Berthoud's December 5 Starts at the Rec Center and Ends on Mountain Avenue

At 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, the doors open at the Berthoud Recreation Center at Waggener Farm Park, 1000 N Berthoud Parkway, for the fifth annual Winter Craft Fair. At 5:45 that evening, carols start and the town tree lights up downtown. In between, four different organizers have posted schedules that run back to back.

Taken together, those listings make one route across town. It starts on the north side in the morning, moves to the museum and downtown shops by midday and reaches Mountain Avenue at dusk. Each daytime event closes an hour or two before the next big one begins. The November weekends before it use the same venues for smaller events.

How Dec. 5 runs

Here is the day in order, taken from the organizers' own 2026 pages:

1. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Winter Craft Fair at the Berthoud Recreation Center at Waggener Farm Park. It is free, and the Town of Berthoud's listing says more than 60 Colorado artisans will take part.
2. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum is open to visitors all day, according to the Berthoud Historical Society.
3. All day. Photos with Santa, holiday carolers and festive markets around town as part of A Very Merry Berthoud.
4. 5 p.m. The Parade of Lights leaves 2nd Street and heads west on Mountain Avenue to 8th Street.
5. 5:45 p.m. Carols and the tree lighting ceremony downtown.
6. 6 to 8:30 p.m. Rachel Alena plays at City Star Brewing.

The schedule leaves time to move. The craft fair closes at 3, the museum at 4 and the parade starts at 5. Someone who shops the north-side fair, walks through the museum and then finds a spot on Mountain Avenue is following the day as it was scheduled.

Morning on North Berthoud Parkway

The craft fair belongs to the Recreation Center, and the building has its own milestone this month. The town is holding a free fifth-anniversary celebration at the Rec Center on Friday, Nov. 20, from 4 to 8 p.m. Two weeks later, the same building hosts the fifth annual Winter Craft Fair.

Questions about the fair go to the town's recreation line at 970-532-1600 or [email protected]. Admission is free, so the morning costs only what you buy.

Midday at the museum and downtown

The midday stretch is spread out by design. Berthoud Main Street calls A Very Merry Berthoud "an all-day festival throughout the Berthoud community," and says the events come from local businesses and organizations. SouthState Bank presents it, and Berthoud Main Street, the Town of Berthoud and the Berthoud Chamber put it on together. That is why you won't find a single festival map. Santa photos, carolers and markets are spread across town, hosted by whichever businesses signed up. Main Street's page has a business activity sign-up and a vendor application, and that is how a shop's counter becomes part of the day.

The Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum is the fixed stop in the middle of the day. The Historical Society says the museum "will be open and hosting visitors throughout the day," from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It closes an hour before the parade starts, so that hour is the time to get from the museum to a spot on the curb.

5 p.m. on Mountain Avenue

The parade route is short and easy to remember. It starts at 2nd Street and runs west on Mountain Avenue through downtown to 8th Street, with carols and the tree lighting at 5:45. Inside Berthoud, which checked its listing against the parade organizer's page on Oct. 17, sums up the planning in one line:

"The finale of A Very Merry Berthoud; dress warmly and arrive early for a curb."

That line comes from Inside Berthoud's Parade of Lights listing. The same listing notes that times can change and that the organizer's page is the official record.

City Star Brewing has Rachel Alena on its calendar from 6 to 8:30 p.m. that Saturday, starting 15 minutes after the lighting. City Star also starts the weekend a day early. Friday, Dec. 4, is its Holiday Cheer beer release, from 3 to 10 p.m., with the Free Milk Duo playing from 6 to 8:30. So the weekend's music has a Friday night and a Saturday night, and both start at 6.

The November weekends lead up to it

Many of the places busy on Dec. 5 have their own events in the three weeks before. Saturday, Nov. 28, looks most like the main day. Berthoud Main Street lists Small Business Saturday downtown that day, with local businesses planning promotions and events. City Star holds its ninth Handmade Market the same afternoon, with local makers in the taproom, a food truck out front and live music afterward. On a smaller scale, that Saturday has the same mix as Dec. 5: downtown shops in the daytime, an artisan market and music at City Star after dark.

After the parade, the calendar moves back to the north side. The Rec Center runs Holidaycation on the next two Saturday evenings, Dec. 12 and 19. It's a kids' night for ages 7 to 14 at $15 a night, according to Inside Berthoud's events calendar. The Berthoud Community Library's fall and winter book club also meets in December. Its Dec. 9 discussion is "Personal Librarian."

A downtown storefront that could change by next December

One building downtown on Mountain Avenue is worth knowing about this season. The Berthoud Surveyor reported in August that Asher Architects + Engineers bought the Odd Fellows Building at 335 Mountain Ave. and moved into the second floor in June 2026. The first floor, formerly Bradford's Grub and Grog, is being marketed to a locally focused restaurant. According to the Surveyor, Asher is taking proposals through the end of the year and expects to pick a tenant in early 2027.

That leaves the first floor without a tenant through the 2026 holidays, with a restaurant decision expected before next December's parade.

If one of these dates has you thinking about Berthoud for the long term, like a home closer to downtown or a new build within reach of Waggener Farm Park, The Dennis Schick Team can walk you through it neighborhood by neighborhood. We're glad to compare notes on how each part of town lives, whatever the season. Contact Us when you're ready to talk.