‘Living Bethlehem’ and Christmas market open just this week in American Fork
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- Performers acting as Joseph and Mary hold their baby, representing baby Jesus, during the “Living Bethlehem” live nativity on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
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- A family asks questions about hand-carved nativity sets being sold at the Christmas makers market at the American Fork Amphitheater on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
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- Children and their parents climb into Santa’s sleigh to take a photo at the Christmas makers market at the American Fork Amphitheater on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
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- People walk around the American Fork Amphitheater and park on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, to see its transformation into a Christmas makers market and “Living Bethlehem.”
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- A hand-carved nativity made of olive wood in Bethlehem is displayed for sale Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, at the Christmas makers market at the American Fork Amphitheater.
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- A choir acting as angels sings during the opening-night performance of “Living Bethlehem,” a live nativity, at the American Fork Amphitheater on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
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- A man and a child look inside a tent full of handmade jewelry and clothing being sold at the Christmas makers market at the American Fork Amphitheater on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
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- A man acting as the angel Gabriel appears to a family of shepherds to tell them about Jesus Christ’s birth in a manger in Bethlehem, during a performance of “Living Bethlehem,” a live nativity, at the American Fork Amphitheater on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
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- A hand-carved nativity made of olive wood in Bethlehem is displayed for sale Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, at the Christmas makers market at the American Fork Amphitheater.
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- An audience watches the “Living Bethlehem” live nativity at the American Fork Amphitheater on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
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- People walk around the Christmas makers market at the American Fork Amphitheater on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, to see the work of local artists and craftsmen for sale.
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- A hand-carved nativity made of olive wood in Bethlehem is displayed for sale Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, at the Christmas makers market at the American Fork Amphitheater.
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- Two performers, acting as saleswomen in the town of Bethlehem, converse during a performance of “Living Bethlehem,” a live nativity, at the American Fork Amphitheater on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
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- Actors portray a family of shepherds who were just told by an angel of Jesus Christ’s birth in a manger in Bethlehem during a performance of “Living Bethlehem,” a live nativity, at the American Fork Amphitheater on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
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- A man acts as a shepherd praying to God about his late wife during a performance of “Living Bethlehem” on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, at the American Fork Amphitheater.
White-peaked tents strung with bright lights sparkle in the night sky as people bustle around a Christmas market admiring the work of local artisans and craftsmen and the smell of warm treats like churros and kettle corn fills the festive market air. Warm light from inside the tents invites newcomers to see what the artists have created. Families and lovers laugh with one another as their cheeks turn rosy from the cold air. Children wait excitedly in line to sit in Santa’s sleigh as he greets each child and asks their wishes for this holiday season.
Across the way, in the little town of Bethlehem, shepherds gather round as the baby Jesus is born by his mother, Mary. Amongst all that is happening, Christmas music can be heard playing softly and a choir of angels sings.
Through Saturday, the American Fork Amphitheater in Quail Cove Park, 851 E. 700 North, will be transformed into a “Living Bethlehem” by the Harrington Center for the Arts. The rest of the park will be transformed in the style of the famous Christmas market held in Germany each holiday season.
“I hope that people are able to feel the true magic of the season,” said Summerisa Bell Stevens, president of Harrington Center for the Arts. “I hope that they step into our makers market or ‘Living Bethlehem’ and they are able to leave behind their cares and their worries, their stress, any heartache that they’re going through right now, and that they’re able to find joy and excitement and feel magic just by being here.”
Tickets for the “Living Bethlehem,” featuring a 20-minute immersive theatrical experience, are free but must be reserved beforehand — if you can get them. The event’s 4,000 tickets sold out in four days, but there will be a standby line. There are 12 shows each night, the first show starting at 4:40 p.m. and the last show starting at 8:40 p.m.
Other activities, including the market and visits with Santa Claus, do not require a reservation. The event is held from 4-9 p.m. on weeknights and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. Santa will sit in his 13-foot sleigh from 4-9 p.m. daily and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, surrounded by Christmas trees and waiting to hear children’s wishes and give them each a candy cane.
The site’s transformation into the town of Bethlehem features real structures creating a cityscape across the stairs of the amphitheater, live animals to depict the scene of Christ being born in a manger and a choir to sing praises as baby Jesus is born.
The 55 audience members during each performance will follow a family of shepherds, a widowed father and his four children as they are told by an angel of Jesus’ birth and they begin their journey to find the Christ child. The audience will walk with the shepherds through the streets of Bethlehem, not interacting with the performers but seeing up close a tale of the nativity, told through the perspective of the shepherds.
The “Living Bethlehem” performance is based on scriptural accounts of Christ’s birth, but the family of shepherds is a fictional family. “We wanted people to relate to the shepherd because the angel appears to the poorest, the most humble, and that can be an experience for any of us no matter where we are,” Stevens said, explaining their reasoning behind having the production follow the experience of the shepherds.
When the shepherds finally find where baby Jesus is laying, they proclaim to the audience that the son of God has been born. They speak to the audience as if they are the people in Bethlehem in the time of old, hearing the news of Jesus Christ for the first time and being invited to come and see the baby who is their savior.
The Harrington Center for the Arts focuses on supporting and highlighting local artists of Utah County. This is being done through the performance of the “Living Bethlehem” and through the 24 local artisans and craftsmen who each have their own tent within the makers market to sell handmade jewelry and bows, original paintings and prints, food and drinks, and other handmade or hand-carved works of art.
One of the vendors is Jimmy, the owner of an olive wood shop in Jerusalem for over 40 years. The conflict in Israel has caused his number of customers to drop from the usual 60-70 tour groups worth of customers to zero over the past three months.
In his shop, he sells hand-carved nativity sets made of olive wood. But due to the lack of business, Jimmy and some of his family flew to Utah from Jerusalem on Monday to participate in the Christmas makers market and sell the nativities. They will be in the U.S. for a few weeks before going back to their home.
On Monday night, his son, Majd, and son-in-law, Bassem, ran the tent. Jimmy has a team of carvers who work in Bethlehem to create the intricate, unique nativity carvings that are “Made in Bethlehem, Sold in Jerusalem,” a sign in his tent says.
Each of the vendors paid a small fee to be there, but they will keep all of their proceeds. Stevens described the makers market as looking like a “Hallmark Christmas village.”
“The goal is to come here and get a super unique present for a family member (or) for a friend and also experience seeing Santa and this ‘Living Bethlehem.’ It really is kind of this one stop that you can spend with your family and have an incredible, powerful experience that’s so much fun,” Stevens said.
In a press release about the event, Stevens stated, “We are so excited to bring a new Christmas tradition to our community! We have an army of painters, carpenters, actors, singers, and designers bringing an authentic version of Bethlehem and our Christmas village to life.”
It was two years ago that the Harrington Center for the Arts began exploring the idea of doing an immersive, theatrical production of the nativity and a makers market that supported local artists right before Christmas, Stevens said.
“We really wanted to tell the greatest story that’s ever been told in a different way, with a fresh perspective and something that made it feel like people were actually there that night, and that it wasn’t something that just happened thousands of years ago, that it was something that they were present for, and just make it seem more relatable,” she said.
Stevens added she hopes this is just the first of many nativity productions and Christmas markets each holiday season in American Fork. “We would love to do this every year for our community and make it a new family tradition,” she said. “First-year events are always a lot more work, and we’re just so happy with how it’s turned out. We have had truly hundreds of volunteers and artists and craftsmen and woodworkers and set designers and costumers who have come together to create this immersive experience.”
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