One of the largest Christmas parades in  Alabama will march through Gardendale this week.

The 24th annual Gardendale Christmas parade is Thursday, kicking off at 6 p.m. with a fireworks display. The Greater Gardendale Chamber of Commerce and city of Gardendale sponsor the parade.

This year’s theme is “A Small Town Christmas.” Grand marshal will be Gardendale native Chris Fryar of the Zac Brown Band.

An area called Candy Cane Lane will be set up at the corner of Grubbs Avenue and Fieldstown Road, where local businesses and nonprofit groups will provide free snacks and hot drinks.

Also, Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church and Gardendale First Baptist Church will have stations set up along the parade route to give away coffee and hot chocolate.

During the parade, people walking beside floats will toss candy into the crowd. To ensure the safety of bystanders, candy will not be thrown from floats.

All floats that enter are eligible to win first, second or third place prizes in relation to the theme. There will also be awards for best overall float and a crowd favorite. Judges will be located in front of Gardendale City Hall.

Staging areas for the parade are at Gardendale High School and ChristWay Church. The parade will turn right at Shoney’s onto Fieldstown Road, left on Grubbs Avenue, right through the Garden Shopping Center next to Gardendale Chiropractic Center, and right onto Main Street. It ends at Gardendale High School.

Additional Christmas parades in the area include:

• Morris Christmas parade on Saturday at 10 a.m.

• Kimberly Christmas parade on Saturday at 6 p.m. (rain date Dec. 11)

• Trafford Christmas parade on Dec. 11 at 1 p.m.