Annual festivities livening up Westside for the season

Annual festivities livening up Westside for the season

'Tis the season for Westside festivities.
Holiday revelers may wish to keep their eyes open for the following traditional happenings:

Christmas Stroll in Old Colorado City, Nov. 28.

Candlelight Tour at the Bear Creek Nature Center, Dec. 4.

Holiday Open House at the Old Colorado City History Center, Dec. 5.

Holiday Evening at Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site, Dec. 19.

Additional activities in the OCC shopping district (weekends till Christmas).

A Lego family (with one apparently "normal" child) joined thousands of visitors to the Oct. 31 Safe Treats, one of Old Colorado City's biggest annual events.

Westside Pioneer photo

       Stroll
       In what's become an annual affair, the Old Colorado City Associates (OCCA) business group will again set aside the first Saturday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 28 this year) to provide entertainment along the avenue - mainly between 24th and 27th streets.
       Scheduled acts include the Original Dickens Carolers, Pikes Peak Youth Ringers, Victorian Society, carolers from the Old Colorado City Library and Elvis and Marilyn impersonators.
       It will also be the first day of the OCCA's Santa Claus in the Bancroft Park cabin. See Westside Happenings (Page 9) for his schedule through Christmas Eve.
       Bear Creek
       An annual fundraiser for the Bear Creek Nature Center, 245 Bear Creek Road, “Candlelight” will be Friday, Dec. 4 from 5 to 8 p.m. Included will be live music, live animals, crafts, Santa Claus, refreshments and a “candlelit trail walk along the nature trails,” the website states. A donation is requested of $4 for a person or $12 for family of four.
       Holiday Open House
       The Old Colorado City Historical Society (OCCHS) is holding a new event this year, the Holiday Open House, Saturday, Dec. 5, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free and open to the public, the event will be at the Old Colorado City History Center, 1 S. 24th St. (See separate story, back page.)
       Holiday Evening
       In a continuing tradition, the Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site will present an 1800s-style Christmas Saturday, Dec. 19 from 4 to 8 p.m.
       Admission is $8, with discounts for seniors and children, which includes all activities and house tours.
       The 230-acre ranch is off Gateway Road at 30th Street.
       Activities will include wagon rides, live music, lantern-light tours, blacksmithing demonstrations, a barn dance, house tours and a chance to visit St. Nicholas.
       Other OCC seasonal
       Also sponsored by the OCCA, activities include Santa in the cabin and occasional performers on weekends, plus Christmas Eve.

Westside Pioneer article