LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) — Volunteers at English Lutheran Church are putting the finishing touches on a full re-creation of ancient Bethlehem, a tradition that returns this December for the first time since 2022.
Crews have spent months transforming the church’s fellowship hall into the Biblical village for “The Bethlehem Event,” an immersive walk-through experience that has run nearly every four years since 1978.
The event includes dozens of shops, live animals and townspeople who portray what life may have looked and sounded like at the time of Christ’s birth.
“It takes a lot of help. A lot of the buildings, they’re reused. So they’re reassembled,” building chairman Jack Fitzpatrick said. “Every year you find things that you want to change for next time around.”
More than 200 volunteers take part in the event, filling roles from shepherds and soldiers to potters, perfumers and shopkeepers.
Others care for the goats, donkey and chickens that help bring the village to life.
“When People come into Bethlehem, they’ll enter the city. They’ll sign in with the census taker, they’ll pay their taxes at the tax collector,” production coordinator Pamela Strittmater said. “They’ll hear people in the courtyard talking about this wonderful star and this birth of a baby.”
The event began with cardboard sets more than four decades ago but has grown into a large-scale production.
Many of the wooden buildings have been used for years and are redesigned this year to improve crowd flow and match historical details.
“Bethlehem started with cardboard boxes and just a very rough city, and it grew into dreams and into what we have now,” Strittmater said. “It takes a lot of people to put Bethlehem together.”
For Paul and Barb Bjornstad, who have played Omar and Ada for more than two decades, getting back into character comes naturally.
“Omar can be a character. I mean, I’ll try and marry off people’s daughters because they’re getting older.” Paul said.
“Interacting with the people as they come through, trying to draw them more into Bethlehem,” Barb added.
When visitors reach the end of the village, the bustling streets give way to a quiet cave meant to represent the birthplace of Jesus.
“Just leaving with a renewal that life is good and things are good and there’s miracles that happen. There’s goodness in life and Christmas is so much more than the gifts under the tree,” Strittmater said. “It’s the people around the table. It’s the things that happen in the communities and it’s giving that joyous amount of faith and rebirth — just joy.”
The Bethlehem Event runs from noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 13 and 14 at English Lutheran Church in La Crosse.
Admission is free, but registration is required. Free-will offerings will be accepted.
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