Yes, Christmas in Candyland is finally open to the public! Don’t miss the magic. Here are the particulars, along with some other special events happening this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, December 6th, 7th, and 8th!

1.Christmas in Candyland Court Square hours are Friday from 5 until 7 p.m.; Saturday from 1 until 7 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 until 5 p.m. There will be snow shows! For the complete schedule, visit christmasincandyland.com.

2.Springdale on Ice will be open on Friday from 5 until 9 p.m.; on Saturday from 1 until 9 p.m.; and on Sunday from 1 until 5 p.m. with winter skating, a maze, the Holiday Express train and the Polar Bear Slide. 

3.There will be live entertainment on the Springdale Stage on Friday from 7 until 9 p.m. 

4.The 3^rdAnnual Red Nose Reindeer Dash, a 5K run/walk benefitting the Covington County United Fund, begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at CCB Community Bank. Race day entry is $30. If you support this great cause, you can go on to the next one with no guilt because ….

5.Saturday is the Andalusia Pilot Club’s Pancake & Sausage Day. from 5:30 a.m. until noon at the Andalusia Kiwanis Building. Tickets are $7 for All You Can Eat and can be purchased from any Pilot member or at the door. GO plates also are available.

6.While you’re in town, it’s a great time to visit the Three Notch Museum, which will open from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturdays during Christmas in Candyland. Youngsters will enjoy climbing on the caboose or visiting the model train exhibit. 

7.Santa Claus is coming to town! He will be on the Court Square on Saturday from 2 until 4 p.m., and at Springdale on Sunday from 1:30 until 3:30 p.m.

8.Christmas Spectacular, circus-like entertainment, will be on the Springdale Stage at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. on Saturday.

9.Elsa is also coming to Candyland! Fans may meet her in her frozen garden at Springdale on Saturday from 4 until 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 2 until 4 p.m.

10.You can take a fun carriage ride in downtown Andalusia! The carriage rides leave from Milky Moo’s on the Court Square and are $4 per person. The carriage will be on duty on Friday from 5 until 7 p.m.; on Saturday from 2 until 6 p.m.; and on Sunday from 1 until 5 p.m. 

Eight years after he began an experiment in growing tea in Alabama, Bob Sims is pleased with the progress his plants have made in Andalusia. 

Sims is an Alabama native who lives in Texas. The entrepreneur had long had an interest in growing his family’s tea business from the sale of tea to the cultivation and processing of tea. This week he said that while he isn’t ready to begin harvesting tea, it would have been possible in Andalusia this year. 

Working with British tea consultant Nigel Melican, Sims imported seeds from a tea plant in ex-Soviet Georgia. Melican said in 2013 he believed the plants would do well here. 

“Tea,” he said, “loves humidity.”

And in 2013 he described the tea plants being grown here as hearty – “built like a Soviet tank.”

When the 20,000 seeds left the Republic of Georgia for Andalusia in 2011, it was 20-below there. Some were damaged by the time they arrived, but Sims worked with Andalusia High School ag instructor Anthony Mikel and his students to get the planted in greenhouses here. Two years later, 7,000 plants were transplanted on approximately 11 acres at the entrance to the city’s industrial park. 

And Melican must have been right when he described the tea as hearty – the plants survived this summer’s drought without irrigation, Sims said Monday. 

“We pruned the plants back to 18 inches in January last year,” he said. “At the lower end of the field, they are six feet tall.”

The idea is to continue cutting them back until they grow into a hedge. 

Sims said the timing in getting the seeds going here was perfect. 

“Getting cuttings from overseas is not happening anymore,” he said. 

Long term, Sims would like to work cooperatively with area farmers to grow tea on their farms. He envisions producing specialty loos-leaf teas that could retail for more than $100 a pound. 

Tea also is being grown in Mississippi, California, Hawaii, Oregon and South Carolina. 

The City of Andalusia has launched a campaign reminding area residents of the importance of thinking local during the holiday season. 

The message “Shop Local, Eat Local, Play Local” is being used in broadcast, print, billboard and social media promotions. 

Click here to hear the radio spot.

“This is an important time of the year for local businesses,” Mayor Earl Johnson said. “When you shop local, you’re making an investment in our community, our lives, and our future.

“But you’re also supporting local families,” he said. “This year’s shopping season is six days shorter than last season because Thanksgiving falls so late in the month. For merchants, it is critically important that the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas are busy.”

The Alabama Retail Association $12.4 billion in holiday spending in Alabama in November and December, a 3 percent increase over last year. For every dollar spent at a locally-owned business, 67 percent stays in the community, according to data compiled for American Express in support of Small Business Saturday. 

The credit card company started the event 10 years ago to encourage shoppers to support small businesses during the holiday season. 

“Every time you make a purchase from a local retailer, join a local gym, eat in a local restaurant, or buy a gift certificate for a spa service, you are shopping small and making a difference,” the mayor said. 

“We would remind you that a gift certificate for a spa service, a good meal, or the theater makes a great Christmas gift,” Johnson said. “And it’s a very good way to support local businesses.”

This year, the Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce will reward shoppers who support Small Business Saturday in Andalusia with free passes for the Polar Bear Slide and Winter Skating at Christmas in Candyland. Shoppers can take their receipts to the Chamber next week for the passes. 

While the shopping season officially begins as soon as the turkey is done, Christmas events kick off in Andalusia next week with a tree lighting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, followed by the Christmas parade at 7.  Christmas in Candyland opens on Friday, Dec. 6. For a complete Candyland schedule, visit christmasincandyland.com.

An Andalusia man is facing multiple drug-related charges and being held on a $1.7 million bond after the 22^ndJudicial Circuit Drug Task Force executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at his apartment.

TyShawn Maurice McCaster, 28, of McClendon Avenue, Andalusia, is charged with four counts of distribution of a controlled substance; trafficking in methamphetamines; receiving stolen property third; and possession of drug paraphernalia first. He also had an outstanding failure to appear warrant. 

The search warrant and arrests followed a three-month long investigation by the DTF. The Drug Task Force was assisted by the Covington County Incidence Response Team, the Andalusia Police Department, the Covington County Sheriff’s Department, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. 

Investigators recovered eight ounces of imported methamphetamine or ICE, Xanax, synthetic marijuana known as Spice, three firearms, a bullet-proof vest and helmet, and a large sum of U.S. currency. One of the firearms, an AR-15, was stolen. 

DTF Commander Mark Odom expressed his appreciation to the law enforcement agencies which assisted in executing the search warrant Wednesday morning, and praised the work of DTF officers in their investigations that obtained the evidence needed to secure a search warrant. 

Andalusia Police Department Chief Paul Hudson said, “I appreciate the hard work and dedication of the DTF to help eradicate illegal drugs from our community.”

Sheriff Blake Turman said, “Our DTF and Incidence Response Team did a good job in successfully serving a warrant and getting a criminal off of our streets. This is an excellent example of a team effort from all agencies in the county, and that’s what it will take to clean up our community.”

The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed, Odom said. 

The 22^ndJudicial Circuit Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Andalusia Police Department, Covington County Sheriff’s Office, and Opp Police Department.