Located in southern Logan County, the community of Adairville will be the site of a drive-thru live Nativity scene that will feature camels, donkeys, sheep and shepherds from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday.

Adairville Mayor Donna Blake said the project is a source of positivity and hope for the community.

“It’s especially important this year,” Blake said. “People are having such a rough time getting into the Christmas spirit due to everything going on, and this is something that people will look forward to seeing.”

The idea of the Nativity scene was made in conjunction with Blake and restaurant owner Deborah Hersch of Ariella Bistro & Bar in Russellville.

Hersch said she had heard that Adairville was a small, impoverished community filled with kind and religious people.

With an estimated population of about 800 people, seven churches can be found in Adairville.

However, to the dismay of Blake, there is no grocery store.

The absence of such a store is what first caught Hersch’s attention as she is currently building a market called Bountiful Blessings, which will also function as a restaurant and deli.

Scheduled to open in the summer of 2021, all proceeds from the market will go back into the community.

The idea of the Nativity scene then came about as another way to possibly bring some extra life into the small town.

The drive-thru is free for the public, but donations will be welcomed via a coin drop made available by the local volunteer fire department, which will be directing traffic.

This is the second year for the live Nativity scene. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s scene was changed to a drive-thru event.

Animals for the scene are being brought in from French Lick, Ind., as the volunteer fire department is funding all expenses. Any money donated through coin drops at the scene will go to the department.

“I want to give full credit for this to the volunteer fire department,” Hersch said. “They are the everyday heroes who aren’t getting paid. They deserve the credit for providing such a positive scene to the community.”

The drive-thru Nativity scene will be near park square in downtown Adairville on Church Street.

For Hersch, the event is an opportunity for people throughout southcentral Kentucky to see the positivity that still lives in the small town.

“The citizens here have all been so nice to me,” Hersch said. “I see great value in this town and its people.”

– Follow reporter John Reecer on Twitter @JReecerBGDN or visit bgdailynews.com.