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This weekend, I learned something new about our community.

It has been declared as the Butterfly Capital of Alabama. Many of you probably knew this, but I had not learned this fact.

According to the Selma and Dallas County Area Chamber of Commerce, “Selma was declared the Butterfly Capital of Alabama in 1982, and the many five foot butterflies all around town honor this fact. The butterflies were decorated by over 40 local artists, and each different winged work of art reflects the artist’s and sponsors’ individual imaginations.”

On Saturday, the chamber revealed a few more of those will be released into the community as they released the butterflies in front of the Selma-Dallas County Public Library.

The chamber tapped Antonio Langdon to do the woodwork to create the butterflies. He’s a very talented woodworker, and he was a great choice by the chamber to do this for the community.

“That makes me feel wonderful,” Langdon said about his honor. “That lets me know that whatever I do, people see my work. It’s not just being done. And that says a lot.”

The chamber also thanked the Center on Rural Innovation for providing the grant to do these new butterflies.

After Langdon created the plywood butterflies, organizations then painted them to represent what they were.

The organizations that had butterflies included International Paper, Vaughan Regional Medical Center, Vaughan Community Services Senior Center, Wallace Community College Selma, Edmundite Missions Academy, YMCA of Dallas County and Cahaba Mental Health Center.

At a later date, they will be spread throughout Selma, most likely near where they are located.

Now that I have learned about the designation, it explains why I have seen so many all over the place. So, I am happy to say I am a part of the Butterfly Capital of Alabama.

Brent Maze is the publisher of The Selma Times-Journal. He can be reached at brent.maze@selmatimesjournal.com.