Church brings Christmas night in Bethlehem to west Edmonton

By Lacey Morris

EDMONTON — The West Edmonton Christian Assembly is going back in time to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus at the city’s second annual Bethlehem Walk from Dec. 8 to 12.

WECA’s 11,640-square-foot gymnasium has been transformed into the town of Bethlehem as it was 2,000 years ago. The set-up includes a marketplace of 35 different vendors—ranging from butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, clothing vendors and various others. The set up also features a stable area full of animals, and plenty of opportunities to learn what Christmas is really all about.

Cam Heslep, public relations co-ordinator for WECA, was busy orchestrating the event among the hustle and bustle of carpenters and the production crew as they prepare the unique attraction.

“We’re really pleased to see how things are coming along at this stage in Year 2,” Heslep said.

A Unique Event

There are plenty of annual Christmas events happening throughout the month of December in the city. The Bethlehem Walk is unique in that it is completely interactive and gives attendees the chance to fully immerse themselves in the Bethlehem experience.

“Here, the characters and the cast are actually interacting with the audience,” Heslep said. “The audience will have a chance not only to see, they’ll have a chance to touch, and even smell a lot of the essence of Bethlehem as it was over 2,000 years ago on that first night.”

“The audience can actually partake in some of the sampling of some of the food from those days, and will have a chance to actually see how things were transformed from a raw material to either an edible material or a drinkable material.”

A new group will be guided through Bethlehem every 15 minutes, beginning with an orientation.

Volunteer Power

The walk is hosted by members of WECA but much of the credit goes to dozens of volunteers from the community and from companies that sponsor the event, such as:

• Canada Safeway Ltd.
• BFC Flooring
• The Singing Christmas Tree
• Colins Industries
• Echo Cycle
• Westhill Construction
• Duckering’s Transport

Over the five days, a total of 489 people will be helping out either on the front lines or behind the scenes of the Bethlehem Walk. Heslep noted that up to three different families could be running a marketplace vendor in a day.

“It’s all hands on deck,” he said. “It’s 100 per cent volunteer-based.”

Giving Back

The event also gives attendees the chance to give back to the community during the season of giving. Volunteers will be raising food and cash donations for the Edmonton Food Bank, one of several local charities that WECA supports. Last year, 13,680 people took the journey through Bethlehem, raising over 14,000 pounds in food.

Heslep hopes the changes that have been made to accommodate more people will reflect on the number of attendees that the event brings in this year.

“With wider aisles and some improvements of different areas of the event, plus with our extended hours, we’re anticipating 23,000 — maybe as high as 25,000 — with a goal to the Food Bank an excess of over 40,000 pounds of food,” he said.

Bethlehem Across North America

Edmonton isn’t the only city that is bringing Christmas night in Bethlehem back to the community. Several other regions across North America have been participating for a number of years, Heslep said. Edmonton first came to be involved when WECA’s team leaders were invited to Parksville, B.C., to see how the event was brought to life. The small Parksville Baptist church has been hosting the Bethlehem walk for 15 years.

“We had a chance, as a lead team, to go over there and see first-hand how they do the production, but also at the same time, we had a chance to learn from their mistakes,” Heslep said. “That’s really how we caught the glimpse and carried it forward.”

Bethlehem Walk 2011

WECA’s 2011 Bethlehem Walk is open to the general public on Dec. 8, 9 and 12 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Dec. 10 and 11 from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Special reservation times were offered to schools on Dec. 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and to seniors homes and limited mobility groups on Dec. 12 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Admission is free at the door as the event is offered as a “gift” to the community from WECA. More information is available at the WECA website.

Take a walk through WECA’s Bethlehem and hear part of the Christmas story here.