The Buffalo Bill Historical Center shifts to its winter schedule December 1, but celebrates the upcoming holiday season with festive decorations, a popular free event, and special added open days to accommodate out-of-town guests visiting in Cody during the holidays.
Beginning December 1 and running through the end of February, the Historical Center is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Although generally closed Monday through Wednesday during the quiet season, the Center makes an exception during the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year's Day. From December 16 through January 2, the Center is open every day except December 25 and January 1. Regular winter hours resume January 3.
For the whole month of December-in fact from the day before Thanksgiving-the Historical Center dons holiday decorations, from a sixteen-foot Christmas tree that welcomes visitors at the front doors to a pretend gingerbread house big enough to walk inside. The festive touches add to the atmosphere during the Holiday Open House, the Center's annual free day, traditionally the first Saturday in December-December 4 this year.
Doors open at 9:30 a.m. for the Holiday Open House, with Santa making his appearance at 10 a.m. and entertainment beginning at 10:15 a.m. Activities for the day include performances by music and dance groups from the surrounding region, films from Wyoming PBS, a sneak peak at Don Hardy's upcoming biography of Al Simpson, holiday stories from the Cody Reading Council, special savings in the Museum Store, the crowning of Little Miss Snowflake and Mr. Snow Prince at 12:15 p.m., prizes and giveaways, and to top it all off, complimentary cookies and lemonade throughout the day.
For more information on the Historical Center hours, activities, and museums, explore the Web site at www.bbhc.org http://www.bbhc.org/ . A schedule of activities for the Holiday Open House can be found at www.bbhc.org/events/holidayopenhouse, and also appears in the December 1 Cody Enterprise and the December 2 Powell Tribune.
Committed to connecting people with the Spirit of the American West, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center weaves the varied threads of the western experience-history and myth, art and Native culture, firearms technology and the nature of Yellowstone-into the rich panorama that is the American West. The Center, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily through November, and begins winter hours of 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Thursday - Sunday on December 1. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. For general information, visit the new www.bbhc.org or call 307.587.4771.
Photo: The Buffalo Bill Historical Center welcomes visitors with "peace" and "goodwill" for the holiday season.
