Here comes Trader’s special 2-week issue for Christmas! The issue runs from Friday, December 21 through Thursday, January 3. Our office will be closed Monday-Friday, December 24-28 and will reopen Monday, December 31, at 8:00am. Deadline for the 2-week issue will be Wednesday, December 19, at 5:30pm. Our office will also be closed Tuesday, January 1, 2019 in observance of New Year’s Day. All classified and display ads must be turned in by 5:30pm on Wednesday, January 2, for the January 4th issue. Happy Holidays!

Come and enjoy the sounds of the season at the annual Christmas Bells of Cheyenne Concert! This concert will feature different church hand bell choirs from around Cheyenne and will be on Saturday, December 15, at 4:00pm, in the Cottonwood Room of the Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Avenue.

Join the Holy Temple Church of God in Christ to learn and practice the art of sewing at 1517 Walnut Drive. This is a sewing outreach ministry that meets on the third Saturday each month at 11:00am. Contact them at (307)251-1261 or (307)630-1725.

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center Hospice and the CRMC Foundation held the 23rd annual Tree of Remembrance lighting ceremony on Saturday, December 1, inside Frontier Mall near Dillard’s West. “The tree offers the community a chance to celebrate the many ways that others have impacted and blessed our lives,” said David Stratton, CRMC’s hospice chaplain. “It’s also a way to celebrate the season by remembering and honoring those in our lives who we have lost but who continue to hold a very special place in our hearts.” Hospice volunteers will be handing out doves at a booth near the tree through Sunday, December 23. There is no cost to place a dove on the tree, a donation can be made to the CRMC Foundation, with all proceeds to be given to CRMC Hospice. For more information about the tree or to request a dove, please contact the CRMC Foundation at (307)633-7667 or stop by the tree between 11:00am-8:00pm or during Frontier Mall hours through Sunday, December 23.

The Mayor’s Youth Council and Special Friends program, in conjunction with the Paul Smith Children’s Village, will host a cookie decorating activity at the Paul Smith Children’s Village, 710 South Lions Park Drive, from 1:00pm-2:30pm, on Saturday, December 15. Children and their parents are invited to join in decorating cookies, coloring pictures and participating in children’s holiday games. Cookies, frosting and decorations will be provided. This is a free event and open to the public. For more information on this event, Mayor’s Youth Council or Special Friends, please call Jan Spires at (307)637-6251.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Cheyenne, 3005 Thomes Avenue, has booths available for the 11th Annual UUCC WinterMart, which runs Friday, December 14th, from 4:30pm-6:00pm and Saturday, December 15, from 9:00am-4:00pm. Vendors who feature hand-crafted art work and crafts are welcome to apply. Booths are $60, shared booths are $100. Deadline for entry form is Friday, December 14. You can download the entry form from www.UUcheyenne.org or call (307)638-4554, Terry at (307)214-3932 or Kathleen at (307)421-4496.

Behold the spectacular holiday light displays throughout Cheyenne aboard a charming Cheyenne Street Railway Trolley. Drive through the neighborhoods with beautifully decorated homes and yards, enjoying it all from the warmth of the trolley. The tours run Wednesday, now through Monday, December 24, at 6:00pm and 8:00pm nightly. Tickets cost $12 for adults and $6 for children and should be purchased in advance at the historic Depot lobby, 15th Street and Capitol Avenue or by phone with a credit card at (307)778-3133. Tours depart from the Frontier Mall at the west side entrance near the former Sears. If you are interested in chartering the whole trolley for a group, please contact Jill at (307)778-3133.

Don’t forget there is holiday shopping available at the Cheyenne Artists’ Guild and Gift Shop, 1701 Morrie Avenue. They have gifts ranging from $5-$999. They are open Tuesday-Friday, noon-5:00pm or Saturday, 1:00pm-2:00pm. For more information, please call (307)632-2263.

The Cheyenne Shrine Club, in the Memory of Tom Tammen, is asking for donations of pull tabs from aluminum cans. After being recycled, the funds generated will go to the Cheyenne Shrine Club Travel Fund which is used solely to send Shrine Kids and parents to either Salt Lake City or one of 21 other Shrine Hospitals that perform orthopedic, burn or cleft palate care. For more information, please contact Diane Tammen at (307)638-3341, or drop off your tabs at Underwood Flowers, 2121 Central Avenue.

The Cheyenne Winter Farmers’ Market will be held Saturday, December 15, from 10:00am-2:00pm, located inside the warm and cozy Cheyenne Depot, 121 West 15th Street. The market will feature local winter vegetables, local roasted coffee, preserves, pickles, relishes, fresh herbs, meat and eggs, honey and jellies, kimchi and Korean foods, bunwiches and lunch, natural body care, local handmade crafts, fiber crafts and live music. The market is a growers’ and producers’ market that promotes Wyoming and regional farm products. For more information, please contact Brandee Dahill at (307) 640-2665.

The Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Old West Museum, 4606 Carey Avenue, will hold their Kids’ December Saturday art workshop on December 15, from 9:30am-11:30am. They will be doing a gift making session, no parents allowed. When your kiddo leaves, they will have at least one gift wrapped and ready to go under the tree. Make sure to send them with 5 or so of your favorite photos from the last year. Standard 4”x6” size is fine. Do you have teenagers at home that need some volunteer hours? Send them along to be helper elves in your place! Cost is $5 per person for Museum members and $10 for non-members. The fee includes all your materials. Seating is limited, RSVP to Megan Hesser at megan.hesser@oldwestmuseum.org, online at oldwestmuseum.org, or call (307)778-7289 to reserve your spot.

The Cheyenne Family YMCA is pleased to display the works of Kit Richards during the month of December, with a reception being held on Monday, December 17, at 10:30am. You can view her artwork during YMCA regular business hours. Kit’s work might be considered an abstract expressionist who experiments with colors, fabric and texture. If you would like to feature your art at the YMCA, please contact Chris Shay at cshay@cheyenneymca.org or by phone at (307)634-9622.

The Mall of SVdP is looking for people to volunteer 2-5 hours per week. Applicants must be able to pass a background check. Stop by 2112 Snyder Avenue or call (307)514-0365 for more information.

Bethel Outreach will be meeting every Tuesday evening at 6:30pm in the Sage Room of the Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Avenue. If you have been recently released from prison, need help finding a place to live or if you have someone you love who has been recently incarcerated and don’t know what to do, this group is for you! For more information, call (307)701-0944 or (307)509-9982.

Please join St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1908 Central Avenue, for a Taizé-style service on Friday evening, December 21, at 7:00pm. Come for quiet singing led by the Sancte Spiritus Taizé musicians, with opportunities for stillness and reflection. The doors to St. Mark’s will be open at 6:30pm for quiet meditation. The service will begin at 7:00pm and will be followed by a reception in the parish hall.

Mount Sinai Synagogue, 2610 Pioneer Avenue, Sisterhood’s Annual See’s Candy Sale will be held now through Monday, December 24, Monday-Thursdays only, from 10:00am-4:00pm. For information, call (307)634-3052.

The University of Wyoming Extension Master Gardener Program is now taking applications for the 2019 Master Gardener Program, topics covered: Botany, vegetables, season extension, trees, flowers, irrigation, herbs and much more. This is a 10 week program, they meet every Monday and Wednesday evening from 6:00pm-9:00pm. For more information, E-mail Catherine Wissner at cwissner@uwyo.edu.

Experience a Christmas celebration in a small town setting Saturday, December 15. Come and watch the parade of lights, horses, wagons, old cars and enjoy the chili feed and a visit from Santa! Parade starts at 5:00pm at the Hillsdale Volunteer Fire Department. The chili feed is held immediately following at the United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall at 4325 Hills Street in Hillsdale. All donations go toward helping our neighbors in need and scholarships for local high school students. For general inquiries or if you are interested in participating in the parade, please call Delene Gillespie at (307)421-5574.

An Autism support group will meet on Wednesday, December 19, at 6:30pm in the Sunflower Room, at the Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Avenue. This group is for anyone who knows an autistic child who would like to give or receive support. For more information, please call Susan Brown at (307)275-2241.

Cheyenne’s 8th annual New Year’s Eve Ball Drop will bring sparkle and celebration to Cheyenne residents and visitors at the Depot Plaza on December 31. The children’s New Year’s event will begins at 3:00pm inside the Historic Depot at 121 West 15th Street. Games, activities, costumed characters and more will be offered. Outdoors, horse-drawn carriage rides and the Depot ice rink provide wonderful winter activities. This early event concludes with a ball drop and brief fireworks display just for kids at 6:00pm. Beginning at 11:30, gather in the Plaza for music and community anticipation as the ball drop watch begins! At Midnight, Auld Lang Syne rings out with a countdown to Happy New Year, culminating in the ball drop and a fireworks display! For more information about the event go to cheyenne.org/balldrop, or by calling Visit Cheyenne at (307)778-3133.