‘Cowboy Christmas’ in Stevensville

by John Dowd

This Saturday, December 7, local Stevensville businesses will be holding their second annual Cowboy Christmas. Starting at 10 a.m. and running until 4 p.m., the celebration is meant to kick off the holiday season with a western twist. The Saturday event was organized to occur after the Country Christmas to help continue festivities in Stevensville for another day.

According to Allison Milner, owner of The Hat Edit, the event will take place in the community room of the old feed mill business complex. The space will be decorated with a Western-themed Christmas, and the main feature of the event will be free photos with Santa. 

Milner said, “Several business women came together to make this happen!” She was excited to highlight the partners involved. Ashley Inglis, with Engel and Volkers, will sponsor the photos. Chic Image Studio will be taking the photos, and the partnership also included the owners of Rowdy Rags Boutique and KS Designs and Rentals. The Hat Edit, and the latter two Stevensville businesses, partnered to rent out the community space next door to The Hat Edit, which will be decorated and utilized for the photos. 

Santa will be donning his cowboy attire for the event, and there will be complimentary hot cocoa. There will also be kids crafting opportunities available for free, free gift wrapping and barrels scattered around for warmth. Real Flavors food truck will be parked in the parking lot, along with beer available for purchase from Blacksmith Brewing. Live music will be performed by Neal Elder, a Bitterroot Valley Country music artist.

“We know that not everyone can afford that extra thing every year, so this is a way we can give back,” said Milner. According to her, last year they had vendors as well, but this year they wanted to focus more on the free Santa photos for the community.

“We get so much from the community and we’ve just been too blessed with how busy we’ve been,” said Milner. She added that they also love all the Stevensville community events and said, “We just want to do something for everyone, too!”