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Thursday, November 22, 2018
ERIN 0. SMITH I The Times file photo
A nativity scene sits tucked underneath a Christmas tree during the Festival of Nativity at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Gainesville on Thursday, December 3, 2015.
Festival of the Nativity still
going strong in its 11th year
BY LAYNE SALIBA
lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com
Many people can remem
ber a time during their
childhood when they stood
in the sanctuary at church
and acted out the Christmas
story. Some might have even
stood outside in a stable —
no matter the temperature
— as Mary, Joseph, Jesus, a
wise man, shepherd or angel
while a donkey, camel or
sheep grazed nearby.
The Nativity scene, syn
onymous with Christmas
and depicting Jesus’ birth,
is likely still a staple in your
grandmother’s home, your
mother’s home and maybe
even your own. But if it’s
something you want to see
a little more of, The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints’ Festival of the Nativ
ity has you covered.
“We are setting up over
1,000 Nativity sets in the
church,” said George Wange-
mann, the church’s ward mis
sion leader. “We’re going to
fill up the gym, we’re going to
fill up some rooms inside the
church, and then we’ve got
another room ... I’m expect
ing between 1,100 and 1,200
Nativity sets at our festival.”
The event at 1234 River
side Drive, set for 6 to 9 p.m.
Nov. 29 through Dec. 1 and
3 to 9 p.m. Dec. 2 is free and
open to all.
“Eleven years ago, we had
an outdoor Nativity with ani
mals in it and that was kind
of the highlight of our Nativ
ity experience at church,”
Wangemann said. “And the
very first year we had the
outdoor nativity, we also had
an indoor Nativity, but it only
had 30 displays in it. And
compared to the number
we have today, that’s almost
nothing.”
He said people would sim
ply drive through the parking
lot and see the live Nativity,
but no one came in. Now,
the event draws more than
2,500 people into the church
to walk through and see each
Nativity scene.
“This is going to be a com
munity event, and it’s very
family-centered,” Wange
mann said. “It’s Christ-cen
tered, and so it brings out the
real meaning of Christmas
in hopes of getting people to
think back as much as they
possibly can about what that
real meaning is and how it
affected them in the past as
well as in our current time.”
While the Nativity scenes
are used for the church,
many of them belong to
Wangemann and his wife,
Judy. They store them at
their home and had to use
a 26-foot enclosed truck to
transport them to the church.
He said it takes about three
weeks and 40 people’s help to
set everything up.
“That’s going to be the
most difficult thing of all the
things we do,” Wangemann
said. “That’s to set them
up in a way that creates a
mood or an atmosphere of
Christmas.”
Although Wangemann said
he and his wife would have
been happy with a dozen or
so Nativities for themselves,
they started collecting for the
event and encouraged others
NICK BOWMAN I The Times
Levi Horrocks helps assemble Nativity sets at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Monday, Nov. 19, on
Riverside Drive. The church is once again hosting a huge display of Nativity scenes.
to do the same. Because of
that, they’re able to borrow
from other collections to
make the event that much
bigger.
The festival of the Nativity
is used by many as a yearly
tradition, and that’s why
Wangemann said he likes to
see it continue every year.
He said it’s not an event “for
the purpose of converting
anyone to our religion,” but
a way to help the community
enjoy the Christmas season.
“This is one of our pas
sions,” Wangemann said.
“I know many people in the
community here, and they
are great people who we
have a great love and respect
for. We’re just trying to
return something to them.”
A nativity
scene is
displayed at
the Church of
Jesus Christ
of Latter-day
Saints. The
festival started
out as 30
nativity sets
and has grown
to more than
1,000 over the
years.
ERIN 0. SMITH
The Times
file photo
Christmas events filling up in early December
NICK BOWMAN I The Times
Hannah Tench, front, walks ahead of her parents, Dustin and Leah Tench,
in 2017 at the North Hall Community Center Christmas Market. The Tench
family lives in Clermont and said they were happy to have a market with
so many vendors close to home.
BY NICK BOWMAN
nbowman@gainesvilletimes.com
Along with the forest of Nativity
scenes on Riverside Drive, Gaines
ville and North Georgia are filling
up with Christmas events to hit
between now and the holiday.
Christmas on Green Street
Gainesville’s celebration of
Green Street and the Christmas
season is only nine days away. The
evening of parades, food trucks,
music, face painters, storytellers,
jugglers and — of course — Santa
Claus starts at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 2.
The parade launches the event,
which stretches most of Green
Street and includes many open
houses from the businesses along
the street. It’s organized for the
first time this year by Main Street
Gainesville, which is handling
the event in place of longtime
organizer Hall County Historical
Society.
If you’re attending the event,
keep an eye out for the miniature
train and carriages. The tree light
ing at the corner of Green and
Academy streets is set for 7 p.m.
North Hall Christmas Market
Not quite finished with your
Christmas shopping? Get your
hands on something local at the
Christmas Market at the North
Hall Community Center next week.
The third-annual market
includes more than 50 vendors
from around North Georgia and
Hall County, including:
Beady Vine, BTC Custom
Designs, Cake-Cake, Cali Bou
tique Bus, CatC Brand Purses &
Other, Fabric Creations, Crafts
by Wanda, Crazy Mule Woodturn
ers, First Presbyterian Church
of Cleveland, Garments & Gifts,
Gibbs Clan Curiosities, Jan Eustis
“Pampered Chef,” Jane’s Junkin’
Jar, Jewelry Junkie-Plunder
Design, Julie Wilcox - Jamberry,
Lula Lane Designs, Lynda Pollard,
Mama’s Corner, Mary Kay, MiMi’s
Charming Treasures, Perfectly
Posh & Mouse Tales Travel, Ranch
Rhythm Rags, Renewal by Ander
sen, Rosslyn’s Rarities, SassaFrass
Treasures, Southern E-Scentuals,
Susan Crowe, Trudy Hamby, TSS
Photography and Young Living.
Catch these vendors and more on
Friday, Nov. 30, and Saturday, Dec.
1. Doors open at 5 p.m. Friday and
8 a.m. Saturday, according to Hall
County Parks and Leisure.
The event will be a bit tighter
this year, according to organizer
Michele Parden, because Hall
County basketball games will be
played at the same time as the
market.
The UNG Gainesville
Holiday Concert
At Grace Episcopal Church in
Gainesville, students and faculty
from the University of North Geor
gia Gainesville campus are coming
together for the school’s first holi
day Christmas concert.
It will be a massive concert,
including the UNG Chorale from
the Gainesville Campus from the
Gainesville campus, and, from the
Dahlonega campus, Le Belle Voci,
UNG Singers and the Patriot Choir,
according to an announcement
from UNG.
Along with singers, the UNG
brass ensemble and a few faculty
members are performing at 2:30
p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 1.
“We are hopeful to get audi
ence members from UNG and the
community to attend,” said Will
Gotmer, a UNG faculty member
and the organist at Grace Episco
pal. “And there will be hymns that
everybody can sing.”
