Nativity display brings in the faithful

One by one, people of all ages made their way into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Burbank. It wasn’t a sermon that brought thousands to the church’s grounds on Sunday.

Instead, they came to see an age-old story, told more than 200 times.

The church’s Burbank location hosted its annual “Christmas Nativity Festival,” displaying hundreds of sculptures, pieces and sets depicting the birth of Jesus Christ with his parents, the Virgin Mary and Joseph, and the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem.

PHOTOS: Burbank LDS church hosts “Christmas Nativity Festival”

The festival, with 15 pieces from Bob and Dolores Hope’s personal collection, showed visitors unique interpretations of the nativity story from various countries such as Peru, Germany, Uganda and Indonesia. Upstairs, the festival also provided onlookers a live nativity performance with a replica of what the scenery could have looked like at the time of Jesus’ birth, from a replica manger to a canopy made of sticks and covered with grass blades.

The display took roughly a week to set up.

“Some of these are handcrafted, family heirlooms or collector’s items,” said Kellie Austin, spokeswoman for the event. “This year, we reached out to community leaders and even businesses to showcase their nativities.”

Children and adults pointed at the unique nativity scenes lining tables that curved around the church’s gymnasium. Some scenes were sculpted into glass or wood no bigger than a strawberry. One artist created the nativity with “Peanuts” characters, replacing Jesus Christ with Woodstock. Another used cats while only a few feet away, a black moose filled in as Jesus and as angels peering down at the Savior.

As a cappella groups and a children’s choir sang Christmas tunes, the cheery sounds didn’t divert the attention of Diane Hirsch and her 10-year-old daughter, Kaylee. Hirsch said there are four nativity scenes inside her Burbank home. Her eyes scanned the wooden — and sometimes even faceless — renditions of the cherished story.

“Being Christian, this is a focal point,” she said, pointing her index finger to a specific nativity scene. “Who would have thought to make it out of burlap? It’s great to see the different expressions.”

The festival began in 2012 at the behest of church Bishop Dennis Barlow. Barlow came across a similar nativity festival hosted in the Inland Empire and decided to make it a tradition in Burbank.

“It’s a wonderful way to start Christmas and the holidays,” Barlow said. “And it’s a great gift to the community.”