From staff and press reports

The town of Ackerman will host the annual Christmas Parade on Thursday, December 2, at 6 p.m.

The theme for this year's event is "Songs of Christmas." The deadline for submitting entries in the parade is Monday, November 22. Entry forms may be picked up, mailed, or faxed from the Ackerman Town Hall.

The parade route will begin at Ackerman High School and will travel west down Main Street, continue through the two 4-way stops, to the intersection of Highway 15. The parade route will turn right on Highway 15, travel north to Cherry Street, take a right, and continue to the Baptist Church. Children may be picked up from floats at the Baptist Church or continue to the end of the route at Ackerman High School.

The parade will have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place religious float winners; 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place non-religious float winners; Best Decorated Vehicle - 1 winner, and "Other Miscellaneous" entries - 1 winner. Entries will by judged on originality, craftsmanship, costumes (if appropriate), external appearance and style, and keeping with the theme. All vehicles must be decorated. The ONLY Santa Claus to appear in the parade will be on the last entry - the OFFICIAL SANTA CLAUS FLOAT. For safety reasons, there will be no throwing of candy from a vehicle or float.

Transportation will not be provided for individuals riding in more than one entry. All entries will be places in the parade as determined by those in charge of line-up with no exceptions to this policy. Late entries will be automatically placed at the rear of the line-up. Santa Claus will be at the Holiday Open House at the Choctaw County Library from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on parade day. Moms are invited to bring your cameras and take a picture of your child with Santa.

For information on food booths, contact Patty Draper or Julie Hughes at the Extension Office (662-285-6337). Forms are available for parade entries at the Town Hall. For more information on the parade, please contact the Ackerman Town Hall at (662) 285-6251.