photo credit: StephoniaTaylor McLinn

Sneak Peek at the 2014 Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Awards Celebration, Ms. Odessa Woolfolk and Dr. Neal Berte, Co-Chairs Honoring Dr. C. T. Vivian –Civil Rights Activist and Pioneer – held at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel Ballroom.

Celebrate a southern holiday event around the South
Submitted by Cheryl Eldridge

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the Christmas season in the South! There’s nothing like coming home for the holidays, and if you’re looking for family festivities guaranteed to warm your spirit like cold hands around a mug of hot chocolate, these communities all across the South can deliver on all of your Christmas wishes.

Thoroughbred Country, South Carolina
The towns of western South Carolina know how to celebrate the holidays in style. Join residents and visitors to Barnwell for the annual Christmas by Candlelight and community tree lighting on December 4. After the tree is lit, shops will stay open late to provide refreshments, prize drawings, and special holiday discounts.
Aiken lights its community Christmas tree on Friday, December 5, amid craft shows, Nights of 1000 Lights festivities, and A Holly Day in Downtown. Visitors can also enjoy a performance of “It’s A Wonderful Life” at the Aiken Community Playhouse and a special presentation called “‘Tis the Season,” which traces the origins of some of the
world’s most treasured holiday traditions.

Augusta, Georgia
From South Carolina’s Thoroughbred Country, take a quick hop across the Savannah River to discover the wonder and merriment of Christmas in Augusta, Ga. Local and regional artists will be creating a holiday gingerbread village at the Augusta Museum of History to be displayed from November 20th through the 30th. Share the season with the birds by making decorations for them to nibble on all through winter at the Living History Park’s Christmas for the Birds, and don’t miss the holiday classic “A Christmas Carol” performed live on stage at the historic Imperial Theatre.

Albany, Georgia
Nothing says, “ho, ho, ho” like Christmas lights and you won’t want to miss the 24th Annual Celebration of Lights Christmas Parade, December 6 in Albany, complete with with marching bands, floats, many other entrants, and special appearance by Santa Claus. Afterwards, consider starting a new family tradition with a car ride or magical train ride on the Wiregrass Express through Chehaw’s Festival of Lights.

Blue Ridge, Georgia
Beginning in Georgia’s beautiful Blue Ridge, enjoy an entire weekend of holiday cheer at the Mountain Wine Country Holiday Highway. The three-day excursion winds through 14 different mountain wineries for a unique holiday experience. While you’re in Blue Ridge, don’t miss out on the chance to take the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway’s Santa Express or Night Train to Santa’s Pavilion.

Alpine Helen, Georgia
Not far from Blue Ridge is a Bavarian village nestled in the Georgia mountains, known as Alpine Helen. See the village lit up for the holiday season and welcome Santa’s
arrival in town on the day after Thanksgiving. November 28 will also mark the kick-off to Helen’s traditional Christkindlmarkit. This annual German event takes place in Downtown Helen Nov.28-30 and Dec.6-7 in the Marketplatz area. Booths are set up offering everything from unique gifts and decorations to an assortment of savory sweet foods, drinks and treats.
The Helen Arts and Heritage Center is proud to be hosting a historical look at the traditions of an old south Appalachian Christmas on December 9, and just outside of the Alpine Village, Helen’s Unicoi State Park and Lodge will be celebrating the season with their annual Festival of Trees, a fundraiser for the United Way of White County where visitors can bid on the numerous trees and wreaths decorating every corner of the Lodge.

Macon, Georgia
Macon’s College Hill Corridor, the two-square mile area of town surrounding Mercer University, comes alive at Christmas time with its Christmas in the Corridor event, featuring guaranteed snow (in a part of the state that rarely has snow before New Years) and a snow slide, carriage rides, carolers, and holiday revelry. New to the Corridor this year will be the Macon Made gift tent, a pop-up market featuring wares made by 12 local artisans.

Oxford, Mississippi
If you’re in the vicinity of Oxford, Mississippi, best known for being the home of Ole Miss, you can catch their annual Christmas parade at the Courthouse Square on the first day of December. And for culture-minded music fans, the Mediaeval Baebes will light up your holidays with their interpretations of timeless holiday classics in an impressive array of languages.

Vermilion Parish, Louisiana
There’s no experience like a Cajun Christmas, and Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, is the most Cajun place on Earth! Enjoy a Christmas stroll with the family in Abbeville, with shopping, dining, visiting with Santa Claus, prize drawings and light displays. No one does a Christmas parade like Delcambre: for a unique experience, you can’t miss their Christmas boat parade. During the daylight, kids can have a blast at a special kids’ carnival and dine on pancakes with Santa before the night-time lighted boat show and fireworks spectacular begin.

Award-winning Christmas in Canton festival returns with more excitement and attractions to light up the season.
CANTON, Miss. – When it came to selecting the winner of Mississippi’s 2013 “Festival or Event of the Year,” the judges at the Mississippi Tourism Association had a Dickens of a time – for real.
In a state where festivals are regular occurrences, with Christmas an especially popular time, there were a lot of great entrants to choose from. Still, one festival had it all: A 25-day Victorian-themed holiday celebration held in the middle of one of Mississippi’s most beautifully historic downtowns – a celebration that offered dazzling delights for young and old alike, from light and sound spectaculars (including 200,000 glittering lights) to cider-sipping hospitality, from a wonderland of animatronics (135 life-sized animated figures) to a vintage carousel, horse-drawn carriage rides and a Mrs. Claus Story House for story times with the “real” Mrs. Claus. New 2013 offerings like Santa’s Workshop made the event even more participatory and “hands-on” with Elf in Training crafts, while the Character and Light Parade wowed crowds with beloved holiday characters and fabulous holiday-themed floats.
So to Christmas in Canton, the enchanting Victorian holiday festival – the event that had it all – those MTA judges added one more thing: the award as the “Festival of the Year” in its size category.
And now the festival that has it all (plus an award to prove it) is back again in 2014 to enchant families and visitors of all ages – young, old and young at heart – by bringing even more: More lights, and more anticipation, says Jo Ann Gordon, Director of the Canton Convention and Visitors Bureau. In fact, beginning in November 28 and running through December 23, Mississippi’s best in class festival promises to be its best yet.
Light displays and the return of a new crowd-pleasing favorite:
First introduced in 2013, the Character and Light Parade proved to be particularly popular, according to Gordon, who notes that this year the parade will include surprising new floats and characters.
The light and sound displays help make Christmas in Canton an exceptionally immersive experience. “When we say we ‘put’ visitors in the Christmas spirit, it’s no exaggeration,” Gordon says, of an event made all the more authentic with the Historic Canton Square as the inviting backdrop.
A jam-packed calendar of holiday comforts and joys:
The ultimate in comfort food and fun, the Festival’s “Sip-n-Cider” also returns, as will all of the other best-loved features, including:
•    Christmas Animation Museums
•    Holiday Light and Sound Spectaculars
•    Carousel on the Square
•    Miniature vintage car rides
•    Horse-drawn carriage rides
•    Merchants’ Open House Weekend
•    The “Railroad Comes to Canton” display

Magic in motion: Animation Museums return to amaze and amuse.
What began with 22 original figures and a vision of a unique holiday fantasy has evolved into one of Mississippi’s most exciting holiday attractions, featuring 135 life-size animated figures in tableaus that encompass history, fantasy and fun. Artfully and meticulously handcrafted, each figure is a work of art, and all together the museums are a wonder to behold.
The Museums focus on three distinct themes:
• “Canton’s History Comes Alive,” including vignettes that offer the viewer a delightful and insightful peek at life from earlier times. With authentic artifacts, each scene represents a piece of Canton’s history. From a farm wagon to a school room, the scenes offer an opportunity to learn through the historic artifacts as well as experience the nostalgic warmth of by-gone holidays.
•  “The Happy Place – Frozen in Time,” based on the book “An Amazing Snowman” by Barbara Jean Hicks. This magical story is full of surprises and comes to life through imagination, animation and a caring heart. Do you want to see a snowman?
• “Elves Gone Wild,” depicting elves-in-training and all of their wacky mishaps – causing  giggles and wiggles for happy children. But rest assured, Santa will make sure all the gifts are delivered on Christmas Eve.
Christmas in Canton runs from November 28 through December 23. For more information on any of Canton’s events and attractions, contact the Canton Convention & Visitors Bureau & Film Office at 1-800-844-3369 or jgordon@cantontourism.com or find Canton on Facebook as Canton Tourism.

 MOUNTAIN BROOK, Ala. (AP) — Frances Moore was hired to help out for the holidays at an Alabama jewelry store in 1939, and she’s still there.
The 93-year-old Birmingham woman is celebrating 75 years as an employee of the family-owned Bromberg & Co., which dates to 1836 and is one of the nation’s oldest family-owned retailers.
“Frances is a remarkable person,” said Bromberg’s President Rick Bromberg. “She is the longest-serving employee in the history of our company, including family.”
Moore was hired to polish silver at Bromberg’s on Nov. 21, 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president and before the United States entered World War II. She made $8 a week initially, but she was happy since the trolley ride to work only cost only 7 cents.
She soon transferred to gift wrap. By around 1970, Moore was managing the company’s multimillion-dollar jewelry inventory.
“I didn’t think I’d live 75 years, let alone work for somebody 75 years,” Moore said in an interview Monday as she put tags on rings and bracelets for sale.
Moore said her parents taught her to work hard and Bromberg’s is a good employer, so she never left. She retired from full-time work a few years ago but still comes in to sort and tag jewelry.
She’s also done some other jobs for the company through the years, including refinishing silver and arranging flowers.
“Anything I wanted to do in the store I started going it,” she said. “I’d go move from one department to the other because I just like going around in the store and looking at the pretty things.”
Bromberg said Moore is still a valued employee who contributes to the bottom line. The company honored her with a breakfast on Friday, the anniversary of her hiring.
Moore, who has outlived two husbands and has no children, still lives at home but says church friends help her clean and cook. Friends or relatives typically drive her to work at the Bromberg’s store in Mountain Brook.
Moore said she plans to keep working as long as she can.
“Last year I thought I was going to have to give up because of the fact I broke my hip several years ago, had knee surgery and all those things,” she said. “But I snapped back every time.”