BANGOR – The theme of the ninth annual Creche Exhibit at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Grandview Avenue and Essex Street, today and this weekend is “The Reason for the Season.”

The hours are noon-8 p.m. today; 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; noon-8 p.m. Sunday; and noon-8 p.m. Monday.

The event is free and open to the public as the church’s gift to the community, according to Bob Fletcher of Fairfield.

“It’s a celebration of Christ,” Fletcher said of the exhibit. The creches from countries around the world are privately owned and on loan from people of several denominations in the Bangor area and throughout Maine.

In past years, the exhibit has drawn some 2,500 people to view more than 500 creches, he said.

One of the highlights of the exhibit this year is a collection of prints of paintings depicting the life of Christ owned by various LDS churches. A gallery of drawings by the church’s children, ages 4 to 12, that show the first Christmas as they imagined it also will be on display.

Another feature of the exhibits will be creches made up of real people as they re-enact the occasion of the Christ child’s birth.