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With less than 20 days until Christmas, Longmont’s holiday festivities are a walk in the park

The city of Longmont will light up Roosevelt Park Friday evening for an outdoor festival chock full of family activities.
Longmont Lights Festival Returns
Courtesy Photo/City of Longmont

This weekend, Longmont returns with two festive traditions. 

The city of Longmont will light up Roosevelt Park Friday evening for an outdoor festival chock full of family activities. Thousands of holiday lights will fill the park, along with lights from hot air balloons and costumed characters.

After COVID-19 restrictions forced the holiday festival to take a year off in 2020, Santa’s Workshop and hot cocoa carts will pack the park starting at 5 p.m. To help keep everyone warm in the chilly weather, the city will have fire pits stationed along the sidewalks, according to Longmont Recreation Program Coordinator Sam Calhoon.

“We’re excited that it’s happening this year and we’re glad to have the tradition come back,” Calhoon said.

Santa’s Workshop will feature seven crafting booths for children and adults alike, including the Girl Scouts of Colorado and Longmont YMCA, Calhoon said. Home Depot will have toy-making kits at the workshop and Santa himself will be there to visit with the children. 

New this year is a holiday concert from the youth performers at Boulder School of Rock, Calhoon said. Led by School of Rock instructors Halle Tomlinson and Deniz Davis, the student musicians will serenade park goers with rock favorites and holiday classics beginning at 6:15 pm, according to Davis.

The Longmont Ice Pavilion will have two open skate sessions Friday. Reservations are required for the 5 and 6:05 p.m. sessions, though skate rentals will be free for the evening. Following the skate sessions, local performers will put on an ice show in the pavilion at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday night, brightly lit and decorative floats will roll down Main Street with the theme of “Merry and Bright,” starting at 5 p.m. at the corner of Longs Peak Avenue and Coffman Street. The Parade of Lights promises to be special this year, with a panel of judges awarding prizes for best entry, best historical or cultural theme, best use of lights, best musical group and best youth group. According to Calhoon, the grand marshals of the parade will be healthcare workers from UCHealth and Longmont United Hospital.

“They’ve been working their tails off for two years now during this pandemic and we wanted to recognize them,” Calhoon said.