While Christmas is still more than a month away, the Greater Brewton Area Chamber of Commerce is now planning the 2013 Christmas Parade.

The parade will be held Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. with a rescheduled date of Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. if the parade is cancelled due to inclement weather.

The parade will line up in East Brewton on Shoffner Street. It will travel down Forrest Avenue, over the bridge on Mildred Street, to the main intersection at the railroad tracks. It will turn onto St. Joseph Street to Belleville Avenue and will disband on side streets of McLellan, Rankin and Granberry.

Crane said this year’s parade will not have a particular theme although the theme chosen most pertain to Christmas.

“The Chamber Board of Directors has set up the following guidelines,” Judy Crane, Executive Director of the Greater Brewton Area Chamber of Commerce said. “Each entry must be decorated in accordance with the theme of the parade and must be appropriate for children. Each entry must have a walker on both side of the float. Candy must be thrown away from floats and onto the sidewalk for safety reasons. A float can be towed or put on a flat bed truck. The Chamber will have the only Santa in the parade. Each entry must register with the Chamber before entering the parade and a release form must be signed before an entry is allowed in the parade.”

First place will be $200, second place $100 and third place $50. The entry fee is $30 per entry for those competing for prize money and $20 per entry for businesses. The entry fee will be $10 for individuals, clubs and etc.

There will be no charge for Chamber members, school related or city funded entries unless they are competing for prize money then the $30 entry fee will apply.

Judging criteria will be judged on difficulty, imagination and uniqueness, attention to detail, recognition of theme, costuming and overall appearance. Bonus points will be added for use of electricity (battery powered or generator), handmade decorations, handmade costumes and moving parts on the float.

“The Brewton/East Brewton Christmas Parade can only be a success if you take part,” Crane said. “Each year several thousand people line the streets to enjoy the parade. Let’s all join together to make this the best Christmas parade our community has even had while providing a safe, family-oriented experience.”

All floats must be in place by 12:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon the day of the parade to be judged. Those participating will be notified later exactly where they are to line up.

Please contact the Chamber of Commerce office at (251) 867-3224 or by fax at 809-1793 for more information.

Please return forms to: Chamber of Commerce, 1010-B Douglas Avenue, Brewton, AL, 36426.

As of press time, only a few forms had been turned in to be in the 2013 parade. The deadline to turn in forms to be in the parade is set for Friday, Nov. 15.