By RYAN CHRISTNER

rchristner@dailynews.net

As Christians around the world make plans for special Easter Sunday activities this weekend, residents of the small town of Alton and surrounding communities are preparing for their own celebration.

Taking place at 6:30 a.m. Sunday at the Alton bluffs just south of town, the annual sunrise service offers a chance for residents to come together in observance of the holiday while being entertained with a pageant that depicts Jesus' resurrection.

A free breakfast at the Alton United Methodist Church follows the activity.

Now in its 60th year, the service has become a "pretty big" event, said Larry Bales, an Alton resident and co-director of this year's pageant.

"It's rare that anything like this would last this long," he said, "especially in a town of 100 people."

Bales said he remembered being honored as a child to be able to participate in the pageant.

In high school, Bales was asked to assume the role of Jesus, a part he played for nearly 20 years.

"That's the ultimate position to be able to have," he said. "It's pretty big shoes to fill."

While filling a different role as director, Bales said a lot of the supporting cast and crew are the same people he remembers working alongside when he was younger.

"We've all done it so much, we have a good idea what's going on," he said.

Of course, the pageant also is supported by area churches, like the Alton and Woodston United Methodist churches and the Mount Ayr Friends Church.

Bales said the 40-minute service will feature opening and closing prayers by church pastors, but the majority of time is devoted to the theatrical production.

"I guess they figure the pageant itself is message enough," he said.

While also recreating moments of Jesus' birth and life, the focus of the Easter spectacle will be his death and resurrection. Taking advantage of the morning sunrise, Jesus' crucifixion is represented in dramatic fashion with no sound accompanying the scene.

"That's kind of a particularly touching part of the play," Bales said.

With a 70-percent chance of rain projected for Sunday, the best event organizers can do is hope the precipitation won't force them to cancel.

"It would be just about our luck to have (rain) on Easter morning," Bales said.