Christmas in the Barn Coming to Memory Lane Farms December 5th and 6th

Thursday, November 13th, 2025 -- 12:00 PM

Experience the wonder of Christmas at Memory Lane Farm’s “Christmas in the Barn” being held Friday, December 5th, from 6–8 PM, and Saturday, December 6th, from 2–7 PM.

I spoke with Beth Zarnke with Memory Lane Farm and she discussed the event in more detail.

Listen to the interview with Beth here!

Once again, the event is being held on Friday, December 5th from 6pm-8pm and Saturday, December 6th from 2pm-7pm. If you’d like to learn more or volunteer for the event, you can do so on their website: https://www.memorylanefarm.org/citb.

(AI assisted transcription via Otter.ai)

Beth: "Christmas in the Barn has been an area favorite and, it turns out, that we just recently learned that we are the only nonprofit non-church live nativity held in a barn in Wisconsin. And so we're pretty excited for that."

"What that means is our farm turns into Bethlehem and the activities that we do have planned, of course, are consistently just favorites of our guests, including petting zoo, blacksmith area, walking through the markets of what Bethlehem would have looked like, smelled like, felt like, including kids crafts and a mercantile."

"But our big highlight is what we call our live nativity, and that is, as people walk in and through the Bethlehem markets, we have a short presentation. And each year it changes, and we just highlight the really, the reason for the season, as you will, and provide opportunity for families and individuals to just soak up the seasons really true meaning."

Riley: "Of course, it's being held on Memory Lane Farm, which is off of Heritage Drive in Marshfield. Could you talk a little bit about the times when that'll be available or when that will be going on Friday and Saturday?"

Beth: "Yes, on Friday, December 5, doors will open, or barn doors will open, at 6pm through 8pm and then again on Saturday, December 6, from 2pm until 7pm."

Riley: "If people are interested in helping out or being involved, are you looking for volunteers?"

Beth: "We absolutely are. This has become such a big favorite of so many in our community, not only do they get to help put on this event, but bring families, because the admission is free and it just brings in so many individuals."

"So on our website, memorylanefarm.org, under the Events page, there is, like, information on the event, and then a button they can click on info, and then it'll give more details, plus an area to volunteer. We have many areas to volunteer."

"We probably have probably 200 slots for different areas and typically each serving area is generally about two and a half hours and anywhere from parking to the welcoming committee to our greeters to our blacksmith and outdoor activity areas, kids crafts, as well as much into the Bethlehem market."

"There's plenty for people to get involved with, in addition to helping with setup, as well as even tear down because we like to close everything down as much as we can that night as the winter kind of comes in quickly, we'd like to be able to just close that down and get everything tucked away for winter."

Riley: "And now for the mercantile, can you talk a little bit about, like, some of the products that will be there, like, what kind of things people can find if they come and check that out?"

Beth: "Yes, absolutely. Our mercantile changes every year, and we intentionally keep it small because we don't want to take away from the real purpose and real meaning of the event. But the mercantile will include things such as maple syrup, Amish candies, baked goods, crafts, ornaments, stickers, woodworking products."

"We have individuals making just scripture pillows, and there will be books and just a whole assortment. And these are all local artisans. They keep 100% of their proceeds, and they volunteer their time back."

"We do not charge anything for that. So, they keep 100%, which is such a beautiful thing, or they make a small donation at the end. So, there are many different ways to help support Memory Lane Farm, and that's just one of them."

Riley: "Is there anything else then? Anything else you'd like to add, you'd like our listeners to know about in regards to Christmas in the Barn."

Beth: "Yes, actually, as I mentioned earlier, this is free to the community. This is not sponsored by any particular church. You don't have to have a specific background to attend. It is free. We do ask in lieu of admission, if anyone is able or wanting to provide a donation."

"Because here at our farm, our mentoring services are typically what we do through the entire year plus our summer camps, we do not charge for any of our services for mentoring, and so any donation just helps provide support to our mentoring program and helps pay for for the care of our animals in our program, of fees that we do have that come out through the year, and so we would just really appreciate it."

"However, we don't want anything to get in the way. We also provide hot chocolate and goodies for kids. So, we just want people to enjoy and take up the whole feeling and experience of what Bethlehem might have been like, and here at the local level, we're just so proud to be the only one at this point that we know of here in Wisconsin. So, this is a big deal, and we invite the entire community, as well as folks from a ways away."

(Flyer courtesy Memory Lane Farm via press release)

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.