The 2009 edition of the Starkville Christmas Parade will feature all of the same floats and fanfare as previous years, but organizers this year also have a new activity in store.

The Greater Starkville Development Partnership is partnering with the Starkville Civic League to present a holiday "Tour of Homes." All four homes on the tour are in the Browning Creek subdivision, located south of Starkville off Oktoc Road.

A reception and light refreshments will kick off the tour Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Oktoc Community Center. Patrons will then go on a self-driving tour, where they will be able to go inside each home during assigned times, said Latasha Hill, GSDP Special Events Coordinator.

Tickets for the Tour of Homes are $20 each and are available for purchase at the GSDP Welcome Center, located at the corner of Main and Lafayette streets downtown.

The theme for the 2009 edition of the Starkville Christmas Parade is "A Classic Country Christmas." Festivities will begin the morning of Saturday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m. with several downtown merchants offering specials, sidewalk sales and holiday entertainment.

The "Lighting of the Tree" Christmas tree lighting ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. on the plaza of Cadence Bank on University Drive, followed by the start of the parade at 5 p.m.

"We highly encourage everyone to come out and support the Starkville Christmas Parade," Hill said. "This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to come together and enjoy all the festivities we have planed for the day."

Parade line-up will begin at 4 p.m. on Russell Street. From Russell Street, the parade route will turn west on Lampkin Street, north on Montgomery Street and then west on Main Street. Parade participants will then follow Main Street until it meets Lampkin Street again by First United Methodist Church. From there, groups will turn east onto Lampkin until reaching the Regions Bank back parking lot.

The Starkville Christmas Parade has been going on for decades, Hill said.

"It's a good chance to come out and see your friends and your family and the community," she said.

For more information on the Starkville Christmas Parade, contact the Partnership office at 662-323-3322. The rain date for the parade is Dec. 7.