Marion Ave. Baptist holds Christmas show

WASHINGTON — Marion Avenue Baptist Church held its live animal Christmas show over the weekend, an event church leaders said they were proud to produce for the last (roughly) 47 years.

Organizers said last year’s production brought around 5,000 visitors, and expected more this year with additional show times on the schedule.

Marion Avenue Baptist Church Founder Larry Brown said the extensive production was an attempt at immersively portraying the foundations of Christianity.

“We feel like Christmas has become commercialized, and we want to bring the reason for the season back to the birth of Christ, which is what it’s really all about,” he said. “We use live animals because there were live animals when Jesus was born … using live animals is a part of that realism.”

The play explores several periods of history, and goes over the top. In the first five minutes of Friday night’s show, spectators saw a light show, a firing canon, and a man suspended from the ceiling on a cable.

“We spent quite a bit of time getting it ready,” Brown said. “It’s a labor of love, there’s over 300 people involved.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com