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By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

CALERA – The city of Calera is already underway with their preparations for the city’s annual Christmas parade.

The time-honored tradition loved by local residents will be making its triumphant annual return on Saturday, Dec. 2 and will feature the theme of “Santa’s Workshop”. The annual festivities will get underway at 6 p.m., but attendants are being encouraged to arrive early, in order to find good positions along the parade route.

The event’s starting position will begin on Highway 31 by the Calera Community Center next to Calera Intermediate School and travel northbound toward Calera City Hall. In year’s past, the National Guard Armory has served as the endpoint of the city’s Christmas march.

Past years of the parade have seen crowds line up along the route and number in the thousands. It is expected that attendance this year will follow that same trend in turnout and, if other events held in Calera this year are indicative, turnout may potentially exceed past numbers.

The parade will take place in the historic downtown district and is centered around City Hall. As with every year, participants in the parade are expected to include city council members, youth football teams, the Calera High School Band, athletes, cheerleaders and representatives from other local organizations.

Unlike other municipalities in the area, the Calera Christmas Parade holds the characteristic of beginning late in the evening and truly getting underway after nightfall. It is a slight distinction that creates a large difference and brings attention to the lighting and festive decorations not just on the floats, but also on Main Street itself.

This setting, which has accompanied Calera’s presentation for years, crafts a unique atmosphere in relation to many other local parades which are all mostly held earlier in the afternoon.

“Anyone interested in being in the parade can fill out an online form to be entered into the parade,” said James Fuller, Calera’s director of IT services. “They can also find the link on our Facebook page.”