Belle Fourche's Holiday Season Starts a Week Before Black Friday

Most stores in the country count Black Friday, Nov. 27, as the start of the holiday season. Downtown Belle Fourche starts a week earlier. Tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 20, State Street opens for Pink Friday at 9 a.m. The Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce calendar bills it as a chance to "shop local before Black Friday."

That early start sets up the next eight days. Between this Friday and the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the town's calendar fills with holiday events. Almost all of them are run by groups based in Belle Fourche: the downtown shops, the Black Hills Roundup Ag Committee, the Belle Silver Lining senior center, the Chamber and the Belle Fourche Area Community Theater. The one exception is a touring Christmas show from North Dakota, and it brings its own story.

State Street Gets the First Shopping Day

Last year the Belle Fourche Beacon described Pink Friday as the Friday before Black Friday, set aside to send shoppers to small businesses first. This year's version starts at 9 a.m., with promotions along State Street.

Belle Flowers + Co at 619 State St. has the biggest plan posted so far. It opens early, at 8:30 a.m., and stays open until 8:30 p.m. The store is going with a tropical theme for a November day in western South Dakota. Its listing promises Pink Friday discounts, a DIY gift-basket bar, a toy drive for local children, a tropical photo backdrop, mocktails and island-style cocktails, Duende Ink working on-site, and giveaways all day. The shop asks visitors to wear their brightest pink, orange or tropical outfit.

Shoppers who went to Sleigh the Runway on Nov. 5 already have a head start. Pasque Ladies Fashions and Belle Flowers + Co put on that holiday fashion show together at Venue 519. Every ticket included a Pink Friday coupon and a December coupon, so the two stores built repeat visits into the event before the shopping season began.

Saturday keeps the shopping going on Kingsbury Street. Belle Silver Lining's all-day Bake Sale & Vendor Market runs from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the senior center, 828 Kingsbury St.

A Tuesday Fundraiser the City Helps Pay For

Thanksgiving week usually leaves little room for events, and the Festival of Trees takes the Tuesday anyway. This year is the 27th Annual Community Festival of Trees. It is hosted by the Black Hills Roundup Ag Committee, and the event listing names the Black Hills Roundup as presenter. The festival opens at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at the Belle Fourche Community Hall, 512 6th Ave. Admission is by ticket. Guests walk past the decorated trees and bid in live and silent auctions, with the money going to local causes. Parking is at the Black Hills Roundup Grounds. Details are on the Black Hills & Badlands event listing.

The city helps cover the cost. At its Sept. 21 meeting, the Belle Fourche City Council approved waiving the Community Hall rental fee of $200 a day for three days, plus the $25 "mix and consume" fee, for a total of $625. The committee has the hall from Monday, Nov. 23, through noon on Wednesday, Nov. 25. That gives volunteers a day to set up the trees, an evening for the event and a morning to clear the hall before Thanksgiving.

Last year's festival shows where the money goes. The Beacon's report on the 2025 festival listed Belle Fourche Meals on Wheels, the Belle Fourche Ministerial Association, Belle Silver Lining, the Butte County Child Protection Team, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #12, the Greater Belle Fourche Foundation and St. Paul's Catholic Church Shopping Store among the groups that benefited. Last year's trees came from the Chamber, Belle Fourche FFA, Pioneer Bank and Trust, Runnings of Belle Fourche, Pete's Clothing and Hodge Bootery, Prairie Hills Pharmacy and others. Those are 2025 names. This year's lineup will be on display in the hall Tuesday night.

Belle Silver Lining Is on the Calendar All Week

Belle Silver Lining, the senior center on Kingsbury Street, appears on the Chamber calendar more often than any other group during these eight days. Its week includes:

• Sat., Nov. 21: Bake Sale & Vendor Market, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Sun., Nov. 22: Movie Night, 3 to 5 p.m., with popcorn and root beer floats. It costs $2 for non-members and is free for members, and rides are available by calling 605-892-6285.
• Fri., Nov. 27: Caramel Rolls & Coffee, 7:30 to 10 a.m.
• Fri., Nov. 27: Community Chili Feed at the Belle Fourche Community Hall, 4 to 7 p.m., with pictures with Santa starting at 3 p.m.
• Fri., Nov. 27: Dinner & a Movie, its regular last-Friday event, 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the center.
• Sat., Nov. 28: Craft Fair, free admission, public welcome.

The chili feed is what ties Friday night together. Santa photos start at 3 p.m., the chili is served from 4 p.m., and the Parade of Lights follows the same evening. Last year, the Beacon's parade coverage listed the chili feed, Santa and Mrs. Claus photos, the Cowboy Band, and CoNBA carriage rides benefiting Compassion Cupboard among the night's events. The parade ended with the lighting of the City Christmas tree at Durr Park.

The Day After Thanksgiving Belongs to the Parade

The Chamber's annual Parade of Lights is Friday, Nov. 27, and lines up at the Belle Fourche Fire Hall, 605 National St. This year's theme is "Classic Christmas." The theme image and route are on the Chamber's Facebook event.

In most places, the day after Thanksgiving is about big-box sales. In Belle Fourche, it is a full day of local events: coffee and caramel rolls in the morning, Santa in the afternoon, chili before dark and floats after. The downtown shops already had their shopping day a week earlier.

Saturday Splits Three Ways, and One of Them Is Personal

Saturday, Nov. 28, has three options that pull in different directions.

North of town, Dinosaurs of the Hell Creek Museum at 11324 US 212 holds its Cretaceous Christmas weekend from Nov. 27 to 29. Everything in the gift shop is on sale, and a silent auction offers fossils and gift packages. Saturday adds a Shop Small Saturday Sale with local vendors. Shopping the vendor booths and the gift shop is free. Museum admission is half price that weekend for anyone who wants to see the exhibits before the museum closes for the winter.

In town, the Belle Silver Lining craft fair is open with free admission.

At 4 p.m. MST, A Magical Medora Christmas plays the Belle Fourche Rec Center Auditorium. It is one of three tour stops in three days: Hettinger, North Dakota, on Friday, Belle Fourche on Saturday and Billings, Montana, on Sunday. This year's shows are dedicated to longtime performer Bill Sorensen. News Dakota reported on Nov. 2 that the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation is honoring him and expects his spirit to stay part of the Christmas tour. The cast and crew posted a message on the tour's site:

We will continue to follow in his footsteps and carry on the Holiday Tradition. We hope you'll join us as we perform each and every time for Bill.

Tickets for the Belle Fourche show are sold through the tour's website.

Then the Calendar Goes Quiet Until the Theater

After that Saturday, the schedule thins out. The Belle Fourche High School band and chorus concert is Monday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Rec Center. The next big local production follows in December.

The Belle Fourche Area Community Theater stages A Seussified Christmas Carol Dec. 10 to 13 at the Rec Center Auditorium. BFACT's show page calls it a return. It was the group's first Christmas show, first produced in 2015. The theater group held a Cowboy Christmas Karaoke fundraiser in the backroom at Grap's Burgers & Brews on Nov. 7. All money raised that night go back into BFACT's productions, free workshops and Center Stage Kid's Theater Camp.

Up-to-date times for every event are on the Belle Fourche Chamber calendar.

Falina Selchert is a Black Hills native. If you're thinking about a move before next year's Parade of Lights, Black Hills Real Estate Pros can start with a free market valuation or a consultation, set around the holidays. Start living your vision.