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<p>FORTY FORT &#8212; To emphasize the meaning of Christmas, three local churches combined to hold the 11th annual &#8220;No Room at the Inn&#8221; holiday display this weekend at the Forty Fort Presbyterian Church.</p><p>Members of the Forty Fort Presbyterian Church, the Huntsville Christian Church in Dallas and the Nebo Baptist Church in Nanticoke have worked together for the last several years to put on the event. It originated with the Dallas congregation and was moved to the Forty Fort church four years ago, organizer Vicky Bilby said.</p><p>Visitors enjoyed an impressive display of over 400 Nativity sets on Friday and Saturday nights. The event continues from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. More than 300 people are expected to attend over the three days.</p><p>Visitors to the free event can also peruse items in a &#8220;holiday shop,&#8221; purchase raffles tickets for 12 donated gift baskets and enjoy homemade baked goods.</p><p>Bilby is one of 15 volunteers from the three churches who help run the event each year. She said they all share the primary objective of reminding visitors of the &#8220;true meaning of Christmas.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I get so discouraged going to the department stores and seeing how their focus is less and less on the real meaning Christmas,&#8221; Bilby said. &#8220;We want to remind people of what Christmas is really about. Without the nativity, there is no Christmas.&#8221;</p><p>The eclectic assortment of sets are brought in from about 20 different countries, including Bolivia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Italy, Colombia, Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands. Each one is uniquely made using various design techniques, Bilby said.</p><p>Some are hand-carved from different types of wood, some made of ceramic, crystal, stained glass or metal. There are Nativity scenes that include characters from &#8220;Veggie Tales&#8221; or &#8220;Snowbabies.&#8221;</p><p>One was constructed by students from Penn State University, another was from the Danbury Mint and yet another from Reynolds Aluminum. There are nativity scenes from several brand names, including Boyd&#8217;s Bears, Gorham Crystal, Precious Moments and Hand Painted Ornament.</p><p>Others Nativity scenes are needle-point sewn or use fiber optics. Some are brightly colored, others colorless. There are also samples of mass merchandised Nativity scenes by the Avon company or Playskool children&#8217;s toy company.</p><p>The event is a fundraiser with all donations going to the Salvation Army Kirby Family House in Wilkes-Barre. The Kirby Family House is the only homeless shelter in Northeastern Pennsylvania that accepts entire families, Bilby said. Last year&#8217;s event raised about $1,500, she added.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Visitors to Forty Fort Presbyterian Church in Forty Fort on Saturday look at nativity displays during the church's &quot;No Room at the Inn&quot; exhibition. (Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nativity02.jpg</photo0><caption0>Visitors to Forty Fort Presbyterian Church in Forty Fort on Saturday look at nativity displays during the church's &quot;No Room at the Inn&quot; exhibition. (Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nativity01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Friends Sarah Gallagher, 9, of Exeter, left, Aaralynn Mbaye, 9, of Plains Township, Alexis Romanowski, 9, of Exeter, and Stephanie Ulitchney, of Dallas inspect the nativity displays during Saturday's &quot;No Room at the Inn&quot; exhibit held at the Forty Fort Presbyterian Church in Forty Fort. (Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nativity01.jpg</photo1><caption1>Friends Sarah Gallagher, 9, of Exeter, left, Aaralynn Mbaye, 9, of Plains Township, Alexis Romanowski, 9, of Exeter, and Stephanie Ulitchney, of Dallas inspect the nativity displays during Saturday's &quot;No Room at the Inn&quot; exhibit held at the Forty Fort Presbyterian Church in Forty Fort. (Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader)</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ralph Nardone</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

“No Room at the Inn” event held at Forty Fort church