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Selma is gearing up for a festive weekend as the annual Selma Parade kicks off on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m.  This year’s parade theme is “A Royal Christmas in the City of Lights”. The parade lineup begins at noon, with the procession entering Chestnut St. and Washington.  

Danielle Wooten, director of planning and development in Selma, says there’s plenty of activities for the whole family.

“There’s going to be food trucks and different Christmas vendors,” Wooten said. “The Coffee Shoppe is staying open late and Morgan choir will be performing in front of city hall.”

Wooten added that the event will also host pictures with Santa and include an appearance from Selma’s own Ms. Tuskegee, Brianna Miles, and her court. During this time, there will also be a band showcase featuring Selma High School and the Tuskegee University band.  The grand finale of the celebration will be the lighting of the tree at City Hall.

The holiday fun will carry over into Sunday with Santa’s village beginning at 3 p.m. at Riverfront Park on Water Avenue . This event will also include food trucks and vendors, as well as ice skating for $10 per person. 

The Grinch station will be set up for the little ones, providing games and face painting. Special guest Operation Ornaments, a nonprofit that provides Christmas ornaments for victims of natural disasters, will be on site as well. 

At 4 p.m. crowds can gather for the bridge tree lighting alongside musical performances from the RB Hudson, Meadowview and Selma High School choir. 

At 6 p.m. the third annual “Rockin on the River” Christmas boat parade will begin with a theme of “Christmas movies on the Alabama”. For this year’s boat parade, the city has partnered with the charity league and the event is sponsored by Brech Marine in Selma.  

To conclude the weekend’s celebrations, the City of Selma promises a dazzling firework show which will commence immediately following the boat parade. 

During the festivities, Wooten encourages participants to also join the City’s Christmas Selfie Scavenger hunt. Participants will hunt for and take photos with specific items around town and post them to Facebook with provided hashtags. The first participant to complete all the tasks wins a prize.