Three of Fort Morgan's December events happen in or right next to Glenn Miller Park. The Holiday Trains go up on Dec. 1. The Christmas Parade ends at the park's tree lighting on Thursday, Dec. 3. The Rotary Club's chili and soup lunch is in the park two days later. The Christmas Treat Walk on Dec. 12 brings everyone back to the shops on Main Street.
So December in Fort Morgan isn't one big night. It's a few short trips downtown over two weeks, most of them to the same park. Most of what you'll see there was built by local businesses and organizations, not brought in from somewhere else.
The calendar at a glance
| Date | Event | Where | What's set |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Merry Marketplace | The Block, 19592 E. 8th Ave. | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., free |
| Tue., Dec. 1 | Holiday Trains | Glenn Miller Park, Library Park | Public vote on the cars |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Christmas Parade and tree lighting | Main Street, then Glenn Miller Park | 6:00, theme "Colorado Christmas" |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Rotary Christmas Chili and Soup Festival | Glenn Miller Park | Starts 11 a.m., $5 admission |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Christmas Treat Walk | Main Street | Free treats at shops with balloons outside |
The Fort Morgan Area Chamber of Commerce lists the trains, the parade and the treat walk on its yearly events page. Visit Morgan County has listings for the Merry Marketplace and the Rotary festival.
The trains are built by the businesses you already shop at
The Holiday Trains are what fill the park. Each car is a small display decorated by a local business or organization. The Chamber's 2026 Community Holiday Trains form invites businesses and groups to decorate a car for the "2026 Christmas Capital of the Plains celebration." It also says the number of trains is limited.
Building the display starts months ahead. This year, groups picked up their cars at Quail Dunes Golf Course on scheduled days running from Tuesday, June 2, to Thursday, Nov. 5. Decorated cars were due back at the Chamber office by 4 p.m. on Nov. 16.
Chamber members get a better price, which helps explain why so many local names end up on the line:
- Non-members: $40 per car
- Kick-Start and nonprofit members: $25
- Ambassadors: $10
- Friend of the Fort members: one free car
- Chamber Champions: four free cars
- New wood base: $15 extra
Nonprofits can enter at a reduced price, so the train carries more than storefront logos. In 2024, the Fort Morgan Times reported that dozens of cars from local businesses and organizations stretched nearly the length of Glenn Miller Park. It called the train an annual tradition in a town also known as the Christmas Capital of the Plains.
The Chamber lists the trains for Dec. 1 at Glenn Miller Park and Library Park, and you can help pick a favorite. The Chamber's instructions say "Everyone gets to vote": find the post on the Chamber's Facebook page and vote through the link there. That listed date falls two days before parade night brings its crowd into the same park.
Parade night ends where the trains are
The Christmas Parade is set for Thursday, Dec. 3. The Chamber's parade entry form lists the start as "December 3rd at 6:00." Visit Morgan County's event listing describes a lighted parade down Main Street that wraps up with the tree lighting at Glenn Miller Park. It calls the night one of the biggest of the season in Morgan County.
This year's theme is "Colorado Christmas." Entries and the entry fee are due by Nov. 25, and the top entry wins an award. If your business, team or club wants to be in the parade instead of watching it, you have about a week after this post goes up.
The parade has local winners too. When the Fort Morgan Times covered the 2024 parade, it named Allo Fiber, Northeast Cheer Stars and Rival Services as the top three entries and showed Mayor Kevin Lindell lighting the tree. Some of the same groups that sponsor train cars may also have floats on Main Street. The tree lighting then brings the crowd into Glenn Miller Park, the same park the Chamber lists for the trains.
For planning your spot, the Times' 2025 holiday calendar shows that last year's parade, themed "Christmas Through the Decades," started at the corner of Main Street and E. Bijou Avenue at 6 p.m. The Chamber sets each year's route. You can reach the Chamber at 970-867-6702 or [email protected].
Two days later, the park hosts lunch
On Saturday, Dec. 5, the Fort Morgan Rotary Club holds its Christmas Chili and Soup Festival at Glenn Miller Park, starting at 11 a.m. Admission is $5 per person. You work your way through homemade chili and soup from local cooks and vote for your favorites. Prizes go to the best chili and best soup, and attendees pick the People's Choice winners.
Entering the cook-off is free, and the entry form is on the Fort Morgan Rotary Club website. Like the train cars, the festival leaves the final vote to the people who show up.
The Dec. 12 treat walk moves the crowd onto Main Street
The Chamber's Christmas Treat Walk on Dec. 12 moves the season into the shops. Look for businesses with balloons outside, stop in for a free treat, and browse while you're there.
The walk is also a good time to visit shops that are newer to the area. Empire Collectables at 218 State St. held its Chamber ribbon cutting on Oct. 3, 2026.
Get a head start on Nov. 28
The month really starts before December. On Small Business Saturday, Nov. 28, Simply Stated Bath & Body hosts its Merry Marketplace at The Block, 19592 E. 8th Ave. It's free and runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with 20 to 30 local businesses. The hours are earlier than last year, when the Times' 2025 calendar listed the market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you plan to arrive late in the morning, you'll have less shopping time than you did in 2025.
That market is on East 8th Avenue, not downtown. Starting Dec. 1, the season moves to Glenn Miller Park, which the Chamber lists for the trains and which hosts both the tree lighting and the Rotary lunch.
Adriana Otero has lived through many seasons of parade nights and chili lunches in the Brush and Fort Morgan corridor. If you're new to town and want help working out which events to put on your family's calendar, or you just want to talk about Fort Morgan in December, Best Life Realty would love to hear from you, in English or Spanish. Let's Connect.
