Celebrate the season with your Cheyenne neighbors! Our guide features all the community holiday events. For Cheyenne natives and newcomers, our guide showcases the city's top festive events.
One of the highlights is the Cheyenne Christmas Parade, a spectacle of floats and lights that brings joy to the streets. Enjoy the enchanting decor and ceremonial lighting at Christmas at the Capitol. And the Old West Holiday at the Botanic Gardens is something you definitely don't want to miss, with its beautifully festive displays and historical charm. See more details on these and other fun events and activities below!
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The Top Christmas Events in Cheyenne
- Cheyenne Christmas Parade
- Christmas at the Capitol
- Old West Holiday at the Botanic Gardens
- Tinsel Through Time
- Christmas Craft Festival
- Children's Christmas Village Event
- Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert
- Christmas at the Old West Museum
- Holiday Light Tours
- Festival of Trees
Cheyenne Holiday Light Displays
Holiday Light Tours
What to Expect:
Guided tour of Cheyenne's most elaborate holiday light displays
Description:
Holiday Light Tours illuminate Cheyenne's most spectacular Christmas displays. Board a comfortable bus for a narrated journey through neighborhoods and historic districts adorned with thousands of twinkling lights. The tour highlights both modern and vintage decorations, including restored neon signs from the mid-20th century. Learn about Cheyenne's holiday lighting traditions, which began in the early 1900s with the city's first electric streetlights. Visitors can vote for their favorite displays, contributing to a friendly community competition that has been running for over 30 years.
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Holiday Lights Tour (Club Edition)
What to Expect:
Adults-only tour of holiday lights with local craft beverages
Description:
The Holiday Lights Tour Club Edition offers a grown-up twist on the traditional light-seeing experience. This adults-only excursion combines Cheyenne's dazzling holiday displays with tastings of local craft beers and spirits. The tour bus stops at several of the city's microbreweries and distilleries, each featuring a signature holiday-inspired beverage. Learn about Cheyenne's brewing history, which dates back to the 1860s when the first saloons opened to serve railroad workers. Visitors can vote for their favorite light display and beverage pairing of the evening.
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Holiday Lights Tour (Club Edition)
Cheyenne Holiday Markets and Shopping
Christmas Craft Festival
What to Expect:
Locally-made Western-inspired holiday crafts
Description:
The Christmas Craft Festival spotlights Wyoming's talented artisans and their unique, Western-inspired creations. Rows of booths showcase handcrafted items ranging from leather goods to hand-blown glass ornaments. The air is filled with the scent of pine and cinnamon from locally-made candles and soaps. Visitors can watch live demonstrations of traditional crafting techniques, such as quilting and woodcarving. This event celebrates Cheyenne's long-standing tradition of supporting local craftspeople, dating back to the city's founding in 1867.
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Cheyenne Holiday Giving Opportunities
Festival of Trees
What to Expect:
Charity auction of creatively decorated Christmas trees
Description:
The Festival of Trees transforms a local venue into a forest of uniquely decorated Christmas trees. Each tree, sponsored by a local business or organization, showcases a different theme, often incorporating Wyoming's natural beauty and Western heritage. Visitors can admire the creative displays and bid on their favorite trees in a silent auction. The event, which began in 1990, raises funds for local charities. Try your luck at the raffle for a chance to win miniature decorated trees crafted by local artists.
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Cheyenne Holiday Shows and Entertainment
Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert
What to Expect:
Classical holiday music with Western flair
Description:
The Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra's Christmas Concert blends classical holiday favorites with arrangements inspired by the American West. The orchestra, established in 1954, performs in the historic Atlas Theatre, built in 1887. Listen to unique renditions of Christmas carols incorporating traditional Western instruments like the fiddle and harmonica. The concert features a special segment dedicated to Wyoming composers, showcasing the state's musical heritage. Audience members can join in for a rousing sing-along of cowboy Christmas songs to close the evening.
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Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert
Cheyenne Other Holiday Activities
Cheyenne Christmas Parade
What to Expect:
Cowboy-themed Christmas parade
Description:
Cheyenne's Christmas Parade gallops through downtown, blending holiday cheer with Wild West flair. Spectators line the streets to witness cowboys on horseback, decorated wagons, and floats adorned with twinkling lights. You can warm up with a steaming cup of hot cocoa while watching the procession. This annual tradition dates back to 1897, making it one of the oldest Christmas parades in the region. The event culminates with Santa Claus arriving in a horse-drawn sleigh, tipping his cowboy hat to the crowd.
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Christmas at the Capitol
What to Expect:
Holiday decorations in historic government building
Description:
The Wyoming State Capitol transforms into a holiday spectacle during Christmas at the Capitol. Towering Christmas trees grace the rotunda, each decorated to represent different Wyoming counties. Visitors can explore the beautifully adorned halls and chambers of this historic building, which opened in 1890. The event showcases local talent with performances by school choirs and bands echoing through the marble corridors. As you wander, discover the unique ornaments crafted by Wyoming artisans, reflecting the state's rich cultural heritage.
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Old West Holiday at the Botanic Gardens
What to Expect:
Frontier-themed holiday experience in a botanical setting
Description:
Old West Holiday at the Botanic Gardens transports visitors to a frontier Christmas. The gardens come alive with period-accurate decorations and reenactors in 19th-century attire. Stroll through illuminated pathways lined with native Wyoming plants, each labeled with its historical use by pioneers. Try your hand at making traditional frontier ornaments using natural materials. This event pays homage to Cheyenne's roots as a railroad town, with a miniature train display winding through a recreated Old West village.
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Old West Holiday at the Botanic Gardens
Tinsel Through Time
What to Expect:
Interactive journey through Christmas history
Description:
Tinsel Through Time invites participants on a journey through the evolution of Christmas celebrations. This immersive experience features vignettes from different eras, showcasing how holiday traditions have changed over the centuries. Engage with costumed interpreters who demonstrate vintage decoration techniques and share stories of Christmases past. The event highlights Cheyenne's own holiday history, including the introduction of electric Christmas lights to the city in 1882. Visitors can create their own vintage-inspired Christmas cards to take home.
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Children's Christmas Village Event
What to Expect:
Kid-sized Old West town with holiday activities
Description:
The Children's Christmas Village Event transforms a corner of Cheyenne into a miniature frontier town decked out for the holidays. Young visitors can explore child-sized buildings, including a general store, schoolhouse, and blacksmith shop, all adorned with period-appropriate decorations. Kids can participate in hands-on activities like making corn husk dolls or writing letters to Santa using quill pens. This event draws inspiration from Cheyenne's history as a 19th-century railroad hub, introducing children to both holiday traditions and local heritage.
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Children's Christmas Village Event
Christmas at the Old West Museum
What to Expect:
Holiday exhibits showcasing frontier Christmas traditions
Description:
Christmas at the Old West Museum offers a glimpse into how pioneers celebrated the holidays. Exhibits feature authentic 19th-century decorations, toys, and gifts, providing context for the evolution of Christmas traditions in the American West. Visitors can examine a collection of antique Christmas cards sent to and from Cheyenne residents in the late 1800s. The museum, housed in a building from the 1950s, showcases how holiday celebrations adapted to the harsh realities of frontier life. Try your hand at making traditional salt dough ornaments using historic recipes.
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Christmas at the Old West Museum