If there’s one thing you can always expect to see around the holiday season, it’s holiday lights and decorations. Old Town in Fort Collins, Colo. is no exception. With stunning lights, a skating rink, and Santa’s Workshop, downtown Fort Collins is decked out for the holidays.

If you are walking around Old Town from the first Friday of November to Valentine’s Day, you’ll be surrounded by lights strung throughout 320 trees. You can see them all the way from Laporte Ave., all the way down to Magnolia St. Along College Ave., the lights are also about a block in each direction.

“We have a particular length in between the individual bulbs that create that kind of floating effect that you see up in the trees, that make them unique compared to trees that you see in your house,” said Mike Brunkhardt, the Senior Supervisor for the Parks Department.

The Fort Collins city department has been partnering with SaveATree for at least 14 years to be able to bring the magical display to life. This year’s contract for the holiday lights is $153,938 and includes funding from the General Improvement Districts, Downtown
Development Authority, and the Fort Collins Parks Division. The contract will run for five years with the same blueprint until the two partners decide to look at it once again.

Although there are lights all throughout Old Town, Brunkhardt has one spot in particular that he loves the most.

“Oak Street Plaza has a special place in my heart,” Brunkhardt said. “That’s where we had the lighting ceremony for a number of years until we changed it and it went to Old Town Square three years ago.”

The lights bring many people joy throughout the winter months, lighting the way for people of all ages. They are also an important part of the livelihood of the Old Town businesses. The shops and restaurants are also welcome to put up their own decorations to show their holiday spirit.

“They remind me every year of just how impactful they are to the downtown business districts and all the businesses down there,” Brunkhardt said. “They’re economically really beneficial to the downtown district. They’re also just a really great place for people to come down and meet and create memorable times.”

Along with the lights, Old Town expresses their holiday cheer through their very own skating rink and Santa’s Workshop. The skating rink has only been operating since 2016, but Santa has been visiting Old Town since the 1990s. Both are located close to the stage in Old Town Square.

The skating rink in Old Town is special because it is made out of synthetic ice. Although this may be a turnoff for some people, it comes in handy since the rink opens in late November and stays up until the last weekend in January.

“It allows for people to skate all season long when we have it open,” said Krista Knott, the Administrative Manager for the Downtown Development Authority. “We’ve had 60 degree day weather forecasts lately, and so the fact that it’s not real ice allows people to skate the entire time that it is up.”

Santa arrives in Old Town the Friday after Thanksgiving and stays until Christmas Eve. Families are welcome to meet him and take photographs with him for up to 10 minutes.

The lights and decorations in Old Town work in tandem to bring people together for the holiday season. So whether you are skating, visiting Santa, or just looking at lights, there’s something for everyone in Fort Collins this winter.

“It’s so magical. It really brings a lot of people into Old Town Square, keeps it vibrant, even during the colder nights,” Knott said. “It just makes the square feel so much more fun and festive.”