Christmas on the River is Demopolis’s best hour. Its citizens come together to organize, create, design and perform for seven days to help people get the holiday season started on the right foot.

Originally begun through an idea seen elsewhere, the Christmas on the River festival is Demopolis’s own, adapted, adopted and detailed to fit the spirit of the city.

Thousands of people from far and near come each year to take in our holiday spirit and share in our celebration of music and fun during the week preceding the first weekend in December.

We want to thank everyone who worked behind the scenes in developing this year’s festival. Preparation began as soon as Christmas on the River 2008 was over. A lot of hard work, preparation and teamwork went into providing the festival that everyone has enjoyed this year.

We want to thank everyone who participated in the many events of this week, from Alabama Boychoir to the Christmas on the River pageants held in October, from the Demopolis Singers’ performance on Sunday to the performers in “Hansel and Gretel” this weekend.

Most of all, we want to thank everyone who came and enjoyed themselves this week. Thank you for letting us play host to a week of what we hope was enjoyment and fun. We do it for our visitors and hometown folks alike. We do it in the spirit of Christmas, sharing our Yuletide wishes and hopes for a better tomorrow.

Christmas on the River is who we are. This is Demopolis at its best. Thank you for coming to our town and sharing with us. We do this for you.