Old Bethlehem Reborn in Chatsworth

On a wind-swept hill at Rocky Peak in Chatsworth today and Sunday, more than 100 actors, including babies, are going back in time to re-create the first Christmas in Bethlehem.

When the sun goes down, the cast of people and beasts in “Back to Bethlehem” will take positions inside a two-acre village of thatched-roof structures and shops. For the next two hours, they will perform as residents of and travelers to Bethlehem on the night Jesus was born, when there was no room in the inn because the town was packed with people who had come to register for a census decreed by Caesar Augustus and to pay taxes.

Four infants take turns playing the baby Jesus in this outdoor re-creation. Their mothers rotate them every 20 minutes or so, because it is so cold in the manger.

The Church at Rocky Peak, a 5,000-member, nondenominational evangelical congregation, produces “Back to Bethlehem.” Now in its ninth year, the five-night event, which started Wednesday, has attracted as many as 18,000 visitors each Christmas season to see, hear, smell and taste the flavors of the ancient town.

“It’s the greatest story ever told,” said Ray Martin, who volunteers every year to build the sets for the production. “It’s the story of one night -- the most unique night, when God came down and was born a man.”

“Back to Bethlehem” is the brainchild of church members Jeff Holder, a former television writer and producer, and his wife, Joan, who continue to lead it.

The Church at Rocky Peak considers “Back to Bethlehem” an important ministry, worth all the volunteer hours and the $20,000 it costs the church to stage.

“For us, it’s all about the kids -- it’s all about the kids,” said the Rev. Randy Wikert, associate pastor at Rocky Peak. “It’s exciting for the children -- to see the soldiers and to hear the angels tell the story and to see the vendors. It takes them back 2,000 years.”

Children can pet Mary’s donkey and the wise men’s 2,000-pound camel and goats that their owner has hauled in from an Acton ranch.

The event is free and open to the public from 7 to 9 p.m. through Sunday, at 22601 Santa Susana Pass Road in Chatsworth.

Volunteer crews spent three months completing the sets, down to clay water jugs outside a village inn and tools in a tanner’s workshop.

During Wednesday’s opening-night performance, excited shepherds greeted visitors at the entrance, breathlessly sharing what they had seen while they were keeping watch over their flocks at night in the fields nearby.

“An angel appeared and told us, ‘Today, in the town of David, a savior has been born,’ ” shouted one shepherd.

As visitors strolled along the meandering dirt-and-straw-covered village road, vendors hawked their goods. In some establishments, a basket weaver, a smith, a potter and a tanner worked, adding their share of noise to the din of the night.

Yet, next to an inn with a sign reading, “No Room,” all was calm inside a lowly stable.

Mary held Jesus, and Joseph stood protectively beside them. Joseph told visitors about the hardship his wife had endured in getting to Bethlehem in time to register for the census.

“Of all days, this was the day she had to have the baby,” said Joseph, played by Greg Hunt, a Woodland Hills executive recruiter. “Thankfully, these kind folks who owned this stable took their animals outside and they said we would be able to stay in this place on this night and Mary and I give thanks to what God has provided for us. He has provided us with a son.”

This year is the third that Hunt has played Joseph. Though usually cleanshaven, he grows a beard each year for the production. His wife Julie helps with the costumes, and daughter Jessica, 13, is playing a fruit vendor, while her sister Jacquie, 10, is a baker.

Awestruck by the Nativity scene, 3-year-old Leah Schwab of Monrovia was speechless for a moment. She then took hesitant steps toward baby Jesus, took a close-up look at him and ran back to her parents.

Michele Small of Monrovia toured the hilltop Bethlehem with her three children in tow. “It’s a wonderful experience for the kids,” she said. “They get to experience the birth of Jesus in a way that is more real to them in the culture and time. The live animals are so exciting for them. It makes Christmas more than Santa Claus.”