More Than 10,000 People Attend Nativity Festival in Washington State

 
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By Mary Richards, Church News
 

As people filed through the Bellevue Washington South Stake Center over the last few days, they had the opportunity to view hundreds of Nativities, see Christ-centered paintings and visual arts, and hear musical numbers celebrating the Christmas season.

“While we display 600 Nativities from around the world, the entire focus of our festival is Jesus Christ,” committee chair David Mann said.

The festival, which began in 2008, expanded this year beyond the original stake to include 11 stakes in the area.

A unique aspect of the event was a room focused on the life of Christ. Mann said the stake center’s Relief Society room was transformed into a sacred place displaying artwork, scriptures, quotes, props, lighting and a depiction of the tomb.

 
“Guests reverently ponder Jesus Christ and His mission in this room, and it is common to see them in tears as they stand by our depiction of His tomb,” which is a transformed baptismal font, Mann said.

 
Organizers said comments from those in the community who attended from December 6 to 11 included:

• “Exquisite. Unparalleled. Touching. Spirit impacted my every step.”
• “This Festival makes me so emotional I can’t even talk about it.”
• “Spectacular, what a visual treat. … This Spirit is so strong and touches my heart. Every year I look forward to coming.”
• “One word, speechless.”
• “Thank you for helping us begin our Christmas season with a focus on our Savior, Jesus Christ. We love Him and the feeling of peace we feel here.”
• “Inspired work! I leave with my heart full and eyes moist.”
• “I was told this was amazing but came with doubt in my mind. I was blown away. Thank you.”
• “Touched me! The details were phenomenal! My heart was bursting at the artwork and spirit I felt in the Christ Room.”

 
The festival also included a snowflake room, with Nativities available for younger audience members at their eye level; an activity room for children, with games, puzzles, coloring sheets and a scavenger hunt among the Nativities; and a photo room where families could dress up in period attire representing the time when Christ was on the earth.

 
Fifty different musical groups performed nightly in 30-minute slots. On the last night, December 11, an orchestra and choir joined the congregation in a sing-along of Handel’s “Messiah.”

Mann shared some of the numbers behind the effort:

• 600 Nativities
• 208 poinsettias
• 10,532 in attendance
• 173 Christmas trees
• 900 feet of garland hung
• 50 musical groups performed
• 2,000 scavenger hunts completed
• 52 countries represented by Nativities
• 9,000 lights strung outside, on the property
• 206 pieces of artwork and sculptures displayed
• 1,000 feet of tape to cover lighting and sound cables
• 40,000 festival pass-along cards distributed by missionaries
• Thousands of volunteer hours to organize, set up, host and take down the event

This year, the stake also opened the doors to hundreds of first responders gathering and staging a procession for a fallen officer.

“They used our peaceful festival venue to gather, remember, enjoy refreshments and receive instructions for the procession to the memorial site,” Mann said. “It was an amazing sight to see the Seattle temple surrounded by hundreds of police cars, motorcycles and fire trucks with lights flashing Tuesday morning, December 6."

 
The stake center is adjacent to the Seattle Washington Temple. Mann said they wanted to create an environment where all felt welcomed, loved and valued and “engage thousands of people in the Pacific Northwest to come unto Christ and feel of His love.”

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