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A Longmont holiday tradition is back this Friday Dec. 10!
From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Visit the park for festival favorites, including crafts at Santa’s Workshop, hot cocoa, fire pits and visits with Santa himself! Plus you get to enjoy a newly designed lighting display.
Event organizers say they are thrilled to be able to hold the festival this year and it will be a fitting reprisal.
The event began in 2009, at the tail end of the Great Recession, as a way to bring light to Longmont after a dark period.
With pandemic related restrictions in place, all of the festival activities will be held outdoors at Roosevelt Park.
Santa is taking visitors in the Roosevelt Park Rose Garden, and his pop-up workshop will be on the south side of the park.
There will be two open ice skating sessions at the Longmont Ice Pavilion with free skate rentals. Reservations are required for those sessions, so event organizers are recommending reserving early.
The festival will also feature an ice show, hot air balloon glow, free hot cocoa, and a show featuring the Boulder School of Rock playing rock favorites and some holiday standards.
There will be snacks vendors on-site, including Beau Jo’s food truck selling hot pizzas. The night ends with a fireworks show over the St. Vrain Memorial Building at 7:45 p.m.
The newly designed light display in the park features more lights than ever, and will be lit from now until mid-January. The event’s title sponsor, First National Bank, is featured on the seasonal green tree in front of the St. Vrain Memorial Building.
“We lit the park last year, but without the festival, it felt a bit flat to me,” event manager Sam Calhoon said. “I’m looking forward to getting our community together to celebrate. It’s been a hard few years, so seeing the people of Longmont light up this season will be really rewarding”.
More event information can be found here or by calling 303-651-8404.