30 Nov Holiday Prelude: Noel Night, 12/2/2015 & More
Editor’s Note: One down. Two to go in the holiday season trifecta. Just about everywhere, the parade of cooking, shopping, and wrapping just picked up a new head of steam. While it is true that scribbling cards (or sending online versions) each year brings us closer to people we only get to see from time to time, heartfelt missives are just the beginning of the fun and games. As a contact sport that challenges your endurance, there is nothing quite like the four weeks before Christmas. But what with chestnuts to roast and eggnog to toast, with all the seasonal revelry, who has time to play Santa? What’s worse, your tryptophan haze from Thanksgiving had you couch-bound and mindless so you missed Black Friday. You also passed on Cyber Monday. Now what? Lucky for you, the unofficial opening of the winter season in Telluride takes place this week: Noel Night 2015, Wednesday, December 2. That is a great day (and evening) to meet and greet friends back from off-season and shop ’til you drop for great discounts. And this year, once again, Noel Night marks the start of the Telluride region’s Holiday Prelude, Wednesday, December 2 – Sunday, December 13, a collaboration between the Towns of Telluride and Mountain Village. Annie Carlson of Visit Telluride lays it all out.
Telluride and Mountain Village will be aglow as the destination celebrates its 3rd annual Holiday Prelude from December 2-13. The multi-week event showcases all the Telluride region has to offer during the festive holiday season.
The Holiday Prelude kicks-off with local favorite Noel Night on Wednesday, December 2.
Created by Telluride merchants, Noel Night encourages shoppers to buy local during the holiday season by featuring discounts at participating stores. Many merchants elevate the festive atmosphere with culinary creations and libations for hungry shoppers, and Santa often makes an appearance for photo ops.
And while you are out and about on Main Street, make a detour on Townsend to check out the Cup & Bowls Show at the Ah Haa School for the Arts. (Details here.)
The Telluride Ski Tree, by Anton Viditz Ward & Friends
Telluride’s Ski Tree, constructed of recycled skis and donated by the community, will take center stage at a lighting ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 5, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Elks Parks, followed by a ceremonial ski burn to honor Ullr, the randy old Norse god of winter – or snow or skiing (plus archery and hunting). Ullr presides over the festivities, where we are all meant to give thanks for fat winters, past, present and future.
Ullr
The festivities continue throughout the weekend with cookie decorating, card-making, an Old-Fashioned Christmas at Schmid Ranch, hosted by the Telluride Museum, and a Holiday Arts Bazaar hosted by Telluride Arts. (Holiday Bazaar post here.)
The following weekend, Dec. 11-13, the action moves up to Mountain Village.
Image, Sara Larsen from Holiday Prelude 2014
The magic starts at the Oak Street gondola station where the free gondola is transformed into a Trip to the North Pole on Friday, Dec. 11 and Saturday, Dec. 12 from 3-6 pm.
Children of all ages will delight in the decorations and lights galore as elves send them on their way to visit Santa in his workshop in Heritage Plaza. Children can tell Santa what they want for Christmas, make an ornament with one of his elves, and enjoy free hot chocolate.
While at the North Pole, guests can catch a ride on the North Pole Express. Children and adults will be dazzled on the free train ride throughout Mountain Village’s festival of lights, with more decorations throughout the village than ever before.
The culmination of this year’s event is the North Pole on Ice, a professional skating performance featuring international and national ice skating medalists. The show, held on the Mountain Village Ice Rink outside the Madeline Hotel and Residences, will be action packed with triple jumps, dizzying spins, creative pair lifts, death spirals, and more. Shows are scheduled Friday, Dec. 11, 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 12, 2 p.m.
Those in need of last-minute Christmas gifts can take advantage of shopping discounts, raffles, specials and giveaways during Jingle Jam on Friday, Dec. 11 in Mountain Village.
And, in the true spirit of giving, the Fairmont Franz Klammer Lodge will provide an Angel Baskets charity drive drop-off for donations and will offer free drinks in their warm and inviting lodge Friday and Saturday from 4-7pm.
image, Sara Larsen
The fun mounts on Friday, December 11, with free sledding and skating, or say hello to Frosty or the Grinch from 3-5pm at the Madeline Hotel and Residences.
On Saturday, December 12, kids ages 2 – 7 are welcome to snowboard in the fun, safe Riglet Park, thanks to Burton. (Sign up in Heritage Plaza).
It’s a roller rink flashback on the Mountain Village Ice Rink on Saturday night from 7-9pm, when families can get their holiday groove on at the Madeline Annual Ugly Holiday Sweater Party. Enjoy a free Skate with DJ Soul Atomic, and flaunt your stuff on the ice while enjoying drink specials throughout the evening from Madeline’s M Club outdoor bar and fire tables. Parents can take advantage of the free Kid’s Night Out drop off from 7-9:30 pm at the Telluride Conference Center with holiday movie classics, games and snacks for ages 5 and up.
There is no better way to end your weekend of holiday fun than a pajama breakfast with Santa. The Palmyra Restaurant at the Peaks is creating a special holiday breakfast menu on Sunday from 9-11 a.m., which gives children one last opportunity to get a picture with Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas.
“Holiday Prelude is a spectacular way to kick off the holiday season,” said Michael Martelon, President and CEO of the Telluride Tourism Board. “The festive events set against the iconic backdrop of the box canyon create a magical ambiance that visitors and locals will enjoy.”
Ski & Stay packages over Holiday Prelude start at $98 per person per night (based on double occupancy), and a number of lodging properties will be offering special discounts from Dec. 2-13.
Holiday Prelude 2015 Schedule of Events:
December 2
- Noel Night, 5 p.m., various stores in the Town of Telluride
- Main Street Lighting Ceremony, 5:30 p.m.
December 4
- Young People’s Theatre presents Shrek Jr. 6 p.m., Sheridan Opera House
- Telluride Arts Holiday Bazaar, 5-8 p.m., Elks Club
December 5
- Telluride Arts Holiday Bazaar, 10 a.m. -7 p.m., Elk’s Club
- Holiday Card Making & Cookie Decorating Studio, 10 am-5 p.m., (Cookie Decorating Demonstration with Janimals Cookies at 2 p.m.), Wilkinson Public Library, FREE
- Old Fashioned Christmas at Schmid Ranch, 12-4p.m., Schmid Ranch
- Ski Tree Lighting & Ullr’s Ceremonial Ski Burn, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Elks Park
- Young People’s Theatre presents Shrek Jr. 6 p.m., Sheridan Opera House
December 6
- Telluride Holiday Arts Bazaar, 11-3 p.m., Elks Club
- Holiday Card Making & Cookie Decorating Studio, 12 pm-4 p.m., (Cookie Decorating Demonstration with Janimals Cookies at 2 pm), Wilkinson Public Library , FREE
- Young People’s Theatre presents Shrek Jr. 6 p.m., Sheridan Opera House
December 11
- Jingle Jam: Discounts and Specials, Open-9 p.m., Participating Mountain Village Businesses
- Sitting with Santa, 3-6p.m., Heritage Plaza, Free
- Trip to the North Pole on the Gondola Express, 3-6 p.m., Gondola, Free
- Santa’s Workshop: Holiday crafts, 3-6 p.m., Heritage Plaza, Free
- Ice Carving Demonstration, 3-6 p.m., Sunset Plaza, Free
- North Pole Express train rides, 3-8 p.m., Mountain Village, Free
- Sledding, 4:30-6 p.m., Bottom of Misty Maiden, Free
- Tree lighting ceremony with Santa, 6:00 p.m., Heritage Plaza, Free
- North Pole on Ice (Professional Ice Skating Performance), 6:30 – 7 p.m., Mountain Village Ice Rink, Free
- Live Music & Champagne Toast <Peaks Resort & Spa, 7 p.m.
December 12
- Kids Snowshoe Outing
- International Women’s Ski Day: Demos & Ski Tours, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Bootdoctors, Free
- Ice Skating, 12-5 p.m., Mountain Village Ice Rink, Free
- Riglet Park, sign up at Burton, 12 5 p.m.
- North Pole on Ice, 2:00 p.m., Mountain Village Ice Rink, Free
- Frosty & The Grinch, 3-5 p.m., Mountain Village, Free
- Sitting with Santa, 3-6 p.m., Heritage Plaza, Free
- Trip to the North Pole on the Gondola Express, 3-6 p.m., Gondola, Free
- Santa’s Workshop: Holiday crafts, 3-6 p.m., Heritage Plaza, Free
- North Pole Express train rides, 3-8 p.m., Mountain Village, Free
- Angel Baskets Charity Drive, 4-7 p.m., Franz Klammer Lodge
- North Pole on Ice, 6:30 – 7 p.m., Mountain Village Ice Rink, Free
- Ugly Sweater Party, 7 p.m., Madeline Hotel and Residences
- Ice Skating Party, 7-9:00 p.m., Mountain Village Ice Rink, Free
- Kid’s Night Out with Holiday Movies and Games, 7-9:30 p.m., Madeline Hotel and Residences, Free
December 13
- Santa’s Pajama Breakfast, 9-11 a.m., Palmyra at the Peaks
- Stocking Decorating and Crafts, 9-11 a.m., Palmyra at the Peaks
- Ice Skating, 12-5 p.m., Mountain Village Ice Rink, Free
- North Pole Express train rides, 12-5 p.m. Mountain Village, Free
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.