On the Friday after Thanksgiving, our team participated in a local tradition called the Christmas Stroll. The downtown businesses organized a very clever gimmick in which people purchased $5 numbered buttons and could win prizes at various stores if they had a matching number, much like a raffle. For this one evening, stores opened late for a rush of Christmas shopping, and Main Street was shut down so people could wander the roads, aglow with street lamps and Christmas lights. Santa and Mrs. Claus paid the city a visit, and performers belted out live Christmas music on nearly every street corner. The event was abuzz with activity and Christmas cheer as trolleys and horse-drawn carriages traversed the festive strip. Check out the video of the event from The Sheridan Press.
While my pin didn't win me any great prizes, I didn't walk away empty-handed. As I've come to learn over the last few weeks, this town is incredibly generous. At the downtown plaza, they handed out free hot cocoa (with whipped cream, marshmallows, and peppermint flavoring!) and food, including a heavenly white chili that I swear was just melted butter thrown in with chicken and beans. I also got a free travel mug from the Sheridan Police Department that has come in handy for my morning coffee and a mini flashlight from a local ministry that says "Jesus Is the Light!"
Some of the evening's highlights for me included a wine tasting hosted by Brundage Street Wines, which offered nine samples for only $3, and we got to keep the the commemorative glass! At a shop called 2nd Chance CDs, a really good band called Greenhorse was putting on a free and funky concert. They wrapped themselves in Christmas lights, which added to the festive and eclectic mood.
If you know me at all, you know that nearly anything Christmas makes me ridiculously happy, so you can imagine how pleased I was with this warm, heartfelt holiday expression in small-town Wyoming.
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