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Over 300 nativity scenes on display at downtown Toledo church

St. Paul's Lutheran Church on Erie St. is welcoming visitors through December 18 for their Nativity Festival.

TOLEDO, Ohio — One local church is working to make sure people remember the story of the first Christmas at their Nativity Festival.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, on Erie St. in downtown Toledo, will have hundreds of nativity scenes on display starting on Sunday November 25 and lasting through December 18.

For the past few years, members of St. Paul’s have loaned the church nativity scenes from all over the world for the festival. 

Over 300 nativity scenes (or crèches), made from an assortment of materials and in many different styles, from realistic to abstract, are spread throughout four floors of the church.

There is also a large display of Christmas trees.

Hundreds of people are expected to visit the display, something the church says people are hungering for.

"I think that people want to see good things and feel good about things and I think this makes people feel good and so I think that's why they come,” said Becky Abiua, a member of St. Paul’s. It's a way to share the Christmas spirit. It's just something, a gift we can do for the community."

The three-week festival begins on Sunday with a concert by the Asteria String Quartet at 4 p.m.

The festival is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 4 – 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 12 – 4 p.m.

On Friday December 2, 9, and 16 there will be live painting and music from 4 – 7 p.m.

The festival is free but the church is accepting offerings. There is also free parking and the festival is handicap accessible.

Click here for more information about the festival.

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