AMERICUS — Tonight at 7 p.m. the annual Americus Christmas parade will assemble, march and stroll through downtown. The procession will commence at Prince and Forsyth Streets turn left twice, at Hampton and Lamar, and return to its starting point.

Included in the parade this year are three are highshcool marching bands and the Marine Corp. Band from Albany. Along with the local Girls Scout Units, the Americus Fire Department will be one of the new participants, the Georgia Southwestern State University mascot.

According to coordinator Mandy Howard there are several new entries among the sixty slated for this year’s parade and with “cool Christmas like temperatures in the evening and clear skies, we expect a good crowd.”

“Depending on the weather, there are usually 3,000 to 5,000 people in attendance,” says Howard.