Johnstown's three biggest community gatherings between Halloween and December happen on the same short stretch of Old Town. Saturday morning, Parish Avenue fills with costumed kids going door to door at more than 50 downtown businesses. On Thanksgiving morning, a 5K starts at 21 South Parish Avenue. On the first Sunday in December, the community tree lights up downtown at 5:30 p.m. The newer side of town along I-25 also has a holiday calendar, but those events come from individual stores, need tickets or registration, and fall on their own dates. In practice, the season's shared rituals belong to downtown.
Three dates, one street
Here is the core of the 2026 season, all within walking distance of each other.
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 31 | Trick-or-Treat Street | Old Town Parish Avenue | 10 a.m. to noon |
| Thursday, Nov. 26 | Fitness Avenue Turkey Trot 5K and kids' 1K | 21 South Parish Avenue | Kids' 1K at 7:45 a.m., 5K from 8 to 10 a.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | Johnstown Jingle | Downtown Johnstown | 2 to 5 p.m., tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. |
Trick-or-Treat Street runs in the morning. If your family is planning evening trick-or-treating in your own subdivision on Halloween night, the downtown event fits before it. According to Inside Johnstown's event listing, the morning includes trick-or-treating at more than 50 Old Town businesses, character meet-and-greets, movie-car photo stops, a downtown haunted house and business specials. It's free.
The Turkey Trot is in its 14th year. Organizers describe it as a way of paying it forward during the holidays, and every participant can nominate a local family in need to receive a grocery gift card for their holiday meal.
Johnstown Jingle brings Santa and his reindeer, holiday activities, seasonal entertainment and a community toy drive. Its organizers say the toy drive helped inspire the event in the first place.
The organizers explain the address
Look at who hosts each event and the downtown location makes sense. The Johnstown Downtown Development Authority puts on Trick-or-Treat Street and Johnstown Jingle, and the Turkey Trot comes from Fitness Avenue, a business on Parish Avenue.
Each of these events is built partly to bring people to downtown storefronts. Trick-or-Treat Street works because the candy comes from local businesses, and the JDDA's event page also promotes business specials. The 2026 sponsors listed there are Trimlight NoCO, Hays Market and Scenic.
The Jingle page says it outright. Vendor space at the December celebration is limited and carefully curated each year, which the JDDA says helps keep the experience high-quality and supports downtown businesses. In other words, the Jingle is set up so the shops already on Parish Avenue aren't competing with a field of pop-up booths.
So the season stays on Parish Avenue because the people running it have a stake in those blocks. When the event and the storefronts share a sidewalk, both get the benefit.
Out by I-25, the stores set the calendar
The town's commercial side along I-25 has plenty going on this season too. It just works differently.
SCHEELS at 4755 Ronald Reagan Blvd. hosts Fall Fashion After Hours on Sunday, November 8. It's a private after-hours shopping night with local vendors, hors d'oeuvres, event discounts and giveaways. Tickets are $25, and you get that back as a store gift card. The event details on SCHEELS's listing give November 8, but the page's promotional text names a different date and two different start times, so confirm the date and time with the store before you go.
On Saturday, December 12, the same store runs a free Holiday LEGO Build from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Kids build a gingerbread LEGO kit to take home and get a build certificate. Registration is required.
Nearby, Smalls Sliders opened at 4781 Thompson Parkway on October 2, according to ColoradoBiz. It's the chain's second Colorado location. The restaurant is built from shipping containers and serves through walk-up windows and a drive-thru, with no indoor dining. ColoradoBiz reported that the grand opening included a check presentation to Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County.
All of these events are worth putting on the calendar. Each one belongs to a single business, though, and comes with a ticket, a registration list or a drive-thru lane. The open gatherings where anyone can just show up, with no sign-up and no purchase, are the ones on Parish Avenue.
The smaller dates in between
Between the big three, a handful of smaller events fill out November and early December. None needs much planning. The two library dates come from Inside Johnstown's events listings.
- Wednesday, Nov. 18, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Cozy Board Game Night at Glenn A. Jones, M.D. Memorial Library. According to the listing, guests are invited to bring a board game to share, and hot chocolate will be served.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Makesgiving: Cards at the same library, where families make Thanksgiving thank-you cards the day before the holiday.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Johnstown Senior Center's Christmas Boutique, according to the Town calendar.
The order matters a little. The library's card-making session lands the morning before the Turkey Trot, and the Senior Center's boutique falls the day before the Jingle. December 5 and 6 together make the fullest weekend of the season.
The plan behind the street
In April 2026, the Town of Johnstown announced that its Downtown Master Plan had won the Plan of the Year Award from Downtown Colorado, Inc. The plan was adopted in 2025 after more than a year of community outreach. The Town describes its land-use strategies as market-driven and aimed at the downtown's long-term economic health.
In the Town's announcement, Town Manager Matt LeCerf described where things go next:
"We are honored to be recognized and look forward to moving from planning to implementation as we bring this vision for downtown Johnstown to life."
That announcement didn't include a construction schedule or list specific projects for Parish Avenue, so this holiday season will look like recent ones. Still, the season shows what the plan is working with. More than 50 Old Town businesses are signed up to hand out candy, a fitness studio's Thanksgiving race is in its 14th year, and the December celebration limits vendors so downtown shops get the traffic. The plan builds on a downtown that already hosts the town's shared traditions.
Before Saturday
One practical note for tonight, Thursday, October 29. As part of the I-25 North project, CDOT is closing the northbound I-25 on-ramp at Weld County Road 34 overnight, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Drivers trying to go north from WCR 34 will be detoured south to Colorado Highway 66 at exit 243 to turn around. CDOT's traffic impacts page also projects a fall 2026 opening for High Plains Boulevard between WCR 32 and WCR 36, which will take over through traffic from the closed stretch of frontage road. As of late October, CDOT still lists that date as a projection.
For Saturday, plan around 10 a.m. to noon on Parish Avenue. The JDDA's Trick-or-Treat Street page is the best place to check for updates before you head out.
If you're starting to think about how downtown Johnstown's next chapter could shape the streets near your home, I'd be glad to talk it through with you, calmly and on your timeline. Schedule a free consultation with Kayla Hickcox.
