Two ribbon cuttings were held on Friday as the doors opened to the public for the new Stanley Chocolate Factory. At the first ribbon-cutting ceremony, Estes Park Mayor Gary Hall and Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally assisted owner John Cullen in cutting the ceremonial ribbon. In the second cutting ceremony held later in the day, the group was joined by Tyler Green, the chocolate maker's assistant (left), chocolatier Jade Alterman, Paul Halvorson, director of operations, and Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. Credit: Patti Brown/Anil Singh

The day after Thanksgiving was busy in Estes Park as people came to enjoy holiday time with friends and family and see inside the long-awaited Stanley Chocolate Factory at 157 W. Elkhorn Ave.

The doors opened at 8 a.m., and by the time of the first of two ribbon cuttings at 10 a.m. with Mayor Gary Hall, Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally, and John Cullen, the building was shoulder-to-shoulder with shoppers as people streamed in to buy chocolate confections, drink cups of gourmet coffee, and get tickets to make a chocolate candy bar.

A second ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at noon, again featuring Hall, Shadduck-McNally, and Cullen, along with Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, Chocolatier Jade Alterman, Taylor Green, assistant to the chocolate maker, and Paul Halvorsen, director of operations for The Chocolate Factory.

Based on door counts and point-of-sale data, Cullen estimates that between 4,500 and 5,000 people visited the new candy emporium on its first day. At 4 p.m., there were more than 40 people in line to buy a cup of coffee in the Steamers Café.

The scene inside Simply Christmas, located at 129 W. Elkhorn, was wall-to-wall people browsing and shopping for ornaments, snow globes, nutcrackers, and sports décor.

As the time approached for the Catch the Glow Parade, motorists found parking spots hard to come by in the downtown corridor. One enterprising young lad stood in front of private property along Riverside Drive near Rockwell Street and waved a sign that read “Parking $20.”

Throughout the afternoon, people dropped off chairs along the Elkhorn Avenue parade route to hold their spots, and around 4:40 p.m., as the sun set and as people began to take their places, snow began to fall as if on cue.

Just before the parade began, local artist Michael Young, the parade’s creative director and the designer of many of the floats, drove a golf cart down Elkhorn and parked it in a spot “reserved for golf carts only.” Young’s golf cart was outfitted with a façade that transformed the vehicle into a customized blue sports car, complete with a license plate that read “FLTBLDR.”

Police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, pickup trucks, and floats decked out in holiday lights proceeded from West to East Elkorn Avenue past more than 20,000 people.

Correction, November 29, 2025 6:33 pm: The last name of Michael Young was corrected.