The scouts of Troop 320 are ready to light up Fuquay-Varina. The annual luminary sale begins this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Already, some scouts have been canvasing their own neighborhoods to work on presales. Neighborhoods like Maggie Run, Crooked Creek, Holly Glen, Birch River, Birch Creek, Old Waverly, Ballentine, Westmore and Dutchman Downs have flyers distributed about the sale.

“I think there’s a lot of excitement,” luminary sale co-coordinator Jim Frink said.

The presales are giving the scouts the opportunity to take ownership of their neighborhoods. The troop also is encouraging more participation this year.

“The parents are definitely supportive,” Frink said.

The sale leadership has worked tirelessly with troop families to prepare for this coming weekend.

“It’s better organized,” Troop 320 Scoutmaster Glenn Traylor said of this year’s sale as compared to recent years.

The troop has 600 kits of candles, plastic cups, white bags and sand this year and the goal is to sell out. That way, Fuquay-Varina will be all aglow on Christmas Eve. There are 10 luminaries in each kit and the cost is $10.

Scouts will go door to door this Saturday and Dec. 8 and 15. They will sell luminary kits between services at Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church this Sunday as well.

The troop’s largest fundraiser of the year has been a tradition for several decades.

Traylor said it’s not only a way to make the community beautiful for Christmas and raise funds for the troop. It also gives scouts the ability to work on requirements for various badges like salesmanship.

But the biggest benefit is the ability to get the scouts active in their community.

If you are interested in having the boy scouts come to your neighborhood, email candles@orangecrush.org. Luminaries can be purchased online as well by going to www.orangecrush.org and clicking on Home, Troop Projects and Luminaria.

Contact Kelly Griffith at kgriffith@heartlandpublications.com or 919-552-5675.