Roanoke, Va. – Downtown Roanoke is dusting off the holiday decorations to welcome back Dickens of a Christmas for the 39th year.
A 32-foot Christmas tree was delivered Monday morning to stand near the Wells Fargo building.
The Taubman Museum of Art will make custom ornaments and city members will decorate the tree this week.
The city will kick off the street festival by lighting the tree next Friday, Dec. 3.
For the next three Fridays, the city will host a parade, a pet costume contest and a Coca-Cola kids carnival.
Throughout the month, there will be $5 horse carriage rides, live carolers and moments to take a photo with Santa.
Live performances from the Southwest Virginia Ballet, Ward School of Dance, Mill Mountain Theatre, Winds of the Blue Ridge and more will fill the streets until 10 p.m. each night.
“We talk about shopping local a lot,” Downtown Roanoke Inc. VP of Marketing and Communications Jaime Clark said. “It’s especially important this year. So anything we can do to get people down here into the businesses is something we want to engage in.”
The Elf on the Shelf scavenger hunt will also make a comeback so you can seize a chance to win $1,000.
A schedule of all the events can be found on the event’s website.