Bozeman’s 27th Annual Christmas Stroll

By Alison Grey, 11-30-07

	Caption: The Virginia City Overland Stage brings haywagon rides to the Christmas Stroll.

The summer construction, detours and traffic that accompanied the downtown makeover are dwindling to a distant memory, and Bozeman’s newly beautified Main Street is ready to host its most popular event of the season, The Christmas Stroll, kicking off this Saturday from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

With more than 6,000 people that flock to the streets to ring in the holiday season, the Stroll, in its 27th season, draws more people to Bozeman’s Downtown than any other community event, said Ellie Staley, program director for the Downtown Bozeman Partnership, which hosts the event with Bridger Bowl Ski Area.

“The stroll really marks the kick-off to the holiday season,” she said. “There was definitely some frustration over the summer with construction, but Downtown Bozeman is looking more beautiful than ever, and we’re excited to put the summer behind us and focus on the year to come.”

With horse-drawn hay wagon rides hosted by Virginia City Overland Stage, Christmas carols, pictures with Santa, an Alpaca petting zoo, a multitude of musical and theatrical performances, over 40 food vendors and the grand lighting ceremony of Downtown lights, the Christmas Stroll is truly a family focused event.

And while Staley notes that the stroll is more of a special event for the community than a retail event focused on shopping, the thousands of people who flock to Main Street are certainly a welcome sight for downtown businesses which have patiently waited through months of construction.

With all of the people descending upon downtown this Saturday, many of the local businesses will open their doors with some special treats and activities just for Christmas Stroll.

Shoe Fly Shoes will be serving up slices of her famous Shoe Fly Pie, Schnee’s Boots and Shoes will have Burmese Mountain Dogs on hand for your viewing, and petting pleasure, the Bozeman Public Library will host kids activities and musical performances, the Emerson Cultural Center hosts its Annual Holiday Bazaar prior to the stroll, with everything from gingerbread house construction to a holiday hip-hop dance performance, you can meet the Bridger Bowl Avalanche Dogs at Barrel Mountaineering, enjoy holiday deals at Cactus Records, and the Robin Bar will reopen their doors for cocktails. Plus, there’s much more.

But sure to glance above you on South Grand, as Mercury Advertising will be hanging out for three days and three nights on a porta-ledge as an awareness campaign for the homeless and a fundraiser for Family Promise of Gallatin Valley.

Christmas Stroll is free and open to the public, but a $3 button gets you a ride on the hay wagon, pictures with Santa and the opportunity to win passes to Bridger Bowl, Norris Hot Springs and the Museum of the Rockies.

Buttons are available at Chalet Sports, Schnee’s Boots and Shoes, First Security Bank, Van’s County Market, Owenhouse Hardware, Heeb’s Grocery, Smith’s Supermarket, The Emerson Cultural Center and other downtown businesses. All of the money from the buttons goes directly back into the event, so get out there and support your community and local businesses.

For more events over the weekend, be sure to check out BozemanEvents.Net.