Castle Rock's Holiday Season Starts Three Days Before the Star Is Lit

The star on top of the Rock goes on at about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. Most of the season is already decided by then. The scarcest thing downtown this winter is a seat in a horse-drawn carriage, and it goes on sale online on the Wednesday before Starlighting, at noon.

Here are the season's dates in order. The first one is tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 6.

Friday, Nov. 6: The Last Day to Bid on the Switch

Every year someone presses the button that lights the star. This year the Castle Rock Chamber is auctioning that spot. Bidding starts at $2,000, each new bid has to be at least $250 higher, and online bidding closes Friday, Nov. 6. The winner flips the switch on the Main Stage, gets name or brand recognition from the stage and commemorative photos, and can choose to be recognized in Chamber communications. The money goes to the Chamber's Veterans Alliance and Tours for Teachers programs.

Most households will skip this one. It still tells you how the event is built. The Chamber has run Starlighting since 1962, and the star itself was first lit in 1936. Much of the season runs on community money like this.

Wednesday, Nov. 18 at Noon: The Carriage Math

The 2026 Downtown Castle Rock Carriage Rides have a set number of rides. There are 560 for the whole season. When the program started, one carriage ran one night a week. Now two carriages run five nights a week. That growth still doesn't cover demand. The Castle Rock Downtown Alliance says plainly that even nightly rides probably couldn't serve everyone who wants one.

Part of that supply is already gone. On Oct. 29, 75 tickets were sold in person outside Event Hall A at the Philip & Jerry Miller Library, and numbers went to the first 75 people in line at 3:30 p.m. The rest go online on Nov. 18 at noon. The link goes up at that time on the Alliance's webpage, Facebook and Instagram. The Alliance's own advice is to be online on a fast connection when sales open and to refresh the page right at noon.

Have these details ready before noon:

• Price: $59 per carriage, which comes to $14.75 each when four people ride together.
• Capacity: Four people. In some cases, two adults and three children under 10.
• Limit: One ticket per person, and one ticket reserves the whole carriage for one ride.
• Payment: Credit card only.
• Pickup: Festival Park, by the big tree. Arrive a few minutes early.

The $59 price is intentionally low. The Alliance says ticket sales cover less than half of what the rides cost. Sponsors such as Castle Rock Autoplex help, and the Alliance covers the rest so more people can afford a ride. Low prices and a fixed number of rides add up to a sellout, and that's why noon on a Wednesday matters.

Saturday, Nov. 21: The Day the Star Goes On

Starlighting runs from 2 to 6 p.m. across Historic Wilcox Square, Downtown Castle Rock and Festival Park. General admission is free. Chamber events take credit and debit cards only, so cash won't help you at the beverage tents.

The afternoon has two fixed times, and the rest fills in around them:

1. 2:00 to 4:15 p.m.: Santa Claus is in Festival Park. If your kids want a photo, go early. Santa is done before the ceremony starts.
2. All afternoon: The Castle Rock Professional Firefighters serve their 90th Annual Chili Supper at Fire Station 151, with beef chili, nachos, hot dogs, drinks and desserts. Biff Gore plays the main stage at 4th and Wilcox. Carolers and dance groups stroll the streets, and there's a kids zone with a petting zoo, face painting and games.
3. 5:00 p.m.: The 2026 Starlighting Ceremony begins on the Main Stage at 4th and Wilcox.
4. About 5:30 p.m.: The star lights, and fireworks follow right away, weather permitting.

Getting downtown without parking downtown

Free shuttles run from 1:30 to 8 p.m. Return shuttles pick up where they dropped off, so remember your stop.

The downtown garages are also open. That includes the Encore garage at Wilcox and Perry and the garage at 3rd and Jerry, both on the Town's downtown parking map. Streets close from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.: Perry from 5th to 2nd, North Wilcox from 5th to 3rd, 4th from Jerry to Perry, and 3rd and 2nd from Wilcox to Perry. If you run errands downtown that Saturday morning, plan around those closures.

Nov. 22 Through Dec. 29: A Ride Downtown Almost Every Night

This is the part of the season that gets the least attention. The carriage schedule and the free trolley schedule fit together. From Nov. 23 through Dec. 29, there's a way to see the downtown lights from a moving seat almost every night of the week, except on the four holiday dates when the carriages don't run.

Carriages run Wednesday through Sunday from Nov. 22 to Jan. 3. The Free Winter Trolley runs Monday and Tuesday evenings from Nov. 23 to Dec. 29, the two nights the carriages don't.

Carriages don't run Nov. 26, Dec. 24, Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means no carriage rides on Thanksgiving night, even though it falls on a regular Thursday.

If you miss out on a carriage ticket, the trolley is the backup, and it needs no ticket at all. It runs a figure-eight loop with three stops: the Encore Parking Garage entrance on South Street between Wilcox and Perry, the crosswalk on Third Street, and the entrance to the Douglas County School District parking lot on 6th Street between Wilcox and Perry. A full loop takes about 12 minutes. A carriage ride lasts 8 to 15 minutes, and most take about 10. So the free ride is about as long as the $59 one.

Dress for the carriage the way you'd dress for a walk. It's open-air, rides go ahead in rain or snow unless the weather is extreme, and the Alliance suggests hand warmers, gloves, hats and blankets. The horses come from Kodiak Ranch, and rides are kept short so the horses get a break after each one.

The First Two Weekends of December Belong to the Town

Once the Alliance's nightly rides are running, the Town of Castle Rock's calendar adds daytime events, and most of them are in Festival Park too.

Festival Park Starlight Market, Dec. 4 and 5. The Town calls it Castle Rock's premier craft and food market. It has more than 40 vendors selling crafts, art, roasted chestnuts, salsa and tamales, with food trucks, hot cocoa and holiday music around the 40-foot decorated tree at 300 Second St. Friday hours are 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you shop Friday at dusk, you can stay for a carriage ride, since carriages run until 8:30 that night.

Reindeer Games, Dec. 5, 1 to 4 p.m. This one is across town at the Amphitheater at Philip S. Miller Park, 1375 W. Plum Creek Parkway. It has live reindeer, Santa visits, crafts, outdoor games and hot chocolate. It overlaps with the Saturday market, so if you want both, plan a two-stop afternoon.

Storytellers and S'mores, Dec. 12, 5 to 7 p.m. Santa and friends read holiday favorites from the giant Storyteller Chair in Festival Park, with marshmallow roasting and hot chocolate. It's free. The carriages leave from the same park that Saturday evening.

The full lineup is on the Town of Castle Rock's December 2026 calendar.

After the Rides End, the Star Stays On

The last carriage ride is Jan. 3, 2027. The star stays up longer. 9News reports that the Castle Rock Star stays lit each year until the National Western Stock Show ends, which keeps it shining over town well into January.

One downtown business celebrates its first anniversary this season. Homegrown Tap & Dough at 221 Wilcox St. was announced to open on Dec. 26, 2025, so its one-year mark lands the day after Christmas, during this stretch of lights. The Alliance's trolley page puts the goal simply: ride, then stay for a meal, some shopping or something fun downtown.

Here are the dates for your calendar: bidding on the switch closes Nov. 6, carriage tickets go on sale Nov. 18 at noon, the star lights Nov. 21, the trolley starts Nov. 23, the market runs Dec. 4 and 5, and the last carriage ride is Jan. 3.

If you're hosting family for the holidays and want a hand planning a Starlighting weekend, or you just want to know which garage fills up first, Lauren Trent is glad to help. Let's Connect, and I'll send you my short list of downtown stops for a night under the star.