December 12, 2018
Prescott Merriest Arizona City
Small-Town Prescott has Big Holiday Spirit
Prescott, Arizona was recently named the city in Arizona with the most holiday spirit by MSN.com. And it’s not very hard to see why it’s the merriest. Designated as Arizona’s official Christmas City in 1989, Prescott is known for its annual lighting of the Courthouse Plaza, historic homes adorned with festive decorations and locals that embrace the light dusting of snow the city enjoys each winter. The most famous holiday event, the plaza lighting ceremony takes place the beginning of December, but the decorations and merry spirit are enjoyed throughout the season.
The Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza is in the heart of a historic commercial district, providing the historic ambiance and serving as a gathering place for holiday celebrations. The area offers incredible seasonal food offerings, light displays, luminaries, shopping opportunities and festive music. There’s also a fun Whiskey Row “Boot Drop” on New Year’s Eve.
A visit to the Sharlot Hall Museum, the original home and office of the Territorial Governor built in 1864, allows visitors to enjoy one of Arizona’s most extraordinary destinations of historical and cultural value. We can imagine what the first Christmas was like in the Fort Misery cabin—the oldest cabin in Arizona.
For more spectacular light displays, locals also recommend taking time for a drive through a beautiful selection of artistic lighting along a one-mile loop in the Fain Park area, a bit east of Downtown Prescott, in Prescott Valley.
Heritage Park Zoo is also a favorite, filled with festive holiday decorations, music, and spectacular light displays along with the park’s year-round residential animals. What better way to celebrate the kid in all of us?
Add to all this, the occasional dusting of snow, turning the already-gorgeous lakes and mountains into enchanted pockets of nature.
Perhaps the biggest aspect of spending the holiday season in Prescott, however, is the small-town hospitality shown by the residents as you visit shops, restaurants, pubs and outdoor attractions. There’s a reason they call it the official Christmas City and it shows in the pride of the town’s citizens.
Thirty minutes outside of downtown Prescott, Talking Rock is private, guard-gated master-planned community offering a variety of home sites including custom builds, on the golf course, two to 10-acre lots, and read- to-move- in options. Visit Talking Rock here.