Our History
From a small Christmas lights walking tour to one of San Angelo’s most cherished holiday traditions.
Christmas Lights Come to the Concho
In 1994, a Christmas Lights Walking Tour was presented to the San Angelo community in the El Paseo de Santa Angela area featuring several minor lighted scenes. What began as a modest community celebration would quickly grow into something much larger.
The First Walking Tour
The Christmas Lights Walking Tour was introduced in the El Paseo de Santa Angela area with several minor lighted scenes.
Christmas Cards Arrive
Twenty-one sponsor Christmas greeting cards were added to the growing holiday display.
A Permanent Home
The opportunity to expand developed with a new permanent home along River Concho Drive. The tour evolved from a walking tour into a driving tour.
1997 – 1998
1997 — Opening Ceremony
The Concho Christmas Celebration Opening Ceremony took place at the Bill Aylor Sr. Memorial River Stage. The ceremony featured performances by the San Angelo Community Band and student choirs from the San Angelo Independent School District.
By then, the Concho Christmas Light Tour displayed seven major and twelve minor lighted scenes, twenty-four lighted angels, forty-six lighted decorations, thirty-six sponsor Christmas cards and more than two million lights.
1998 — Music Joins the Tour
Community radio station KCSA-97.1 FM offered holiday music through a community radio station to enhance the experience of those driving through the tour.
New Traditions Take Hold
The Concho Christmas Committee added new lighted scenes and accessories each year. One of the most dramatic Concho Christmas attractions, “The Tunnel of Lights,” was completed in December 2001. Hirschfeld Steel designed and fabricated the hundred-foot-long tunnel, which continues to be a major signature feature.
Community Hosts
Business and volunteer groups became actively engaged in Concho Christmas Celebration as “Community Hosts.” Throughout December, the hosts serve as greeters, passing out candy canes and collecting donations from guests.
The First Lights of Christmas Parade
2001 featured the first “Lights of Christmas Parade.” To supplement the parade, the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony moved from the River Stage to the corner of Chadbourne Street and Concho Avenue in 2004.
The Twelve Days & Run Rudolph Run
“The Twelve Days of Christmas” was declared complete with the purchase of “Two Turtle Doves, Three French Hens, Nine Ladies Dancing, Eight Maids a Milking and the Twelve Drummers.”
Concho Christmas also joined forces with the San Angelo Lizards to offer a non-competitive run through the light display. The event gained popularity and was labeled “Run Rudolph Run.”
More Community Partnerships
Another partnership blossomed as First Christian Church offered a live nativity scene presentation during three weekends.
During that same year, community radio station KCSA 95.7 FM, which had been airing holiday music, expanded into year-round programming, now KCSA 97.1 FM, broadcasting music of the 1950s as well as community concerts provided by the San Angelo Symphony and the Angelo State University Chorus.
Concho Christmas Today
Today, the Concho Christmas Tour of Lights is a 2.5-mile drive along the banks of the Concho River and is lit by more than three million lights. Visitors remark that the lights reflecting on the river appear to duplicate the amazing displays.
Concho Christmas Celebration has become a cherished tradition with locals and visitors alike.