On the evening of Saturday, November 28, at 5:30, Santa will switch on more than 100,000 lights strung across 38 trees in Depot Park. That one moment lights the largest display in downtown Livingston. It is paid for by individual and business donors through a volunteer nonprofit that, according to Explore Livingston, "receives no County, City, or tax funds."
Most of what fills downtown's calendar between now and Christmas follows the same pattern. The Depot's own signature party pays to keep the building standing. The hot chocolate at the tree lighting goes to the Depot Foundation. Ski movies at the theater raise money for the food pantry. Downtown's holiday season is largely a chain of fundraisers, and knowing who is raising money for what tells you a lot about the next six weeks.
Three groups, three sources of money
Three separate groups light downtown, and each pays for its share differently. The City of Livingston's FY26/27 work plan, in a city commission meeting packet, lays out the split plainly:
"Downtown holiday lights are a perfect example of collaboration; the nonprofit Holiday Lights of Livingston does the Depot tree lights and Livingston's official Christmas tree, LBID does the Snowflake Lights, the Chamber does light pole wraps, plus each Downtown business does their own holiday décor and it all looks great together!"
Here is who does what, and where the money comes from:
- Holiday Lights of Livingston handles the Depot Park trees and the town's official Christmas tree. The Holiday Lights Committee calls itself an "all-volunteer, community-funded holiday project," established in 1998. Its money comes from hundreds of individual and business donors. Midway Rentals, Treeincarnation and Ace Hardware support it with in-kind help.
- The Downtown Livingston Business Improvement District hangs the LED snowflakes on downtown lamp posts. The district is funded by assessments on the property owners inside its boundaries.
- The Livingston Chamber puts up the light pole wraps.
The Tourism Business Improvement District also plays a part. It is funded by a flat $2 fee per room night at lodging within city limits. It teams up with the downtown district and the Convention & Visitors Bureau as the Explore Livingston Coalition. In 2021 the TBID and the Holiday Lights Committee helped the downtown district buy a second set of snowflakes in a different size and design. That brought the total close to 90.
Why the snowflakes outlast the trees
These funding differences also decide how long each piece stays up. The snowflake program began in 2020. The city's work plan says the fixtures hang from November to February, and that they were picked "to withstand high winds and snow and have a timeless, classy winter appeal beyond just the holidays." They are winter décor bought by a district whose job is to keep downtown appealing for business all season.
The Depot trees are a holiday project in the narrower sense. Explore Livingston says they will "Light Up Livingston through the holiday season." Their focus has changed, too. The committee says its attention has turned to the Depot Park trees "for the past few years." A new, densely lit tree supported by Ace Hardware debuted in 2021, the same year as the first Light Up Livingston. That makes 2026 the event's sixth year.
The calendar, read as a list of fundraisers
When this post goes up on November 12, the season's first major fundraiser is one day away. Here are the dated events through December 23, along with who benefits where the organizer says so.
| Date | Event | Where | Who it supports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov. 13 | Wine & Beer Tasting, 21st year | Livingston Depot Center | Preserving the Depot building |
| Thu, Nov. 19 | Cold Snap screenings, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. | Empire Twin Theatres | Loaves and Fishes |
| Fri, Nov. 20 | Pray for Snow celebration | Livingston Depot Center | Loaves and Fishes |
| Sat, Nov. 28 | Light Up Livingston, 4 to 7 p.m. | Depot Center and Depot Park | Free; hot chocolate benefits the Depot Foundation |
| Fri, Dec. 4 | Christmas Stroll, 4 to 8 p.m. | Downtown Main Street | Free downtown event |
| Wed, Dec. 23 | The Polar Express, Livingston Film Series, 7 p.m. | The Shane Center | Free admission |
Every time and lineup in this post comes from the organizer's own listing, and any of them can change.
November 13: the Depot pays for itself
The Livingston Depot Foundation's Wine & Beer Tasting is back for its 21st year. The foundation runs it "in support of the preservation of the iconic Depot building as the anchor of our vibrant downtown." Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a "sneak peek" hour with passed hors d'oeuvres from local chefs, first pours of regional craft beer and specialty wine, and an early look at the silent auction. The main event runs 6:30 to 8:30. Tickets cost $50 to $75, and every guest takes home a signature Depot wine glass. The foundation recommends buying ahead because only a few tickets are sold at the door.
That's the building where Santa will meet kids 15 days later, so the tasting funds the same space that hosts the free tree lighting. That same weekend, Shrek the Musical finishes its run at The Shane Center, 415 East Lewis Street, with its last performance on Sunday, November 15.
November 19 and 20: ski films for the food pantry
According to Dan Bailey's, its Cold Snap Film Festival grew out of a ski-film gathering and fundraiser that started 18 years ago. In 2025 it raised $42,378 for Loaves and Fishes. This year's screenings are Thursday, November 19, at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., and the Pray for Snow celebration follows on Friday, November 20. Also on November 19, the Thursday before Thanksgiving, Catherine Lane & Friends holds its Holiday Open House from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 120 South 2nd Street.
November 28: the lighting is scheduled to send you shopping
Light Up Livingston costs nothing to attend. Food and drinks are the only things for sale. The organizers chose National Small Business Saturday on purpose, to get people into locally owned restaurants and shops before and after. A Small Business Saturday Passport for adults kicks off holiday shopping downtown.
Here's how the three hours run, according to Explore Livingston:
- 4 p.m. The candy cane hunt starts, with hundreds of candy canes hidden around Depot Park. LINKS for Learning runs free kids' crafts inside the Depot.
- All evening. Hayrides circle Depot Park behind a John Deere tractor, with in-kind support from Frontier Ag Solutions and straw bales from the Spur Line. The Model Railroad Club runs trains in the basement between the Gourmet Cellar and the Depot, 20 visitors at a time.
- 5:30 p.m. Santa lights the trees, then heads inside the Depot to meet children. Parents can get a chair massage while they wait in line.
- Throughout. Food trucks park outside, beer and wine are served at Caviste, formerly Uncorked, next to the Gourmet Cellar, and the Depot Center sells hot chocolate for the Depot Foundation. The Tourism BID hands out hats, scarves and gloves to the first several hundred guests, along with a limited supply of mugs.
Holiday Lights of Livingston will be there too. The trees going on at 5:30 are its work, and its only funding is the donations it collects.
December 4: Main Street gets its turn
A week after the Depot Park lighting, the Chamber's Christmas Stroll moves the action onto Main Street. It runs Friday, December 4, from 4 to 8 p.m. The Chamber calls its list tentative and says locations and activities may change. Here's the current lineup:
- Santa photos at Everton Mattress, 124 S Main
- Letters to Santa at The Main Print Shop, 108 N Main, and a North Pole mailbox at LuLu's on Main, 129 N Main
- Hay rides on Main Street between Callender and Lewis
- Live music from Stretch at DeYoung Gallery, 209 S Main, plus the PHS Choir caroling along Main
- Hot drinks and treats at The Office, 128 S Main, with hot drinks for adults and free cocoa and sweets for kids, and cocoa and cookies at Pickle Barrel, 131 S Main
- Art and shopping, including ornament painting at Fireflies, 116 N Main, art activities at Creative Reuse Montana, 129 S Main, Irish Raven Designs at Celtic Roots Salon & Spa, 126 E Callender, Christmas ornaments and $10 Christmas glassware with a drink at DeYoung Gallery, and many items 40% off with Christmas cookies at The Alchemy Exchange, 130 N 2nd, Suite 5
LuLu's on Main is one of the newer names on that list. It's a women's Western boutique with clothing, accessories and Montana-made gifts, run as a second location by the team behind LuLu's Montana Market.
The Stroll happens under the snowflakes the downtown district paid for and beside the pole wraps the Chamber put up, with each shop doing its own decorating. On this night all three groups' work is on view at once, along the same blocks where the Stroll's Santa photos, hay rides and music take place.
After Christmas, the snowflakes stay up
The Shane Center winds down the season with Holiday Vaudeville from December 11 through 20 and a free Livingston Film Series showing of The Polar Express on December 23 at 7 p.m. The Depot trees stay lit through the holidays. The lamp-post snowflakes, chosen to last a whole Livingston winter, hang until February. They'll still be up for Livingston Restaurant Week, February 1 through 6, 2027.
The downtown blocks under those lights are where our family does a lot of its Montana work. If you own a home near Main Street or Depot Park and wonder how this winter's market sees it, The Hoffman Group is happy to walk you through it. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll put together an honest, local read on your home, maybe over cocoa on Stroll night.
