Commerce will kick off its Christmas season this weekend with a host of events Friday and Saturday followed by the annual Christmas parade Sunday afternoon.
Friday night will feature Commerce by Candlelight from 5 to 9, with candlelit sidewalks, carolers, a live nativity scene, horse-drawn carriage rides, refreshments in Spencer Park, door prizes and photos with Santa.
Adult shoppers can pick up a “passport” at the Downtown Development Authority office at 1645 South Elm Street to qualify for door prizes.
Shoppers will present the passport for verification by participating merchants and return it (with name, address and phone number filled out) to the DDA office, which will notify prize winners.
Saturday will feature Hometown Holidays.
The Four Seasons Garden Club will present “Juice and a Donut with Santa” from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Commerce Civic Center.
The club will offer pictures with Santa for $5 and a donut and a drink for $2.
At the same time, also in the civic center, the Secret Santa Workshop children’s shopping event will take place.
Members of the Pilot Club of Commerce and Jackson Creative will assist children ages 5-12 in buying gifts from a large assortment of merchandise provided by local businesses. All gifts will be under $10. There will also be assistance with gift-wrapping.
That afternoon, the Commerce Public Library will present a free showing of “A Muppet Christmas” at 2 p.m.
Santa will make his official entry into town on Sunday as the annual Christmas Parade provides the highlight of the weekend. Mayor Charles L. Hardy Jr. will be honored as the grand marshal in recognition of his 22 years of service as mayor.
The parade, which had 55 units signed up as of Monday afternoon, will start at 3 p.m. at Commerce High School. It will progress up Jefferson Road to Elm Street and south to the county-owned shopping center on South Elm Street at Lanier Technical College. Both the Commerce High School and the East Jackson Comprehensive High School bands will participate.
The parade theme is “Winter Wonderland.” The Downtown Development Authority will offer prizes of $300, $200 and $100 for the first, second and third-place floats respectively.
