Greater Brandon Holiday Events Showcase Reason for the Season

The 25th Annual Walk Through Bethlehem at Kings Avenue Baptist Church is just one of a bevy of holiday events to enjoy this weekend in Greater Brandon.

True to the "reason for the season," the annual walk is the church's gift back to the community, with its re-creation in the tropics of the West Bank birthplace of Jesus Christ. (See, .)

It starts after the visitors sign in for the census, then enter the gates of Bethlehem as they're being berated by Roman guards for being "lowly Jews." Each group of guests then proceeds through the makeshift village, stopping along the way to hear from the tax collector, salt makers, bread makers, townspeople, the teacher in the synagogue, the scribe, the metal workers, the carpenters, the cloth dyers, the cloth weavers, the potters, the woman at the well, three wise men bearing gifts and more.

Each year a newly born baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lays in the manger, with Mary and Joseph keeping watch.

"It's  the greatest gift anyone ever gave," said church member David Gallops, in preparation for last year's event. "This is not about any one denomination. We have believers and we have non-believers who come to walk. We have people who say this is their Christmas [ritual] every year."

Remaining dates and times for this year's Walk Through Bethlehem are Dec. 10, from 4-10 p.m., and Dec. 11, from 4-9:30 p.m.

There is no admission price. Kings Avenue Baptist is at 2602 South Kings Ave.

"The Nutcracker" Ballet

• Also on tap are two productions of "The Nutcracker," staged by the Brandon Ballet and the Theatre Arts & Dance Alliance (TADA), at Spoto and Riverview high schools, respectively.
• The Brandon Ballet performances are Dec. 10 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 11 at 2 and 5:30 p.m.
• TADA is on stage Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. (For more, and ticket prices, read,  (Posting includes a don't-miss video of dancer Tyler Dowdy.)

Cornerstone Baptist Drive-Through Live Nativity

• The annual "Road to the Manger" drive-through Nativity scene runs Dec. 9-11 from 6:30-9 p.m., at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brandon, at 818 North Parsons Ave.

"Annie" at the McCabe Theatre

• The Village Players continues its three weekend run of "Annie," at the James McCabe Theater in Valrico. Remaining show dates are Dec. 10 and 16-17 at 8:15 p.m. and Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. (For more, read, and )

Music Showcase's Christmas Festival

• The Christmas Festival runs through 3 p.m. Dec. 10.

Handel's 'Messiah' and the Brandon Choral Society

• The Brandon Choral Society performs its Fourth Annual Handel's 'Messiah,' at Southside Baptist Church, on Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. The cost is $10 and the society includes represenatives from many area churches.