Set for Good Friday Christ's walk to Calvary to be re-enacted for seventh year in Georgetown

Members of three local churches will be suiting up on Good Friday to re-enact Christ's walk to Calvary where he was crucified. The procession, now in its seventh year, is organized by Maple Avenue Baptist Church and Georgetown Alliance Church, as well as members of other local churches. The march will begin at Main and James Streets at 1 p.m. and will end at 1:45 p.m. at Maple Ave. Baptist Church (Maple Avenue and Guelph Street) where a reenactment of the crucifixion is portrayed. Members of the churches will wear costumes to depict the walk that Christ took through the streets of Jerusalem before his crucifixion. A bloody and beaten figure of Christ, played by Jack Harlow, will be paraded through the streets. The figure of Christ will be accompanied by various characters such as Mary, soldiers, and other prisoners, plus horses provided by local stables. "It's a very real re-enactment," said Brenda Gogan, a co-ordinator of the event, adding that the event can be compared to the film, Passion of the Christ. "The figure of Christ is actually nailed to the cross at the end." Working to accommodate the procession for larger groups every year, organizers are hoping to get the entire community involved in the future. "[The event] has grown tremendously," said Gogan. "There are townspeople and visitors who are making this their Good Friday tradition. We hope that years down the road it will become a community event (and) that all of Georgetown's churches will become involved." The annual success of the Georgetown procession has inspired surrounding churches to provide a glimpse of the agony Christ endured in their own communities. "We've had seven years to perfect the event, to iron everything out," said Gogan. "We've had two spinoffs by churches from Caledon and Peterborough." The event has also been covered in past years by both CBC and CTV. For more information on the event, call 905-873-0249 or 905-873-9211.