BELHAVEN — It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and it’s kicking off this weekend in Belhaven, as the town hosts its annual Come Alive With Christmas celebration Friday and Saturday.

At the center of these festivities, the 5^th-annual Wilkinson Center Craft Show has been expanded this year, running from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Featuring more than 30 vendors from Belhaven and beyond, this is the first year the craft show has run for two days.

“This is the most vendors we have ever had,” Wilkinson Center board member Daphne Robinson said. “We’ve kind of had a vision to include the community like the restaurants and the shops that wanted to stay open a little later that evening.”

Among the items on sale at the craft show will be handmade items, knitting, crocheting, woodwork, custom rods and fishing lures. The Vineyards of the Scuppernong will also host a wine tasting during the event.

In addition to the items on sale at the craft show, visitors can also enjoy two special Christmas treats Friday evening.

The first is a holiday singing on the corner of Main and Pamlico streets, featuring a variety of local faces and churches. A little further down Main Street, Belhaven Missionary Baptist Church will have a live nativity scene. Both will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, connecting the craft show at the Wilkinson Center to the downtown area.

While a number of Belhaven businesses have had a long road to recovery after the double whammy of Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Michael, this weekend will serve as an opportunity to open their doors and kick off the holiday season.

“After the hurricane, different people came into town to try and help people clean up and get going again, so it’s been kind of a community effort,” Robinson said. “It’s been a setback, but a lot of people think Belhaven got washed off the map kind of like New Bern and Wilmington. We’re trying to come back, and I think we’ve done very well.”