The Whole Parent is sponsoring a family-friendly event for the community next week.

The free event will be Thursday, Dec. 3 from 5-7 p.m. at the Dallas County Family Resource Center and will include book giveaways, games and family portraits.

“It’s a family-fun event,” said Tammy Lee, program manager for The Whole Parent. “There’s going to be a children’s game event, interactive display, food, drinks, popcorn.”

David Blackmon Photography will take family portraits. Each family will receive a free 8X10 print.

Selma Fire Department’s Sparky the Fire Dog will also be in attendance.

Alabama Public Television and the Family Guidance Center will be giving away free books to children, and Sarrell Dental will be sharing information on dental hygiene.

“It’s just going to be a lot of fun for families and a lot of things for children to do,” Lee said. “I’ve been planning it for months and months now, and I can’t wait for it to get here.”

Lee said she came up with the idea for the program as a way to bring the community together and give the children an opportunity to have fun with other children and their families.

“The Whole Parent is a program that is funded by the Children’s Trust Fund, and the idea is to reduce the incidents of child abuse and neglect by giving parenting education and so I thought that it would be a good idea to bring the families together to help educate parents,” Lee said.

“I decided that this event would be good because the community just needed some family fun things to do.”

Family portraits will be taken on the day of the event, and prints can be picked up at a later time.

For more information, contact Lee at 874-7785.