The City of Gray will be in full-blown Christmas mode next week with the annual Christmas Parade Dec. 10 followed by the weekend presentation of the Live Drive-Thru Nativity.
The parade will line up in Ingles parking lot and head toward Downtown Gray at 7 p.m. The parade is presented by Sincerity Lodge 430. This year’s grand marshals are Ingles manager Joe Partenza and assistant manager Rhonda Hart.
More than 60 entries have signed up for the parade that has the theme of a Jones County Country Christmas.
For more information about the parade, call Britt Martin at 478-737-7980.
Gray Methodist Church is presenting its live Drive-Thru Nativity this year Dec. 13-15 from 6-9 p.m. The church is located at 121 Gordon St. and has presented the Nativity since 2002.
Event coordinator Richelle Hinson said it takes 85 volunteers each night for the presentation that has the purpose of bringing to life the miracle of Jesus’ birth.
Each year something unique is added, and this year it is in the form of micro mini livestock for the stable. That will consist of two micro mini donkeys and three micro mini cows, courtesy of Steve Crager of Crager Hills Farms.
The entry to view the scenes is once again from Stewart Avenue, crossing in front of the W.E. Knox Civic Center. Signs with further instructions are posted at the entrance.
The event draws thousands the three nights it is open, from the Gray and Jones County community and beyond.
The scenes start at an entry gate to see Caesar Augustus issuing a decree that ‘all the world should be taxed.’ The journey takes spectators through scenes of Bethlehem as it would have looked during the time of Jesus’ birth.
The stable scene includes a live baby, usually from the church’s congregation. Hinson estimates more than 120 infants have filled the role.
The journey ends with two scenes not normally associated with the Christmas story. The scenes of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection were added in 2005.
Any updates about the Nativity, such as weather cancelations, will be found on the Gray Methodist Facebook page.
