A long-standing Christmastime tradition continued last night in the heart of Maple Creek.

Residents of the southwest descended upon the town to enjoy the festivities of the annual Cowtown Christmas.

Royce Pettyjohn, manager of community and economic development for the Town of Maple Creek, said he was pleased with the event.

"The night went really well," he said. "We had beautiful weather here in Maple Creek, the temperature was really quite high, so as a result, it wasn't cold at all. There were bonfires up and down the street but I don't think people really need them to warm up but a lot of people were taking advantage of them warming their hands over the fire."

Pettyjohn, who began working with the town in 2012, said the event was well established by the Maple Creek Chamber of Commerce well before he was hired. During the six years he has been involved with the event he felt the gathering last night was average.

"The feeling that I had being out on the street that it was on par with previous years," he said. "We will find out more in the next couple of days as we start crunching numbers."

Some of the events on tap for the evening were horse-drawn wagon rides, carolling, pictures with Santa, and plenty of hot chocolate and marshmallows to indulge in.

An added feature to this year's event was the Richardson Pioneer anniversary fireworks.

"We had originally hoped to do it in July, but of course with the fire bans we had to wait until we got a little bit of snow cover," Pettyjohn said. "People all on the street whether they were on the 100 or 200 block Jasper Street had a fabulous view."

Photo courtesy of Royce Pettyjohn