By KATIE MCDOWELL/Lifestyles Editor

COLUMBIANA–Shelby County will celebrate its 194th birthday Sunday, Feb.5.

The Shelby County Historical Society has planned an afternoon of speakers and events to celebrate the occasion.

President Bobby Joe Seales said the theme for the celebrations and the historical society’s 2012-2013 events is “Becoming Alabama.” The theme will focus on the events leading up to Alabama becoming a state.

This year’s celebrations will focus on the Creek Indians. While plans have not been finalized, the pre-program will likely include Native American exhibits and entertainment.

The special guests include Dr. Edwin C. Bridges of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, who will present “The Birthing of a State,” Lee Sentell of the Alabama Tourism Department and Roger G. Thrower, Jr., a Poarch Creek and the Education Director of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

Seales said the celebrations have been planned leading up to both Shelby County and the State of Alabama’s 200th anniversaries.

The next two years will focus on the Creek Indians, followed by two years of the Civil War and two years of the Civil Rights Movement.

“It’s all going to tie in together,” he said.

In 2018, the celebration will focus on the Shelby Living founding, followed by Alabama’s anniversary the following year.

“We are older than the State of Alabama,” Seales said. “When Shelby County was founded, it was part of the Alabama Territory.”

The pre-program will begin at 1 p.m. on Main Street in front of the Shelby County Historical Museum. The program begins at 2 p.m. and will likely be held inside the museum. For more information, call 205-669-3912.