"The history of the Cold Snap Film Festival goes back to a group of ski bums who just wanted to hang out and watch ski films."
That's how Dan Bailey's describes the event's start on its festival page. Those ski bums joined the Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival and screened films at the Elks Lodge. They asked locals to bring donations for the food bank. That was 18 years ago. In 2026 the event fills two nights, the Thursday and Friday before Thanksgiving. On the festival page, the 2025 fundraising total is printed bigger than anything else: $42,378 raised for Loaves and Fishes.
Livingston's November calendar is built around that weekend. A few events fall before it, one lands the same Thursday, and Light Up Livingston follows two days after Thanksgiving. At the center of the month is a weekend whose main job is to fund a soup kitchen on South Main Street.
Thursday is for the films, Friday is for the fundraiser
The Cold Snap Film Festival screens Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, at the Empire Twin Theatre, 106 N. Second St. Showings are at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 and sold at Dan Bailey's shop. Tell them which showing you want when you buy. Katabatic Brewing hosts a pre- and post-party from 3:30 to 9 p.m. at its taproom at 117 W. Park St., and the party's hours cover both showings.
The films haven't been limited to ski footage for a long time. Dan Bailey's says it wants films that "celebrate the natural world, human-powered adventure, environmental justice, and inclusivity in the outdoors." The festival also moved from the Elks Lodge to the Empire, and the film program now draws from across the outdoor world.
Pray for Snow is Friday, Nov. 20, starting at 6 p.m. at the Livingston Depot Center. It's free to attend. The night includes live music and dancing, a silent auction and a raffle. Food and beer come from Follow Yer' Nose BBQ, Gil's Goods and Neptune's Brewery. The festival page also calls it a community dinner. Admission costs nothing, and the auction and raffle are how the night raises its money.
The $42,378 goes to Loaves and Fishes on South Main
According to Dan Bailey's, all proceeds from Pray for Snow go to Loaves and Fishes. Dan Bailey's calls it "our local soup kitchen." The Livingston Food Resource Center's resource list puts the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen at 301 S. Main St. The Food Resource Center is a separate organization at 202 S. 2nd St.
A Livingston Enterprise profile describes Loaves and Fishes as a nonprofit serving free hot meals to local residents in need. That article reported about 50 meals a day at the time. That count comes from that one article, not this year. Even so, it shows what a $42,378 year means for a kitchen that serves meals every day. Dan Bailey's says that 2025 total was a record and wants to match it this year.
The money raised at the Depot goes to a kitchen on South Main Street in the same town, where meals are served daily.
Neptune's is pouring at the Depot, but the Main Street restaurant is dark until January
One name on the Pray for Snow lineup needs a quick explanation. Neptune's Taphouse & Eatery at 232 S. Main St. closed after service on Sunday, Sept. 27, for structural repairs, and plans to reopen Jan. 2, 2027. The restaurant says the work involves major structural parts of the building. It also says the work isn't cosmetic and the restaurant can't stay open while it happens. After a reopening date that kept moving last winter, the Taphouse says it deliberately built extra time into this schedule. It's also using the break to update its menu.
Neptune's Brewery is a separate business. Its website lists its own taproom at 119 North L Street, with posted hours of 2 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Those hours aren't dated, so call ahead before a weekday visit. The brewery is still running and on the Pray for Snow list, even though the Main Street restaurant won't serve sushi again until 2027.
Several of the month's dates are set by Thanksgiving
Cold Snap doesn't keep a fixed calendar date. Dan Bailey's schedules it for "the Thursday before Thanksgiving." Explore Livingston lists Catherine Lane & Friends' Holiday Open House on the same recurring day, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 120 S. Second St. The listing doesn't give a 2026 date. Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26 this year, so that Thursday works out to Nov. 19. Both events are on Second Street, so you could stop at the shop during the day and see films at the Empire that night.
Here's the full run from the day this post goes up through early December:
- Thursday, Nov. 5: The Livingston Film Series screens Trust Me at the Shane Center, 7 to 9 p.m.
- Friday through Sunday, Nov. 6–8: Shrek the Musical at the Shane Center, 415 E. Lewis St., with 7:30 p.m. shows Friday and Saturday and a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee.
- Saturday, Nov. 14: The Yellowstone Turkey Trot, a 5K at Sacajawea Park organized by the Yellowstone Running Club and Livingston Healthcare.
- Thursday, Nov. 19: Catherine Lane & Friends' Holiday Open House during the day, then Cold Snap at the Empire Twin Theatre at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., with Katabatic hosting the pre- and post-party.
- Friday, Nov. 20: Pray for Snow at the Livingston Depot Center, 6 p.m., free.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Light Up Livingston at the Depot Center and Park, 4 to 7 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 4: The Livingston Christmas Stroll downtown, 4 to 8 p.m.
Two other holiday events, the Community Christmas Craft Fair at the Park County Fairgrounds and the Holiday Market at the Civic Center, are listed for "the first Saturday every December." Their 2026 times aren't posted yet, so check the organizers' pages as December gets closer.
The Depot hosts Pray for Snow, then Light Up Livingston eight days later
The Depot Center hosts the two biggest community nights of the season eight days apart. After Pray for Snow on Nov. 20, the Depot grounds turn into Light Up Livingston on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The event is free, with food and drink for sale. A candy-cane hunt starts at 4 p.m., and the tree lighting is at 5:30. There are also children's crafts, Santa, model trains and hayrides. The lights add up to more than 100,000 bulbs on 38 trees in Depot Park.
Like Pray for Snow, Light Up Livingston is put on by local groups. Its partners include the tourism and downtown business improvement districts, the Livingston Depot Center, the Holiday Lights Committee, Parks and Recreation, and Links for Learning. One night raises money for the soup kitchen and the other lights up the park, but in both cases local groups do the organizing and the doors are open to anyone. Six days after the tree lighting, the Christmas Stroll moves things back to downtown on Friday, Dec. 4.
If you're buying Cold Snap tickets at Dan Bailey's this month, add a Pray for Snow raffle ticket for Loaves and Fishes. At Chelsea Stewart Real Estate, we keep track of these Livingston traditions because they're a big part of what makes the town feel like home. If you're curious about what your Livingston home is worth heading into winter, request a free home valuation and we'll give you a straight answer.
