Drive through nativity scenes this weekend

What is a drive-through Christmas, you may ask?

It’s certainly not a Christmas spent waiting in line at McDonald’s.

A fusion of living nativity and historical re-enactment, Countryside Christian Church’s annual Drive-Through Christmas event is this weekend at the church, 1919 S. Rock.

It takes hundreds of volunteers to pull off the event — in its third year — though the load has gotten easier with time, said pastor Clark Tanner.

“That first year was a much larger effort, because we were building all the sets and costumes and everything — an awful lot of energy went into it,” Tanner said. “Each year we pull out some of the same sets, we add additional sets and kind of tweak some of the other sets.”

People who come to the Drive-Through Christmas are given a CD that tells the Christmas story and narrates their drive through the scenes in the Countryside parking lot.

You’ll pass by a fish shop, a blacksmith’s shop, a basket shop and more — all staffed by costumed re-enactors.

You’ll see Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem on a donkey. You’ll see live camels and eventually run into Mary and Joseph in a cave nativity scene. Sheep, cows and people in costumes accompany the scene.

People of all ages help put the event on — from grade-school kids to grandparents, Tanner said.

Since the Drive-Through Christmas began, nearly 10,000 people have driven through the display, according to the church.

There’s no cost to drive through the event, but if you choose to make a donation, half of the proceeds will go to the Kansas Food Bank and the other half will go to the 184th Family Support Organization at McConnell Air Force Base.

“We try to do everything we can to encourage and to support the base,” Tanner said. “We’re just grateful for our military people. We have a number of military people here at the church, and we’re thankful for their service to our country.”

The Drive-Through Christmas runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

For more information, visit www.countrysidechristian.com.

This story was originally published December 9, 2016 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Drive through nativity scenes this weekend."