SCOTCH GROVE -- On the afternoons of Dec. 6 and 7, wealthy women were gossiping at the entrance, learning to make room for a poor woman to join the conversation.
Merchants vied for buyers' attention at the market. The tax collector glared menacingly at passersby. Goats, donkeys and an occasional camel lounged around, letting the children pet them as their parents attended to business.
And in the middle of daily business, one event unfolds -- a story that continues to be told thousands of years after it happened.
Welcome to Bethlehem, an unofficial pop-up city that appears one weekend every year at The Bean Farm in rural Scotch Grove.
For the last 10 years, this Bethlehem has existed to tell the story of the original Bethlehem. But unlike most Nativity scenes, this one is far from passive.
"We wanted to employ all the senses. Not just visual, but a sense of touch and smell," said Doug Bean, who founded the immersive event with his wife, Julia, in 2014. "We tried to incorporate that as much as we could."
What started as a novel fundraiser for their church's youth group, with about 20 volunteers, has since taken on a life of its own. Over the last decade, the event has grown to about 100 volunteers who spend weeks planning the event for multiple performances over a December weekend.
And in the rural Jones County community with the population of about 300, the annual event draws crowds of about 1,000 to 1,500 in the course of two days. The reach has gone beyond denominational lines, too -- both volunteers and attendees hail from many different faiths, all coming together to tell and hear the story of Jesus' birth.
"What we do is recreate what the streets of Bethlehem would've been like back in the era," said Julia. "It really does make things like the Scriptures come alive."
At the market's entrance, attendees are given a gold coin to use at their discretion.
A spice merchant hawks things like Hyssam. Branches of the ancient herb were used, at the instruction of Moses, to anoint doorposts with sacrificial blood for protection during Passover. Later, Hyssam branches were uses to deliver vinegar to Jesus' mouth as he was crucified.
Breads, fruits and nuts of the era are shown at another stand, where an old widow makes bread to earn money for her two children and teaches guests the process.
Scribes can write your name in Greek. Families are instructed to register for the census. Children can learn how to make toys or tools out of clay.
But it's perhaps wiser to use your precious resources to pay the tax collector. Those caught not having paid their taxes are jailed by soldiers in Roman garb -- no exceptions.
"It adds realism to a story that otherwise might (seem like) a fictional story," said Doug. "Now we have something that becomes true to life."
After experiencing the excitement of daily life with actors in character, shoppers are ushered to the main stage resembling a manger, with hay. There, they learn the Christmas story in detail with songs and characters walking the aisles to take their place in the scene.
Among them is Joseph ushering Mary through the crowd, asking attendees if they "have room" for them.
"People have been stricken when Joseph stops to ask them for room," Doug said. "We talk about how we don't have room for faith in our own hearts. You just see people switch -- it switches the mood."
When the modern listener hears about frankincense and myrrh, there's little context to know what it is or why it's significant. Seeing it at the market and learning from the merchant puts things in perspective, no matter one's point of view in the world of faith.
"They can hold it ... and put it in their imagination that this is the same time in history when this man (Jesus) walked the earth," Doug said.
The elaborate event, complete with costumes and sets that have evolved over the years, was researched by the couple as Doug studied to be a deacon in his church.
Today, donations from visitors benefit charity. This year's beneficiary was Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which provides beds for children in need -- perhaps an apt choice in telling a story where one child in question had no bed to sleep on.
The Nativity scene has always been an exceptional amount of work. As the Beans started the youth fundraiser in 2014, their view on how to cherish Christmas was evolving.
"At the time, we were going through a tough Christmas due to the loss of family members -- a mother and brother -- at the same time," Julie said. "It didn't seem quite the same."
Ideas flourished over dinners with friends. In this Bethlehem, what started as a cold tent the first year grew into a heated barn on the Bean family's property. Today, merchants and performance spaces inside are spread out over 7,500 square feet, including an area that is a converted cattle shed.
Today, it's a welcoming space for all to learn and celebrate.
"We decided as we've aged that the material stuff becomes less appealing. This time with each other is really where it's at," Julia said. "It's a grounding space for people to be in their natural state and just gather together and form some connections."
The event's cancellation in 2020 due to the pandemic was when they realized the work was worth continuing each year. That year, people were disappointed it wasn't happening.
"That's when it hit me that this is something that had legs of its own," Doug said. "It was no longer just us putting out this product, but this really became a true ministry for me."
Here, children have asked questions about God, people with checkered pasts have found an entry point to faith, and the faithful learn that some of the best spiritual growth comes from being around others who aren't like them.
No matter how many times the Christmas story is told, Doug said it's as relevant as ever.
"It might give us pause to think more, and help us help each other, because we're not immortal on this earth," Julia said. "We take it as our mission -- we've got to help each other."