All is Bright Christmas Tour Was Big Success in 2024

MIKE MOTZ

Sidney Sun-Telegraph

SIDNEY--The All is Bright Christmas Tour located at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds from the end of November until the weekend before Christmas was a big hit, and Cheyenne County Tourism Director Kendra Mitchell reported back to the County Commissioners on Monday, January 6 2025, with details of the event's success.

Mitchell stated that the overall attendance recorded during this year's event was 3,538 people, and increase of 41% over last year's attendance. Mitchell credited the increase to a more focused and extensive marketing program, including giving flyers to children about the event to all public school children in Cheyenne County as well as to school children in Kimball and Pine Bluffs. The event itself was more robust than last year's event, with additional decor and events planned for every day of the Tour. Mitchell noted that the "Sensory Night" event, where lights were dimmed and music muted to make visitors who suffer from sensory issues feel more comfortable, was very well-attended and appreciated.

The event attracted a good number of visitors from outside of Cheyenne County who then either stayed overnight in Sidney or at least had dinner and were able to bolster the local economy. Mitchell said that a professional photographer was hired to take high-quality pictures that would be used for marketing purposes to make next year's event even more successful. Mitchell is currently putting together a marketing grant proposal which would enable the Christmas Tour to have even more events and attract tourists from around the region, and she said the high-quality photographs would help increase the chances of securing the marketing grant.

From numbers collected by hand count and through Placer.ai, the artificial intelligence program that uses cellular phone data to track consumer visits and spending habits, the number show that November 30, the opening day that had two live reindeer available for pictures, was the most popular single day of the event, with a hand-count of 952 visitors, with 74% being from Cheyenne County, and 26% being from out of county. The December 20 through 22 weekend had the most out of county visitors, with 33% of visits coming from outside Cheyenne County.

Although most visitors were from Cheyenne County, there was a significant amount of people who came from Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and other states. There were visitors from as far away as Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. The event draws more visitors every year and adds additional features and special nights, and Mitchell expects next year's event to be even bigger and more successful than 2024's event.