When does the holiday season start in Livingston? Most of the town calendar points to Saturday, Nov. 28, when Santa flips the switch on the Depot Park trees. The first event of the season is nine days earlier, on Thursday, Nov. 19, inside the Empire Twin Theatre on North Second Street. It is a night of outdoor films. The next night is a party at the Depot, and that party is the biggest fundraiser of the whole run.
Over the 16 days from Nov. 19 to Dec. 5, the tree lighting, the Christmas Stroll and the Holiday Market follow, a few days apart, and each one is paid for differently. Some run on donations, some on downtown business districts, one on a $1 admission. Everything raised at the Depot party goes to one place on South Main Street.
Before Thanksgiving week, the Shane Center has the stage
There is still a show between this post and Cold Snap. The Shane Lalani Center for the Arts at 415 East Lewis Street is running Shrek the Musical on Nov. 6 through 8 and Nov. 12 through 15. Evening curtain is at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees are at 3 p.m. On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Livingston Film Series is screening Trust Me there from 7 to 9 p.m.
When Shrek closes on Sunday, Nov. 15, Cold Snap is four days away.
Thursday, Nov. 19: eighteen years of ski films
Dan Bailey's Outdoor Co. is hosting its 18th Cold Snap Film Festival this year. It began when a group of ski bums wanted to watch ski films together. They joined the Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival and screened at the Elks Lodge, asking everyone who came to bring a donation for the food bank. Over the years that one screening became two nights, and it moved downtown to the Empire Twin. The shop says the films now celebrate the natural world, human-powered adventure, environmental justice and inclusivity in the outdoors.
Here are the 2026 details from Dan Bailey's community events page:
- Where: Empire Twin Theatre, 106 North Second Street
- When: two showings, at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
- Tickets: $10, sold at the Dan Bailey's shop. Tell them which showing you want when you buy.
- Before and after: a pre- and post-party at Katabatic Brewing, 3:30 to 9 p.m.
Tickets are sold at the shop counter for one of two showings, so the earlier you buy, the more likely you get the showing you want.
Friday, Nov. 20: the free party that raises the most money
Pray for Snow is free to attend. The doors open at 6 p.m. at the Livingston Depot Center. Dan Bailey's lists a silent auction, a raffle, live music, dancing, and food and beer from Follow Yer' Nose BBQ, Gil's Goods and Neptune's Brewery. All proceeds go to Loaves and Fishes.
The money comes in through the auction tables and the raffle. In 2025 the event raised $42,378 for Loaves and Fishes, and Dan Bailey's calls that a record. To put that number in context, the festival began with a handful of film nights at the Elks Lodge and a donation jar for the food bank.
The Livingston Enterprise describes Loaves and Fishes as a charitable food nonprofit at 301 S. Main St. It serves daily hot meals at no cost and runs a food pantry. A group of local women started it in the late 1980s. So the season's biggest single fundraiser supports a kitchen a few blocks from the Depot where the party happens.
Saturday, Nov. 28: the lights are lit, and donors pay for them
Light Up Livingston runs from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Livingston Depot Center and Depot Park. The tree-lighting ceremony is at 5:30 p.m. The event is free. Explore Livingston says the only costs are food and drinks.
Explore Livingston counts more than 100,000 lights on 38 trees in Depot Park, and they stay lit through the holiday season. The Holiday Lights Committee handles the park lights. Explore Livingston describes it as community-funded, receiving no county, city or tax funds. The 90 large snowflake lights on downtown light poles are paid for jointly by the Downtown Livingston Business Improvement District, the Tourism Business Improvement District and the Holiday Lights Committee.
The organizers picked the date on purpose. Light Up Livingston falls on National Small Business Saturday, and organizers want people to shop and eat downtown before and after the lighting. The event comes from the Explore Livingston Coalition, which includes the tourism and downtown improvement districts and the Convention & Visitors Bureau. The coalition is funded by downtown district property assessments and hotel bed taxes, and it puts on events that bring visitors' dollars into town. Explore Livingston's event page says the Livingston Depot Center will serve hot chocolate to raise money for the Depot Foundation.
The run, by who pays for it
| Date | Event | Where | Cost to attend | Where the money comes from or goes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Cold Snap Film Festival | Empire Twin Theatre, 106 N. Second St. | $10 | Dan Bailey's screening that opens the two-night event |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Pray for Snow | Livingston Depot Center | Free | Auction and raffle proceeds go to Loaves and Fishes |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Light Up Livingston | Depot Center & Park | Free | Park lights paid for by community donors; the event is run by the tax-district coalition |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Historic Livingston Christmas Stroll | Downtown | Free to walk | Downtown businesses host the stops |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Livingston Holiday Market | Civic Center, 229 River Dr. | $1, includes a raffle ticket | Run by the City Recreation Department |
Friday, Dec. 4: Main Street hosts the stroll
The Livingston Area Chamber of Commerce runs the Historic Livingston Christmas Stroll from 4 to 8 p.m. downtown. The Chamber calls its list of activities tentative and says to check back for updates. These are the stops posted so far:
- Santa photos at Everton Mattress, 124 S. Main
- Hay rides on Main Street between Callender and Lewis
- Live music at DeYoung Gallery, 209 S. Main, and at High Trash Boutique, 113 S. Main St.
- Hot drinks and treats at The Office, 128 S. Main St., with hot adult beverages plus free cocoa and sweets for kids. Pickle Barrel, 131 S. Main St., has cocoa and cookies. DeYoung Gallery is selling Christmas glassware for $10, drink included.
- Shopping and cookies at The Alchemy Exchange, 130 N. 2nd, Suite 5, with many items 40% off
- Art and artisans at DeYoung Gallery with an ornament sale, at Celtic Roots Salon & Spa, 126 E. Callender, with Irish Raven Designs, at Fireflies, 116 N. Main St., with ornament painting, and at Creative Reuse Montana, 129 S. Main St., with art activities
Six days after the Depot Park lighting, the stroll moves the season up Main Street. Except for the hay rides, every stop on the posted list is inside a downtown business. That makes the stroll the version of the season held in shops, and the lit trees stay in the park for anyone who wants to walk back by them afterward.
Saturday, Dec. 5: the market that costs a dollar
The day after the stroll, the City of Livingston's Holiday Market runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Livingston Civic Center, 229 River Drive. Admission is $1 per visitor and includes one raffle ticket. Local nonprofits have booths among the vendors, and the Recreation Department approves every vendor's items.
This is the one event in the run that the city produces itself. Every event before it is put on by a shop, a coalition of tax districts, or the Chamber. Livingston has also traditionally held its Community Christmas Craft Fair at the Park County Fairgrounds on the first Saturday of December. That means two December markets have typically shared that Saturday.
Carissa is a Montana native, so a calendar that starts with ski films and a full room at the Depot feels familiar to her. If you're at Pray for Snow or the Christmas Stroll this year and questions come up about a home in Livingston or Paradise Valley, Carissa Maus (Paulson) would be glad to talk them through with you, whether that's over cocoa on Main Street or in a free consultation.
