Communities throughout the area are getting ready for the holidays as they kick off the season with Christmas parades starting this week. The annual Forrest City Community Christmas Parade is set for Friday, Dec. 6, beginning at 7 p.m. This year’s theme is “Christmas in the Delta.” The parade will line up near the junior high school parking lot. From there, it will turn onto Division Street, then Arkansas and head to Washington Street. At Washington, the parade will travel south to Hill Street and turn right, going two blocks to the parking lot on Grant Street. Forrest City native Larry Freeman will be the parade’s grand marshal, which is sponsored by the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce and the city’s Advertising and Promotion Commission. First, second and third place trophies will be awarded to floats in the church, civic group, novelty, school and industrial/commercial categories. No other prizes will be awarded. Entries will also be accepted for classic cars and trucks, antique tractors, motorcycles or ATVs, pageant winners, marching groups and bands. For more information, contact the Chamber at 870-633-1651. Wynne will hold its Christmas parade on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m., with this year’s route being different due to “structural issues,” according to parade organizers. The parade will travel south on Falls Boulevard, turn left at the traffic signal at Union Street and end at the Cross County Courthouse. Palestine will host several holiday activities on Saturday afternoon, leading up to the parade that night. Activities will begin at 4:30 p.m., in the downtown area, including an ice skating rink, carriage rides and a bounce house. Skates will be provided for those wanting to ice skate. Several vendors, including food trucks, will also be set up downtown. Palestine’s events are also sponsored by the Advertising and Promotion Commission and the city. A&P Commissioner Cindy Smallwood invites everyone to visit Palestine for the afternoon and stay for the parade, which begins at 7 p.m. The parade will line up at the Palestine-Wheatley High School campus. From there, it will travel east on Highway 70, turn left onto Main Street and travel through downtown before heading back to Highway 70 and the high school parking lot. “We want to invite everyone out to visit and enjoy our parade and festivities,” said Smallwood. “We hope to see as many people as we can get downtown and we want everyone to enjoy themselves. We are super, super excited to see the kind of turnout we will have.” The Marianna Christmas parade will be held Friday, Dec. 13, with a rain date of Monday, Dec. 16, if needed. Parade coordinator Nancy Blount said the theme for the parade is “Joy to the World,” and it will begin at 7 p.m. Participants will line up at the intersection of Marne and Chestnut streets and follow the traditional route through Marianna. Prizes will be awarded to bands and floats, with first place receiving $300, second place getting $200 and third place receiving $100. Trophies will be awarded to bands, floats and drill teams. Blount said numerous bands have already committed to participating in this year’s event, which will also feature antique cars and Smokey Bear. “We try to make our parade a celebration for everyone and we hope to have good participation from the community,” said Blount.