The official kick-off to Conyers’ holiday season will take place the first weekend in December with the Olde Town Christmas Party on Friday, December 2 and the 17th Annual Hometown Holiday Parade and Community Tree Lighting on Saturday, December 3 at 4:00 p.m. sponsored by the City of Conyers in conjunction with Rockdale County.

The Olde Town Christmas Party takes place on Friday, December 2 from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Enjoy free visits and photos (packages available and printed on-site) with Santa in the Conyers Depot/Conyers Welcome Center at 901 Railroad Street. In a new location this year, the Olde Town Conyers Merchant Association hosts a Secret Santa Shop on Center Street for children. Gifts range in price from $1.00 to $5.00 with gift wrapping included. After shopping and visiting with Santa, visitors can snuggle up for a carriage, hayride or train ride through the streets of Olde Town. A free workshop for kids presented by The Home Depot will be offered and storytelling with the Snow Queen will take place in the Conyers-Rockdale Council for the Arts Black Box Theater at 6 p.m. Carolers from the Covington-Conyers Choral Guild will sing and entertain those strolling the streets. Restaurants and shops with special holiday sales will be open and ice skaters will take to the ice at the Olde Town Pavilion Ice Rink.

On Saturday, December 3,approximately 70 entries in the Hometown Holiday Parade will wind their way through Olde Town Conyers beginning at Rockdale County High School on Pine Log Road to Main Street and will conclude on Milstead Avenue at Pine Street.

The theme of this year’s parade is “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” and entries in the parade include the Salem High School Marching Band, Atlanta Picture Cars and the Rockdale County 4-H Club. Cloggers, dancers, scout troops, recreational sports teams, churches and local businesses will lead the way for the arrival of Santa Claus aboard the 1951 Rockdale County Fire Truck.

“All of the events in Olde Town the weekend of December 2 are the perfect way to usher in the holiday season in Conyers and Rockdale County,” said Olde Town Event Coordinator Sandy Fowler. “There’s really something for everyone to enjoy.”

The parade is immediately followed by the annual tree lighting celebration at the Rockdale County Auditorium at 903 Main Street beginning at approximately 6 p.m. Local entertainment and Santa Claus will be on hand to greet the crowds that anticipate the lighting of the tree. Both the parade and tree lighting will be taped to air on Rockdale’s cable channel 23 throughout the holiday season.

The inaugural Winterfest, sponsored by the Olde Town Merchants Association, will be held on Center and Commercial Streets on Saturday, December 3, from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. The event includes live entertainment, arts and crafts vendors, children’s activities and more. Admission is free.

Ice skating will be open in the Olde Town Pavilion for more holiday fun throughout the weekend. The ice skating rink will remain open through February 26, 2024.

For more information on these and other holiday events including the Pilot Club Tour of Homes on December 4 and the 37th Annual Atlanta Boy Choir Concert at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit on December 10, call the Conyers Welcome Center at 770-602-2606 or visit www.conyersga.com for a calendar of events.