By STEPHANIE BRUMFIELD / Staff Writer

WILTON – Wilton Baptist Church will host its interactive production “A Night in Bethlehem” Dec. 12-14, where community members are invited to attend and experience Jesus’ birth with a cast of more than 70 characters in costume. The production will be held outside Wilton Baptist Church from 6:30-8:30 p.m. each night.

Even if you’ve attended the production before, this year will be a new experience complete with live animals and a hayride through new and classic scenes, said Wilton Baptist Church Pastor Greg Sellers.

“It’s going to be entirely different this year,” Sellers said of the interactive trip through Bethlehem. “There’s a marketplace where visitors can interact with shops and stores, and then they’ll take a tour on a hayride through several scenes through the story of the birth of Jesus. There’s a lot of excitement and fun.”

The free tour starts inside the church with the king proclaiming the birth of Jesus, Sellers said.

Then, visitors proceed to the marketplace, where they are given a coin to “pay their taxes” on their way out to board the hayride taking riders to see a school house, shepherds, the three wise men and the manger.

The tour ends at the church, where visitors can listen to the rest of the story while sipping hot chocolate and eating goodies.

“All we want to do is give families a break from the hustle and bustle of the commercialism of Christmas and let them take a time out to experience a wonderful evening reliving the birth of our savior,” said production director Laurel Burns. “I get chill bumps just thinking about it!”

Sellers said he expects about 250-300 people to attend the three-night event, and he sees it as “a great opportunity for us as a church to come together in unity and to work together to accomplish sharing the love of Christ.”

“It’s just us telling the story,” he said. “We just want people to have a chance to understand what the birth of Jesus means and what Christmas is all about.”

Sellers said anyone is welcome to attend. For more information or to see videos from past productions, visit Wiltonbaptist.com/Bethlehem.html.