The College Heights Baptist Church in Soldotna is inviting guests to travel back to Bethlehem with a stroll through the streets of the bustling city.

Bethlehem Revisited, which opened on Friday night and will run until Monday evening, recreates the night that Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem for Jesus’s birth. The event brings the city to life, with soldiers, rabbis, tax collectors, vendors, merchants, animals and more throughout the streets.

“This is our first time taking part in the event,” said Brittany Liles as she manned the grain store. “We moved here a year and a half ago and it’s only put on every two years, but we’re really happy to be a part of it all this year.”

From Liles, guests could buy grain to feed to the nearby sheep as 10-year-old Will Klein watches over them.

“I am the shepherd,” Klein said. “I go up and bow in front of baby jesus.”

Klein bows during the live recreation of the nativity at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Bethlehem Revisited continues tonight and Monday night, opening at 5 p.m. and running until 8 p.m.

Reach Kat Sorensen at kat.sorensen@peninsulaclarion.com

Will Klein cares for his sheep during Bethlehem Revisited at the College Heights Baptist Church in Soldotna. The event invites guests to travel through the streets of a recreated Bethlehem, complete with shekels, soldiers, merchants and a few fires to keep visitors warm. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)