Holiday decorations add to the wonder of Downtown Missoula. They provide a sense of merriment, excitement, nostalgia, and they give Missoulians and visitors’ feelings of warmth, grace, and calm. This holiday season, while Missoulians are shopping locally, Christmas Caroling, and supporting our local economy and small businesses by shopping and dining in Downtown Missoula during Small Business Season, let’s all bask in the warmth and welcoming new holiday decorations downtown.
The Downtown Missoula Partnership has been decking the halls in holiday decorations since 1998. The growth of our downtown and investments made over the years are only part of the plans to spread Fa La La. The holiday season is a special time in Missoula and downtown celebrates this time by decorating our windows, lighting up our buildings, bringing Frosty to life, and inviting cheer and goodwill.
Investments made into holiday decorations include lights on the downtown tree and more than 100 decorations hung up on the light poles. This year, the Downtown Missoula Partnership, specifically the Missoula Downtown Foundation (MDF) and the Business Improvement District of Downtown Missoula (BID) have invested in an additional 6,000 lights for our Christmas Tree and 90 twenty-five feet strands of Spruce garland and warm white lights to wrap all light poles on Higgins Avenue from Hellgate High School to Missoula’s Red XXXXs. It will be truly a home for the holidays.
As we go a-wassailing with The Missoula Downtown Association’s (MDA) Parade of Lights on Dec. 5 and the Festival of Trees (Nov. 27-Dec 6) the holiday decorations and lighting will begin on Friday Evening; November 27 and all decorations will illuminate every evening until mid-January 2021. The “Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is” and Small Business Season Campaign all play a jingle bell rock role in the efforts of the Downtown Missoula Partnership and our Downtown Community to connect us, welcome us, and share in holiday joy to the world as we continue to meet and answer the challenges of our current landscape.
“This is a difficult time for Missoula, our Downtown, and our entire community” said Robert Giblin, Director of Finance and Administration for the Downtown Missoula Partnership. “Holiday shopping and cheer is upon us and we want our community to feel welcome, warm, and invited into Downtown Missoula. The new decorations hopefully will go a long way to meeting those expectations. It is vitally important for everyone to feel a sense of place while they shop and dine in Downtown Missoula this holiday season.”
“We have a lot of great holiday activities happening in Downtown this year that will allow families and small groups of friends to enjoy Downtown,” said Bob McGowan, President of the MDA Board of Directors.
In addition to the new decorations, Small Business Season, and the holiday events, the Downtown Missoula Window Decorating Contest is also a staple to our holiday and let it snow season. Beginning on Nov. 27 and continuing on through Tuesday, Dec. 15, more than 30 Downtown businesses decorate their windows with silver bells, and festive sleighs as they spread holiday cheer and welcome all to downtown.
Whether you safely enjoy the mistletoe, Santa, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, or you don’t celebrate at all, Downtown Missoula welcomes you, our holiday season, and the chance to bask in the warmth of the hearth of our hearts. We all have a place in Downtown Missoula.