This Saturday Charleston will officially ring in the holidays with its elaborate presentation of “Christmas in the Heart of Charleston.”

Kicking off the festivities will be a free showing of “Polar Express” at the Will Rogers Theater at 4 p.m.

Following the movie will be a parade beginning at 6 p.m. The parade’s route is around the square. It will begin on Jackson Avenue, go up Seventh Street, wrap around the courthouse, and finish back where it started on Jackson Ave.

Cars can’t be parked in the square between 4 and 9 p.m.

The Charleston High School band will be performing in the parade. Santa will also be in the parade, as well as a number of costumed characters including Frosty, Rudolph, the Grinch, Tigger, and Winnie the Pooh, said Karen Petersen, Charleston’s Director of Tourism. The parade will end at Santa’s final destination, the Charleston Transitional Facility’s (CTF) administrative services office located on Jackson Avenue.

Children will then be able to see Santa and ask him for their desired present(s). His elves will be taking pictures free of charge, Petersen said.

Entertaining the kids while they’re in line will be Dave, the math dog, she said. Dave, a 7-year-old golden retriever, can do division, among other things, and was on the David Letterman show just last week.

Owner Frank Ferris was unavailable for comment.

CTF’s second location, its main office on Seventh Street, will have a variety of musical acts between 6 to 8 p.m. Cookies and hot chocolate will be provided.

“CTF is really excited about helping out the community,” Shumaker said. “We think it’s a Charleston tradition that needs to be continued.”

CFT’s office on Seventh Street will be one of the three businesses, along with Jackson Ave. Coffee and Ealy’s Appraisal, to display gingerbread houses. The gingerbread houses are apart of a contest put on by the Times-Courier. Drop-off hours are from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Jackson Ave. Coffee, said senior employee Anne Townsend.

Carriage rides will also be available with stations on the southwest and northeast corners of the courthouse. There are two carriage companies contributing, six carriages total and the route will swing around the courthouse.

Petersen said she was able to get most businesses in the square to at least decorate for the event, if not participate in some other way.

For instance, Burwell’s Body Art will be handing out popcorn and harpist Hannah Drake will be performing at Marianne’s Euro Deli.

A number of other businesses will be having “live action windows” which, instead of artificial displays, will have real people performing and entertaining onlookers.

The Jacqueline Bennett’s Dance Center will be performing a mini-version of the “Nutcracker” in RuffaloCODY’s window. The “Nutcracker” is a two-hour ballet and the dance center will be doing a 15-minute section of the original ballet with the dance parts extended and repeated.

“The music and the story line (for the “Nutcracker”) is so elaborate that there are so many areas that one can use and make different but still preserve the classic quality of the original ballet,” said Owner Jacqueline Bennett.

The dance center has been doing variations of the “Nutcracker” since the first “Christmas in the Heart of Charleston,” which Bennett said was around 10 years ago.

“Everybody knows we’re there,” Bennett said. “We have kids and their parents bring lawn chairs and just sit outside and watch us.”

Eastern’s Health Education Resource Center’s will present “Rockin’ out with Healthy Holidays” in Emjonashon Street’s window. The presentation will feature a dancing tree and present. Students will also be out in front of the store giving out flyers on a variety of health issues, said Rachel Fisher, promotion coordinator for health services.

Health Services isn’t the only Eastern organization helping with the event.

Eastern’s Mortar Board will be wandering around the square handing out candy canes, said President Kathleen Keach.

Businesses outside of Charleston contributed as well. Mandana Pines Christmas Trees, located in Ashmore, donated a tree that is standing next to the reindeer “Mistletoe,” Petersen said.

“(The square is) as full (of decorations) as possible to make it a really rich experience,” Petersen said.