The smell of cinnamon apple permeated the air as artists and visitors alike strolled into the Selma Art Guild Saturday for the Christmas Art Fair.

A lit fireplace greeted visitors — some of which came all the way from Montgomery — into a house lined with various forms of locally made art while Christmas music played in the background.

Christmas is still roughly three weeks away, but it smelled, sounded and looked just like Christmas in the Selma Art Guild Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a nice way to kick off the holiday season,” said Selma Art Guild executive director Jo Pate.

On one wall of the main room of the Selma Art Guild sat rows of pillows with pictures of dogs and cats embroidered into the fabric. Laura Grossman said she started making pillow pets just a year ago as a way to live out one of her passions.

“Dogs are my passion. We have five dogs,” Grossman said. “One day I just sat down and was putting fabric together and making shapes and before I knew it I had dogs.”

Grossman said she enjoys all the classes the Art Guild has to offer, from basket-weaving to glass fusion as well as others. She said some of the best local artists still take classes at the Art Guild.

Grossman, like other artists who attended the Christmas Art Fair, is grateful that the community has a place in Selma to share its love for art and its desire to continue to perfect each of their unique crafts.

“It’s a place for people to exhibit their art, to show their art and to learn more about art,” Grossman said.

Karen Weir was also in attendance at the Christmas Art Fair to show off her watercolor architecture art. Weir shares a commonality with many artists in Selma in that the historic buildings give her inspiration to create some of her art.

“It’s really pretty dramatic when you go to some small towns to have that quality of that architecture that we have,” Weir said.

While the art on display was also on sale for any artists who were interested in buying the art, Pate said the Christmas Art Fair is much more than people buying and selling art.

“You celebrate with people that you like, it’s not particularly commercial and we have good food,” Pate said.