RUMFORD – It’s back. And Santa Claus is, too.

The Christmas in the Valley Parade that spans Dixfield, Mexico and Rumford returns this Sunday after a two-year hiatus, River Valley Chamber of Commerce President Cheryl Dickson said Thursday.

It’s just one of the events in the month-long Christmas in the Valley Program, she said.

Holiday festivities will be held in the 10 towns the chamber represents throughout December, she said.

The activities kick off with a Christmas in the Valley craft fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford.

Fifty-six crafters will bring their works for the juried fair, Dickson said.

There will also be a kids’ corner at the fair, she said, with face painting, ornament making and game playing for the children.

One of the favorites of the fair is the annual cookie walk with individuals and area businesses asked to donate cookies. People go through a line and fill a tin with the goodies for $3.

There will also be a Chinese auction that crafters donate to, Dickson said.

Both the cookie walk and auction proceeds go to the scholarship program for seniors graduating from Dirigo High School in Dixfield and Mountain Valley High School.

The tri-town parade steps off at 4 p.m. Sunday from Dirigo High School and they’ll march, roll, ride or walk down Weld Street to the King Hiram Lodge on Main Street, near the Dixfield and Mexico line.

Parade participants will then get on a bus and go to Labonville on Route 2 in Mexico before they unload and continue the parade to the head of Congress Street in Rumford where Santa will light the tree.

The parade is being brought back to celebrate the Christmas in the Valley Program’s 15th anniversary, Dickson said.

“We have hundreds of people come. This is like the biggest thing in the area,” Dickson said. “It’s been idle for two years but it’s back in full-force this year. People have been waiting for it.”

Floats, marching bands from Dirigo and Mountain Valley high schools, horses and firetrucks from 10 towns will be among the highlights.

There will be prizes for the top three in each category of business and nonprofit floats, Dickson said. In order to be judged, floats must be in line at 2:15 p.m.

After the parade, which Dickson estimates will take two hours, at 6 p.m. Santa, who brings up the rear of the parade in his sleigh, will greet children at Hotel Harris.

Dickson, also a founder of the Christmas in the Valley Program, expects the streets to be lined with people for the event as they have in the past.

“All of the towns bring a firetruck. It gets very loud,” she said, and the kids look forward to seeing Santa.