A Beloved Holiday Tradition: Festival of Lights

In 1984, the City of Colorado Springs began the Festival of Lights holiday celebration tradition. The museum, who found itself on the path of the annual parade, opened its doors to parade goers the next year. Guests were welcomed in to enjoy hot cider and cookies and take advantage of “comfortable (and warm) viewing of the parade” through the museum’s windows. Within a couple of years the event grew in attendance, and by 1987 the Museum welcomed 2,484 guests in one evening! This amounted to 17 pounds of hard candy, 50 gallons of hot cider, and 58 pounds of cookies. That same year local decorators were invited to create unique holiday wreaths to display in the museum lobby. The International Society of Interior Decorators submitted an entry titled ” A Colorado Springs Christmas, Early 1900s Style” reminiscent of wreaths that would have been hung on the doors of the grand homes in the Old North End. In its fourth year, the event included a special exhibit called 1930 Child’s Christmas with a display of children’s toys. Museum docents joined the fun by decorating the museum in a “Victorian holiday fashion.” 

Each year the event grew throughout the city eventually developing into to a weeklong celebration, “The Festival of Light is a series of events to celebrate the Holiday Season with cultural, educational, and artistic programs, performance, exhibits, “Parade of Lights” and other festivities.” By 1989 the Museum offered music and entertainment throughout the day, including, on one notable occasion, professional ice sculptors carving a giant snowman out of a block of ice in in Alamo Square Park. From the very beginning the SlimRail train group set-up and operated large displays of model trains. Other partners, such as the Pikes Peak Weavers Guild and the United States Postal Service with their “Letters to Santa” booth have a long history of participating in this special event. The event has always included live music performances, dancing, and even magic from the beloved Professor Higgins. Families have delighted in making ornaments and other holiday crafts over the years. Many families have made attending this event an annual tradition, noting that it is a staple of their holiday celebration.