By Mary Stewart | The Selma Times-Journal

Fashion on the River is back for the fourth year to shows off Selma’s must have summer trend from local boutiques.

Aisha Smith, the event organizer, has put in a lot of work to put on the fashion show year after year. She says the show’s purpose is to give Selma’s youth something positive to do.

“I wanted to show that there are so many positive things that go on in Selma,” Smith said. “A lot of times we get overshadowed by the violence and the negative things that are going on, like businesses closing, but we do have local boutiques that are thriving. So that was the reason, to have the citizens of Selma to shop local.”

This year’s show is titled “Coming to Selmerica,” and Smith is excited to show everyone the transformation Selma has made through fashion.

“We are showing the old Selma and how its progressing into the new Selma,” Smith said.

Smith held auditions and now has 43 models of all different ages, races and sizes who are working hard to be ready for the show. The models ages range from early 50s all the way down to four years old.

“I normally start at five, but I had (a four-year old) that was full of personality, and she is not afraid of a crowd,” Smith said.

The show will feature five different local performances, including dance companies and musicians. A local artist will also be doing a live event painting of the runway that will be auctioned off at the end of the show.

The show will feature clothes from Lexden’s formal boutique, Charming Hands boutique, and the Pavilion boutique. Smith has also designed some pieces in the show, including three couture pieces titled “Gossip Girls.”

She created two of the couture pieces from magazines, and one couture pieces is made completely from The Selma Times-Journal.

“I asked everyone to bring me any types of The Selma Times-Journal newspaper that they had, and I used that to create a dress,” Smith said.

Tickets for the show are $15, and they can be purchased from participating boutiques, models or at the door on the night of the show.

The show will be at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center on June 2 at 6:30 p.m.