By PHOEBE DONALD ROBINSON / Community Columnist

One of Shelby County’s treasures is beautiful Lay Lake that also borders Talladega, Chilton, Coosa and St. Clair counties.

One of the most active communities on the lake is Shelby Shores (SS), which is gearing up for the 21st Annual Lay Lake Christmas Parade on Saturday, Dec. 12, sponsored by Lay Lake HOBO and South Shelby Chamber.

Since 1994, boats decorated with colored lights and blaring Christmas music have paraded down Lay Lake, usually the second Saturday in December.

The boat parade will start at 5 p.m. at Beeswax Boat Launch and follow the Lay Lake Marine Patrol down the lake to Paradise Point (5:30 p.m.); Sunset Marina at Cedar Creek (6:30 p.m.); Okomo Marina (7 p.m.); and end at Bozo’s (7:35 p.m.); all times approximate.

SS has an active community center where members keep up their community center, hold pot luck dinners, hold crafty diva classes on Tuesday, help clean up Lay Lake and much more.

They have a closed Facebook site for community members led by Sherry Hammer Ammons who keeps up with the news for the close-knit community.

The FB page is not affiliated with the SS Community Association or board of directors, but just an information page for the benefit of the community.

Recently SS took part in the “Cast an Impact, Lay Lake Clean Up,” sponsored by the Coosa Riverkeeper, UAB School of Public Health and Lay Lake HOBO on Nov. 14.

Over 62 volunteers, many from SS, cleaned up 580 pounds of trash out of the lake and were treated to lunch donated by J.R.’s Sports Bar and Grill and Rojo Birmingham.

The SS Book Club Annual Christmas Meeting and Cookie Swap had its Dec. 7 at the SS Community Center.

The book club started in 2008 is open to the community to read and have fun once a month.

On Saturday, Dec. 5, the SS Community Association had its annual meeting and Christmas Pot Luck Brunch selling cookbooks of recipes of the community’s great cooks.

The SS Cookbook is available at Busy Hands and Framing in Columbiana for $12 each.

All proceeds go to the community building’s upkeep and improvements.