At the door of the MetraPark Expo Center on the weekend of November 14, there are two prices. Admission to the Holiday Food & Gift Festival is $5, or $2 if you hand over a non-perishable food item for Tumbleweed. The organizer also accepts toiletries, feminine products, socks, hats, gloves and MET bus passes.
That $3 gap is the festival's donation drive. The organizer says more than 10,000 shoppers came through last year, and every one of them reached the same door. Once you're inside, a large share of the booths belong to businesses from Billings and nearby towns. So whichever way you spend at this show, most of it stays in the area.
Who gets the donation bag
Tumbleweed is a Billings nonprofit founded in 1976. It serves runaway, homeless and vulnerable youth and families, and its crisis and youth services run 24 hours a day. In October 2025, KTVQ reported that Tumbleweed works with homeless, runaway and at-risk young people through age 25. The station also reported that the nonprofit had recently received federal funding to expand its services for minors and add a 24-hour emergency bed.
Tumbleweed's drop-in center hands out food, clothing and hygiene items. The goal is to help young people move toward stable housing, work, school and wellbeing. On its Provide Goods page, the organization explains why its list looks the way it does. Homeless and at-risk youth "travel light out of necessity," and many arrive after a sudden crisis or trauma.
That is why the festival list includes items you wouldn't expect at a holiday market. A bus pass makes sense for someone with no car and somewhere to be, and new socks matter when someone has arrived with almost nothing.
Matching the festival's list to Tumbleweed's
The festival names its accepted items in broad terms. Tumbleweed gets much more specific about what is "especially helpful and immediately useful." Put the two lists side by side and you can see which bag does the most good.
| Festival accepts | What Tumbleweed's own list asks for |
|---|---|
| Non-perishable food | Easy-open, microwave-ready or single-serve meals; pasta and sauce; canned fruit; canned chili and soup; noodle cups; bottled water; granola bars, trail mix and snack packs |
| Toiletries | Full-size shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap |
| Socks | New socks, plus new underwear in briefs, sizes medium and large |
| MET bus passes | 1-ride and 10-ride MET passes |
| Hats and gloves | Handwarmers, foot powder and backpacks are also on Tumbleweed's list |
A few points come out of that comparison.
Food that opens without tools is the clearest fit. Tumbleweed asks specifically for easy-open and single-serve items, which suit someone without a full kitchen. A pop-top can of chili or a box of granola bars matches the request more closely than a bag of dry beans.
"Full-size" and "new" are the key words on the hygiene side. Tumbleweed asks for full-size shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap, and for new socks and underwear.
The bus pass is the smallest item on either list and one of the most specific. Tumbleweed names both 1-ride and 10-ride MET passes. One pass in an envelope takes up no room in your coat pocket on the way through the parking lot.
Hats and gloves are on the festival's accepted list. Tumbleweed's own page doesn't name them, though it does ask for handwarmers. In a Billings November, cold-weather items fit the need for emergency supplies that its page describes.
If you'd like to give more than one item, the bin isn't the only way. Tumbleweed asks donors to call ahead before dropping goods off directly. It also keeps an Amazon wish list for immediate needs, linked from the same page.
The festival hasn't always given to this cause. An earlier Billings Gazette feature described the show as a major annual food fundraiser for the Billings Food Bank. The 2026 beneficiary at the door is Tumbleweed.
The other side of the door is mostly local, too
The organizer calls this "the biggest holiday gift shopping event of the season." Last year, by the organizer's count, that meant more than 215 vendors. In the 2026 exhibitor directory, more than 100 listings give Billings as their hometown. Others come from Laurel, Joliet, Absarokee, Park City and Shepherd. Some come from farther away, such as 208 Clothing and Gift from Rathdrum, Idaho, but they are a minority of the floor.
Here are a few Billings exhibitors, with their booth numbers so you can plan a route:
- 406 Wood Designs, booths S6 and S7, wood home decor
- 5 T Bar Creations, booth SB 9
- A.L.L. Mediterranean Sweets, booth O12
- Beartooth Candle Company, booth G4
- Bee Bar Billings, booth U18
- Bella Estelle, booths J12 and J13
- Big T's BBQ, booth O13
- Bison Bloom Boutique/Ace Hardware Grand, booths U13 and U14
- Boday Candle Co, booth K1
Big T's BBQ sits in booth O13, right next to A.L.L. Mediterranean Sweets in O12. If you're mapping a food stop, that is the corner to start with.
Nearby towns have booths as well. A Lil Ranchy lists Joliet, Angie's Craft Cottage lists Laurel, and Becky's Berries lists Absarokee.
Not every booth sells gifts. The directory can be filtered by category, including Specialty Foods, Pets, Kids & Family, Outdoor & Recreation, and Services & Organizations. Several local service businesses are listed, among them BARE Chiropractic, Beartooth Bathrooms, Beartooth Harley and Big Sky Exterior Designs, all from Billings. If a home or vehicle project is on your list for next year, there are people to talk to between the candle and jewelry booths.
Planning the weekend
You can do both sides of this show in one trip if you plan for it before you leave the house.
- Pack the bag first. Grab an easy-open food item or two, a pack of new socks, and a MET pass if you have one. That gets you in for $2.
- Pick your day by its hours. Saturday, November 14 runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, November 15 runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Pull up the floor map. The organizer posts a 2026 show map that matches the booth numbers in the directory.
- Save the follow-up weekend if one show isn't enough. A Montana event directory lists the Billings Country Christmas Market for November 20–21 at the MetraPark Expo Building. The Billings Community Vendor & Craft Fair 2026 is listed on Eventbrite for Friday, November 20 through Sunday, November 22 at Pioneer Park. Check with the organizers before you go, since those details come from listing pages.
For anything else about the festival itself, the organizer's contact is [email protected].
At the Brosovich Real Estate Team, we like a holiday tradition that keeps neighbors, local makers and a 50-year-old Billings nonprofit all in the same room. If this season has you wondering what your own home is worth before the new year, we'd be glad to help. Request a Free Home Valuation, and we'll talk it through with you directly.
