Looking for a place to bring the family for the sights and sounds of the holiday season, without the big lines of the big city? Shawnee just might be what you're looking for!
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Annual Shawnee Christmas Events & Experiences
Sunshine Shelly's Spirit of Christmas experience is a limited seasonal destination turns Shelly's beloved pumpkin patch into a winter wonderland. Get a fresh-cut Christmas tree, enjoy wintery refreshments, a Christmas light hayride through the Tunnel of Light, shop handmade artisan goods while the kids play in the "real" snow playground, and see a Christmas movie on the big screen!
2022 Dates: Nov 25 - Dec 23, open Thursday - Sunday evenings from 5 - 8 pm.
Night-time Downtown Christmas Parade & Fireworks is an annual Shawnee tradition that brings thousands to a cheery, light-lined Main Street for a Christmas parade and fireworks show that is the perfect beginning to the Christmas season. Takes place annually on the 1st Friday of December. Information to participate as a float or vendor can be found here.
2022 Date: Dec 1 at 6:30 pm
Oklahoma Baptist University's Hanging of the Green is an art music tradition that has taken place at OBU for over three-quarters of a century, and in the towering and iconic Raley Chapel since 1961. The ceremonies include performances of sacred art music celebrating the birth of Jesus by OBU choirs and musicians, and often includes accompaniment by the Shawnee Community Orchestra. Takes place the first Saturday in December.
2022 Date: Dec 3 at 8pm in Raley Chapel's Potter Auditorium
Locomotive Operators of Central Oklahoma (LOCO) 's Christmas Train Rides feature the 1/8th size model trains that run year-round at the quaint track just outside of Shawnee Twin Lakes, but each December the trains and track are decorated with holiday lights and visited by the Clauses themselves! The experience includes a free photo with Santa & Mrs. Clause, plus wintertime refreshments like hot cocoa and cookies.
2022 Dates: Dec 4, 11, and 17 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm
2024 New Holiday Experiences in Shawnee
Irving Berlin's White Christmas: The Musical is being performed live at Shawnee Little Theatre in 2022, with seven performances Nov 11 through the 19. Update: as of 11/7, nearly all performances are sold out!
Christmas at the Pottawatomie County Museum is a brand-new event in 2022 featuring an indoor light show and free photos with Santa! Admission to the museum is free for this event, Dec 3 and Dec 10 from 1 - 4 pm. The light show will also be available for viewing throughout the month of December during the museum's regular hours.
Messiah: Christ in Art is a limited-time exhibit from the permanent collection of Oklahoma's oldest art museum, the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art, explores the different ways that Christ has been depicted in art through the ages. The exhibit will be open to the public December 17 through January 22nd during regular museum hours, and the Gallery Talk & Reception featuring curator Delaynna Trim is set for January 20th at 7pm.
Find a new place to do your holiday shopping in Shawnee this season at VisitShawnee.com/shop!
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This article is NOT intended to be a comprehensive list of holiday events or destinations in and around Shawnee, Oklahoma. To view our entire event calendar, go to visitshawnee.com/events . To see all destinations in Shawnee, go to visitshawnee.com/play.
Find a new place to do your holiday shopping in Shawnee this season at URL
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