The COS Holiday Season Kicks Off Soon — Mark These Dates on Your Family's Calendar

It's November 7 and the first holiday event of the season is six days away. The Colorado Springs holiday calendar comes together fast, and the events worth attending tend to sell out or fill up well before most families think to look. Here's what's coming, when to book, and what to know before the rush.

November 26: Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K + Tiny Trot Kids 1K

The Thanksgiving Turkey Trot has become a genuine Colorado Springs family tradition — one of those events families pencil in every year without really discussing whether they're going. The 5K runs Thanksgiving morning, with proceeds benefiting the YMCA. Alongside it is the Tiny Trot 1K for younger kids, which runs simultaneously and has become its own highlight for families with children who aren't quite ready for a full 5K.

Registration fills up. If you want to run as a family and you haven't already registered, do it this weekend. The Turkey Trot is the kind of event where waiting until the week of Thanksgiving to sign up means you're turned away.

November 27-29: The Nutcracker at Pikes Peak Center

The Nutcracker returns to Pikes Peak Center for three performances, performed with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and featuring the Colorado Springs Children's Chorale. Tickets start at $40.

If this is already a family tradition, you know the booking timeline: the best seats at accessible prices go early, and the Thanksgiving weekend run is specifically when a lot of COS families make a point to bring kids who are old enough to sit through a full ballet performance. It's a genuinely impressive production — the Philharmonic and Chorale combination makes it a step above a typical regional Nutcracker.

If you've never gone, this is a good year to try. For kids roughly five and up, it holds attention well — the story is visual enough that even children who've never seen ballet before follow it easily. Book sooner rather than later if you're looking at the Thanksgiving weekend performances specifically, as those tend to sell earlier than the December run.

Late November: Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge (Pueblo West)

Great Wolf Lodge in Pueblo West is running their Snowland holiday event starting in late November. It's not a COS event exactly, but it's about 45 minutes south, and it offers an indoor, weather-independent option for families who want a low-key winter getaway without leaving the region. The exact opening date hasn't been confirmed yet — the lodge has indicated "late November" — so it's worth checking their website directly in the next couple of weeks for the confirmed start date and reservation availability.

Great Wolf Lodge events like Snowland tend to book up for weekend stays quickly, so if this is something your family is considering for the Thanksgiving weekend or early December, checking sooner on reservations is worth the few minutes it takes.

Planning Ahead: Why It Matters This Year

The COS holiday calendar is fuller than usual this November and December. School schedules, Thanksgiving travel, and the compression of events into a short window mean the families who plan ahead avoid the last-minute scramble that leads to sold-out tickets and full registration lists.

The ice rink is the exception — walk-in friendly and low-pressure. Everything else on this list rewards booking early. The Nutcracker and Turkey Trot especially.

What's Next

We'll continue tracking COS holiday events as more details become available, including the confirmed Snowland opening date at Great Wolf Lodge and any additional ticketing or registration information for the events above. December brings its own full calendar — additional Nutcracker performances, holiday markets, and light displays — and we'll have that roundup as the month approaches.

For now: put November 13 on the calendar for the ice rink, register for the Turkey Trot this week if you haven't, and book Nutcracker tickets before Thanksgiving if that's on your list.