There will be some changes coming with this year’s Christmas on the Avenue event, Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Daughtry said.

Christmas on the Avenue is set for December 1 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The main lighting of the Christmas tree will be around 6 p.m. at Centennial Park following announcements from sponsors Roseburg and Halifax Linen.

There will be four locations this year, Daughtry said — Centennial Park, the Roanoke Rapids Housing Authority parking lot with a vendor’s market, the 1026 Urban Green Space and the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“At each of these stops there’ll be different things to do,” she said. “There are hayrides that are free that our sponsors have paid for. There’ll be one that will start at Centennial and one that starts at 1026 and they’ll just keep going in a rotation.”

The housing authority lot will be full of vendors. There will be food trucks at 1026 and Centennial Park and this year the chamber will be having a beer and wine garden. “We thank (Chamber President) Ginny (Lewis) for adding that this year.”

There will be Hope for Hardy luminaries at Centennial Park as well as face-painting for the children. Santa will also be available at Centennial for photo opportunities at the gazebo.

The 1026 Urban Green Space will feature a letters to Santa station, ornament-making, a selfie station and a visit from the Grinch.

At the Halifax County Arts Council, across from the green space, there will be craft projects for children. “We have a lot of things. It’s three hours so you can spend a whole three hours doing lots of things.”

Joey Landen will be providing music

Daughtry said Tony Hall of Main Street Roanoke Rapids has been instrumental in planning the event. “If it wasn’t for him it would be hard for us to get it all done. We really work well together. He is so great to work with and we appreciate all that he has done.”