Just like during the original Christmas story, Baby Jesus was a popular draw at The Living Nativity performance at Science North on Saturday night.
Their final of four performances will take place tonight (Christmas Eve) at 7:30 p.m.
Consisting of a musical re-enactment of the Christmas story, complete with a real donkey, hundreds of people in attendance lined up to meet the little actor playing baby Jesus.
Throughout the performance and subsequent meet-and-greet, the tiny actor who played Jesus, Zoey Ingabire, remained calm and occasionally smiled as her mother, Rolel Ingabire (who also played Mary), cuddled the youngster.
This is the church’s 36th annual nativity scene performance, All Nations Church communications director Brandon Martel told Sudbury.com prior to Saturday’s performance.
Martel played Joseph during Saturday’s performance. He joined the Ingabire pair, Dave Scott as the innkeeper and a collection of actors playing wise men and others keen on visiting Jesus.
A team of approximately 30 volunteers put on the performance per night, with a different infant playing baby Jesus each night.
It’s an annual tradition sparked by pastor Jeremy Mahood 36 years ago, and has continued since his 2019 death.
“Typically, we see over 1,000 people in total across the four nights,” Martel said, noting that the Christmas Eve performance is typically the best attended.
The performance is approximately 25 minutes long, after which guests are invited to visit with the actors, including the donkey, while children receive a gift from All Nations Church.
It’s best to arrive early.
Shortly before Saturday’s performance, a long lineup of vehicles stretched west all the way to Paris Street trying to make their way into the Science North parking lot. A steady stream of guests were also seen using the hospital parking lot.
In addition to the nativity scene, the annual Festival of Lights is also taking place at Science North.
The Living Nativity takes place outdoors, and will be followed by a fireworks display, which Martel said will be their biggest yet.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
