Nativity tradition lives on, finding fans new and old

It was just a touch above freezing when baby Jesus was exiting the stage last night, but Savannah Wood didn't care. The 6-year-old from Ashland was calling for more.

Like the star of the 77th annual Richmond Community Nativity Pageant, Savannah was swaddled up herself. In a heavy layer of blankets, with her head safely tucked into a pink knit cap, the first-grader was sporting a mile-wide smile and singing along during the show at the Carillon in Byrd Park.

While Jesus has been part of the pageant since the 1920s, the half-hour show with a cast of about 300 was Savannah's first.

Savannah played her role of spectator with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of someone getting her first taste of a magical experience.

"Oh yeah," she said when asked if she'd enjoyed the show.

The whole thing had her revved up and ready to go -- even in a crowd and under the din of the amplified extravagance unfolding in front of her, Savannah's voice stood out during the singing -- and she hadn't even gotten around to the hot chocolate that was coming next.

A couple of cousins away -- Austin, 5, and Dylan, 7, rounded out the line -- 10-year-old Alexis Montgomery was just as happy during her first experience with a show that has long been a tradition in Richmond.

"It was magic," she said.

If not the highlight of the holiday season, she said as her brothers rumbled around behind her, it was definitely near the top of the list.

The kids were along with their grandparents, Keith and Miriam Montgomery and Melissa and William Welsh.

The outing was William's idea, though the Montgomerys never pass up a chance to return to the scene of their wedding.

"It's just a holiday tradition," Welsh said.

A little removed from the crowd -- or better-positioned than most, as they said -- David and Becky Price were taking in the show, too.

The couple made the hour-and-fifteen-minute commute from Dunnsville in Essex County because it's the thing they do this time of year, David Price said.

They've come to the show as a couple for seven years. David, a Mechanicsville native, has celebrated Christmas with the show for the better part of 40 years.

"I've been coming since I was a kid," the 48-year-old said a few minutes before the show began.

He applauded the creative types for keeping the show fresh all these years.

"They change the scenery," he said. "That keeps it exciting."

The pageant, self-styled as "probably the oldest public Christmas tradition in Richmond," attracted a crowd of several thousand orderly, wellbehaved people on a crisp night.
Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or .