event, but Hanukkah Hullabaloo is a visual extravaganza, with a giant menorah as a backdrop, a motorized disco dreidel ball and the smell of fried latkes.

“The smell really brings back memories for so many people of their childhood smelling latkes being fried in their homes,” said Julie Lazaroff. “The smell is an integral part of the Hullabaloo.”

“It’s fun to be a part of it, for sure,” said Gayle Lazaroff, 45, who is married to David Lazaroff. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun work. Julie and I get to do it together. We work really well together, and our kids are a part of it. They get to be a part of running the latkes all over the venue.”

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That latke ladies go through quite a few potatoes to feed hullaballoo-goers, Julie Lazaroff said.

“I think it’s grown to about 800 latkes at the current incarnation of the hullaballoo,” she said. Gayle Lazaroff noted that they get a big assist from Michelle Coen from the Key Burger Bar at the Kranzberg Arts Foundation. Coen fries half the latkes for the event.

“There’s just no way for us to keep up with that with two fryers,” Gayle Lazaroff said. “Michelle fries up a portion of the latkes and sells those for donations out in the front lobby of the Grandel Theatre so you have two different ways to come get your latkes.”

The tradition of frying latkes on stage originated at the first Hanukkah Hullabaloo, as an homage to the Sauce Boss, a slide guitar player who plays the blues while he cooks gumbo on stage.

“It was actually an idea from Ben Kaplan—he thought it would be hilarious to do latkes on stage for a Hanukkah celebration,” said Gayle Lazaroff.

And lest you think Gayle and Julie Lazaroff would prefer not to look at another latke for a while after the Hullabaloo, well, they’re just getting started.

“The tradition continues in different ways,” said Julie Lazaroff. “We started a tradition at our kids’ elementary school as well, doing a little celebration of Hanukkah so we don’t put the deep fryers away for a couple of weeks. We do a smaller incarnation at the school. The smell is what reaches everybody so people can be out of the third floor and they know, ‘Oh, the Lazaroffs are here doing latkes.’”

But tickets to this year’s Hanukkah Hullabaloo here.