CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Sophia Varady, 7, Khara Yeazus, 5, and Sarah Simmons, 5, waited with anticipation Sunday for the Purim Carnival costume contest to begin at Temple Emanu-El. They were dressed as Queen Esther from the Old Testament, who persuaded her husband, the king, not to kill the Jews in his kingdom as his adviser Haman had wanted.