The Union Pacific Depot in Cheyenne. The Depot Plaza tree lighting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 21, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported.Photo: Smallbones, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Cheyenne is moving its official holiday kickoff earlier this year, with Lighting the Legacy, a new Holiday Night Market and the Depot Plaza tree lighting all planned for Saturday, Nov. 21, and the Christmas Parade shifted to the following Saturday, Nov. 28, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported. In past years, the paper said, the kickoff usually began with the parade, followed the next weekend by Lighting the Legacy along Capitol Avenue and the lighting ceremony at Cheyenne Depot Plaza. Organizers told the Tribune Eagle they wanted the main evening earlier in November, in part to get ahead of December wind and cold.
Visit Cheyenne’s Old West Holiday page lists Lighting the Legacy at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 21 along Capitol Avenue, with the Mounted Marshals making a ceremonial ride as wreaths are placed on the city’s bronze statues. The Tribune Eagle, citing Summer Houghton, lead assistant for the Mounted Marshals, said each rider will briefly share the history behind a statue before placing a wreath, and that there are 35 statues at the corners of Capitol Avenue intersections. The same official page puts the Cheyenne Christmas Parade, described as Santa’s grand debut, at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 28.
The Tribune Eagle’s event listings put the Holiday Night Market on 17th Street between Central and Pioneer avenues from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 21, with the street closed to traffic during those hours, and the Depot Plaza Lighting Ceremony at 5:30 p.m. at West 15th Street. Both events are listed as free. Jim Walter, president and CEO of Visit Cheyenne, told the paper the tree lighting is the capstone of the evening. “Lighting that tree officially says ‘It’s Christmas season! Let’s go!,'” he said. Jason Sanchez, the city’s director of community events and recreation, confirmed families will be able to have their pictures taken with Santa in the plaza, the paper reported, and said the tree was large enough that it required a crane to install.
The Tribune Eagle said the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce, Visit Cheyenne, DowntownFirst, the Downtown Development Authority and the city’s Community Recreation and Events department worked together on the new schedule. Corey Loghry, vice president of DowntownFirst, told the paper the night market is meant for Cheyenne and Wyoming artisans, crafters and nonprofits that do not have a storefront. Walter said an expanded kickoff is also a way to encourage residents to shop downtown’s independent retailers. More information is posted at oldwestholiday.com.
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