Sunday, Dec. 6:
Radford Holiday Pop Up Market: New Location and date
The market will be held at the New River Valley Community Services Lot (Old Wade’s location), 401 W. Main St., from noon – 4 p.m. Local craft vendors and carolers will set up outside in socially distant spaces, sponsored by MountainTrotter Arts.
Monday, Dec. 7-Thursday, Dec. 10, Saturday, Dec. 12:
Santa’s Coming to Christiansburg
Santa’s sleigh is in the shop, getting fixed up before his big night. In the meantime, he’s borrowing one of Christiansburg Fire Department’s trucks to visit. Santa will start cruising through Christiansburg at 6:30 p.m. each night from Dec. 7–10 and on Dec. 12 and will drive until the route is complete. Residents may step outside their home to give him a wave as he drives by.
Remember Santa is very busy, and though he’d love to travel down every road in town, he just can’t make it fit into his schedule. He tried to incorporate as many areas of town as he could, taking into consideration his very large firetruck sleigh and making sure he could easily navigate down each street. He encourages families to find the nearest street to them that he will be riding down and walk over to wave hello. He’ll be driving very slowly through these neighborhoods, and sirens will announce he’s making his way through. Santa would like to remind everyone to watch their distance and wear a mask if needed when walking over to see him or if coming into contact with other groups. For a map of his route each night and for more information, visit www.christiansburg.org/homefortheholidays.
Monday, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14:
Puppy Kindergarten Mini Course
This class is for puppies 10 to 17 weeks of age. The class is designed to get the puppy off to the right start. The puppy will learn how to interact with people by sitting to greet and how to bite nicely. The class lessons cover how to teach sit, down and come.
Owners will learn how to teach their puppy in a positive and proactive manner. They will learn how to deal with the typical puppy problems such as chewing, barking, mouthing and jumping up. The puppy comes to all classes. Please bring a chair. The class is taught outside at 4 p.m. as course #312230-D5. The cost is $60 refundable and $70 non-refundable.
To register, visit www.blacksburg.gov/recreation or call 540-443-1100.
Tuesday, Dec. 8:
Radford Tree Lighting and Santa’s Seven
Formerly known as Santa’s Ukulele Band, Santa’s Seven is comprised of new members and a more varied array of instruments. Santa’s Seven will perform at this year’s Tree Lighting Facebook Live event at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 9 – Dec. 22:
Radford Business window and residential decorating contest
The contest gives everyone a chance to tour both the commercial districts and neighborhoods in the safety of a vehicle and then vote for the favorite. A map is available on RadfordChamber.com.
Friday, Dec. 11:
Christiansburg Reverse Christmas Parade
This year, in place of its traditional Christmas Parade, the town will be offering a reverse parade at Uptown Christiansburg (formerly NRV Mall) on Dec. 11 from 7-9 p.m. Floats will be stationary (parked) in the New River Community College (NRCC) section of the Uptown Christiansburg parking lot while spectators slowly drive through on New River Road. This year’s parade theme is “Light up the tree, it’s Christmas you see.” Floats will be spaced to adhere to social distancing guidelines, and there is a limit to the number of participants on each float dependent on its size. The inclement weather date is Dec. 14.
Sunday, Dec. 13:
Radford Police Santa Cruise
Sponsored by the City of Radford Police Department, the cruise begins at 3 p.m. with Santa cruising throughout Radford neighborhoods. A map of Santa’s route is on RadfordVA.gov.
Monday, Dec. 14:
Radford Handcrafted Holiday Night Market
The market will take place at the Triangle Lot, W. Main Street, from 5 to 8 p.m. and will feature the Java Brothers and local vendors. The event is sponsored by MountainTrotter Arts and the Radford Information and Welcome Center
Wednesday, Dec. 16-Monday, Dec. 21
Christiansburg residential decorating contest.
The Christiansburg Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a residential holiday decorating contest. Department staff will visit each destination to determine the top 10 entries. Top 10 entries go on the town’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/cburgvagov) for voting by the community.
Voting begins on Friday, Dec. 18, and runs through 9 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 21. Once all applications are received, decorated homes who give permission will be included in a map for others to visit on a self-guided light tour.
Thursday, Dec. 17:
Radford Christmas Cruise-Thru
At the Radford Recreation Center, 200 George St., from 6 to 8 p.m. The event will feature a car decorating contest and holiday treats. Applications can be found on RadfordVA.gov.
Thursday, Dec. 24:
Christiansburg closings for Christmas, New Year’s
The town’s facilities will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas day on Dec. 24-25.
Solid waste normally scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 24, will be collected on Tuesday, Dec. 22, along with Tuesday’s regular collection.
Solid waste normally scheduled for Friday, Dec. 25, will be collected on Wednesday, Dec. 23, along with Wednesday’s regular collection.
The town’s facilities will be closed for New Year’s Day on Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. Solid waste normally scheduled for Fridays will be collected on Thursday, Dec. 31, along with Thursday’s regular collection.
Ongoing:
Wrapping for a Reason
A holiday wrapping booth to raise money for local emergency assistance is now underway in Uptown Christiansburg (formerly NRV Mall), near Bath & Body Works. The booth is open on weekends through Dec. 16 and then daily through Christmas Eve.
Volunteers are needed to wrap gifts in a sanitary, socially distanced environment. All proceeds benefit Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program, commonly known as MCEAP, which provides emergency food, clothing, utility, rent and mortgage assistance to Montgomery County residents year-round. The sign-up link is https://tinyurl.com/w4r2020.
Persons unable to volunteer their time and talents this year can consider donating supplies such as hand sanitizer, disinfecting spray/wipes, so all proceeds can go directly to help community members in need. Monetary, tax-deductible, year-end donations to MCEAP are welcomed. Details are at mceap.com or 540-260-3173. For more information, email w4areason@gmail.com or text/call 540-239-1093.
Aquatic, Rec Center hours for appointments
The Christiansburg Aquatic Center is open by appointment only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from noon to 5 pm. To make a reservation, visit www.cacpool.com
The Christiansburg Recreation Center is open by appointment only Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m., on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. To make a reservation, visit www.christiasnburg.org/recreation.
Through Dec. 31:
Christiansburg Leaf Collection
The Town of Christiansburg’s annual free leaf collection is underway and runs through Dec. 31, weather permitting. Public Works crews use a special truck that vacuums the leaves. Therefore, they will collect only piles of loose leaves; leaves placed in bags will not be accepted. Please do not place your pile of loose leaves in a way that blocks sidewalks, sanitary sewers, solid waste carts, drainage ditches or utility meter boxes. If you are concerned your leaves may blow away prior to pick-up, please place a tarp on top of your pile. Crews will remove the tarp when they get there, collect your leaves and leave your tarp behind.
Montgomery-Floyd Library Curbside only
All branches of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library are offering only curbside pickup service (including remote printing). In-branch services are not currently available. Curbside hours are: Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Please return all library items in the outside Book Drop. Visit https://www.mfrl.org for more information.
Radford Public Library Resumes In-Library Appointments
Same-day in-house browsing and computer use appointments can be made Monday through Saturday on the hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Staff will continue to ask screening health questions, take temperatures and require masks be worn as part of the ongoing process of in-library browsing. Children/youth under 18 are welcome to browse when accompanied by an adult. Please call (540) 731-3621 to schedule an appointment to browse or use the computers on Thursday through Saturday.
