PENDLETON — The Main Street Cowboys want to bring a bit of Hallmark magic to downtown Pendleton.

“Our vision is to bring that hometown feeling back, especially after the pandemic,” Troy Thomas said. “ ‘Hometown Christmas’ to me is coming downtown, smiling and reconnecting with our community.”

From 2-7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26, “Main Street Cowboys Hometown Christmas” will feature photos with Santa, vendors, a hot cocoa bar and more, all designed to get people outside, downtown and spending time together. Thomas said the event was inspired by a need to bring the community together with friends and family during the holiday season. The event is scheduled for the block of Main Street between Byers Avenue and Court Avenue.

Live holiday music will be performed during the entire event. Five different church choirs will be singing Christmas carols during the day in addition to instrumental performances, and Thomas said they’re hoping to make a loud and joyful noise at 4:30 p.m.

“We are going to have a flash mob singing ‘O Holy Night,’ ” he said. “If anybody sings, if you have a group that sings, come down at 4:30. The more the merrier.”

In addition to a number of free activities, the event is also a fundraiser. Net proceeds will go to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association on behalf of Miranda Case, a Pendleton teen in need of a heart transplant. These proceeds will assist with transplant-related expenses.

“Bring warm clothes and bring your checkbooks,” James Turk said. “It’s for a good cause.”

Pendleton Books will be hosting a series of readers presenting different holiday books, giving families a warm, indoor spot to take a break from the outdoor festivities.

Hometown Christmas visitors also have the option to purchase tickets to multiple raffles. Raffles will include a guitar raffle, a “hunter’s paradise” raffle and the raffle of a Christmas tree designed by Miranda Case.

Main Street Cowboy Shawn Boatwright said they wanted to find a way to give back to someone in the community who needed it while also bringing an event for the whole community. Hometown Christmas combines a fundraiser, a family-friendly event and a chance to encourage people to shop at downtown businesses.

As an organization, The Main Street Cowboys date back to the 1950s, when the group was formed to bring traffic from the Pendleton Round-Up into the downtown.

“It started with an entrepreneurial mindset and supporting businesses,” Turk said. “We’re getting back to some of those roots but also realizing we need to be relevant more than one weekend a year.”

Multiple businesses have already stepped up to donate to the event or raffle items for the fundraiser, including Walmart, Garners Sporting Goods, Blue Mountain Small Engine Repair, Stapleman’s, Pendleton Music Company, Abby’s Pizza, Pendleton Round-Up, OMG Burgers and Brew and Alexander’s Artisan Chocolates. The organizers said more donations and partnerships keep coming in.

They have not, as yet, had a donation of a gazebo to really complete the Hallmark movie touch, so if you’re a big Hallmark movie fan, keep your fingers crossed they find one in time.

For more information, visit the Facebook event page for Main Street Cowboys.