Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
As many know, the City of Prattville historic downtown could pass as a hallmark movie. Especially in the “ber” months, or October, November and December. The city, with the Cultural Arts Department spearheading the Hallmark-esk transformation downtown, making little kid’s dreams a reality during the holiday season.
“All of our events are fun for the whole family. We try to put on events that we ourselves would want to attend. But I am really looking forward to Spooky Movie Night. It was such a huge success last year. It’s an excuse to watch a movie, eat some good food, and dress up. We have some local food and commercial vendors coming out with special treats to go with the spooky theme,” Parks and Recreation Manager Maya Steele said.
A schedule highlighting the events for the rest of the year has been put out by the department, highlighting everything from all things spooky to all things Christmas and Santa related.
“I absolutely love Christmas and truly think it is the most wonderful time of the year. One of my favorite City events is our Christmas Tree Lighting. That is when the entire downtown lights up and officially kicks off the holiday season. It’s also when all of the hard work, months of planning and weeks of set-up come to fruition,” Parks and Recreation Director, Kellie Cook said.
The planning process to be able to facilitate events such as the Prattauga Fall Art Show, the Spooky Movie Night, Parade of Pumpkins, having an Ice-Skating Rink downtown, A Main Street Christmas, the Annual Christmas Parade and so much more starts months and months ahead of time.
Cook stated that they joke within her department that after the 4th of July Parade and celebration, on July 5th, they start planning for Christmas, if it hasn’t been planned well before then. Often times, the planning takes place almost a year out, Cook confirmed.
“Christmas in Prattville is an all-hands-on deck event. We all work together to make sure every lightbulb is screwed in, and every bow is fluffed. I love that people, especially kids, come out and make memories that last forever. It’s touching that I am able to be a small part of that. My own family makes a special trip to Prattville to take pictures under the lights and to ‘see what they’ve done this year,” Steele said.
Steele confirmed that her favorite event during the Holiday’s is A Main Street Christmas, stating that this event really highlights the “Hallmark feeling,” with vendors, ice-skating, carriage rides, performers, carolers, photo opportunities with Santa and more.
This year there will be a new addition to A Main Street Christmas at the Way Off Broadway Theatre with Cocoa & Characters, Steele confirmed.
“I love watching our team bring their families downtown and walk around and point out that they helped with everything. We are a small, tight knit department and we work really hard to transition downtown into a magical experience and seeing them take pride in that is super rewarding. I also love seeing people share photos of our beautiful city and how proud they are to live in their very own “Hallmark” town,” Cook said.
Vendor applications are available on the on the City of Prattville Cultural Arts website, where they are still accepting food truck vendor applications, and once full, they will put the application on the wait list in case of cancelation.
However, volunteers are always needed. If anyone is interested in being a vendor or getting involved in the local arts, they can email Steele at [email protected], or call the office at 334-595-0850. They’re open Monday through Friday, 8:00A.M.-5:00 P.M.
