Noel Night Moved Its Shopping Into the Daytime. The Evening Belongs to the Ski Tree.

In 2013 the Town of Telluride approved a holiday tree made of skis, and locals were asked to bring in their old pairs. They brought so many that the pile became its own problem. Ted Wilson had pitched the idea. He, Daiva Chesonis, John Wontrobski, Will Thompson and Timmy Territo then spent hours taking the bindings off by hand so the skis could be used. "If we were able to do it all over again, we'd ask people to remove the bindings first," Wilson told Visit Telluride.

That tree goes on again on Wednesday, December 9, 2026, which is Noel Night in downtown Telluride. The evening has changed over the past few years. The discounts that once filled one crowded night now run through the whole day. That leaves the evening hours for the tree in Elks Park, the gallery openings and the town's holiday giving.

A Tree Made From the Town's Own Gear

Wilson got the idea in Kennebunkport, Maine, where the town builds a Christmas tree out of lobster traps. During planning meetings for Holiday Prelude and more holiday lights in town, he suggested Telluride needed something like it that reflected its own culture. The Town hired local metal artist Anton Viditz-Ward to build it.

The skis are what give the tree its meaning. "The coolest aspect is that they all belonged to locals," Wilson told Visit Telluride. "Some locals donated skis that belonged to family members who had passed away, as a unique way to honor them."

How the tree reached its current form:

• December 7, 2013. The Ski Tree first appears in Elks Park on Noel Night, about half its present height.
• Noel Night 2014. With plenty of donated skis left over, the crew rebuilds it at full height, close to 17 feet.
• Every winter since. Town Public Works and the Telluride Ski & Snowboard Club put it up in about two hours, depending on the weather.
• Every Noel Night. TSSC lights it to start the holiday season.

The design is practical as well. Wilson pointed out how much cutting and welding went into it, and that it was built so Public Works can move it every year. The star on top is made from ski poles. He also called it "probably the most photographed thing in town in the winter."

Anne-Britt Ostlund Schenk, TSSC's programs manager and controller, spoke about the club's role in the same Visit Telluride piece:

"They say 'it takes a village' to accomplish anything of meaning, and it is so true, we have an amazing village here in our Telluride and to come together to celebrate our love of snow is just … so fun and heartwarming."

Why the Discounts Moved Into the Day

Noel Night started as a single evening of shopping. When The Telluride Times previewed the 2025 event, Tom Watkinson, communications director for the Telluride Tourism Board, remembered it from his childhood as "the big, annual shopping extravaganza." In the same article, Caci Grinspan, who founded and owns Cashmere Red on Main Street and helped organize the 2025 event, explained the change.

"Retailers are trying to run it from morning to closing, so shoppers have a chance to take advantage of these discounts all day and it's not as chaotic a night as it may have been in the past," Grinspan told The Telluride Times. In 2025 the official evening ran 5 to 9 p.m. on December 10, with deals available all day before it.

The 2026 version keeps that format. Visit Telluride's Noel Night listing describes the evening as the Ski Tree lighting together with shopping at local stores, and says participating merchants will offer discounts in store, "many throughout the day."

With the deals spread out, the evening is free for other things. Watkinson's comment on the tree in the 2025 article was short: "The Ski Tree's the thing."

How December 9 Fits Into the Season

Noel Night comes after several dates that matter to anyone who lives here.

The resort calls November 26 a target that can move with weather and conditions. If it holds, Noel Night falls 13 days into the ski season. The Art Walk is the part of the evening with a fixed time. Telluride Arts says participating venues will open from 5 to 7 p.m. with new collections, receptions and a chance to meet local and visiting artists.

The holiday events across the gondola are spaced the same way as in 2025, when Holiday Prelude came three days after Noel Night. That weekend the gondola ran from Oak Street to Mountain Village as the "Polar Express," and Reflection Plaza had train rides, scavenger hunts and free ice skating. The 2026 Holiday Prelude page lists December 12 and 13.

The Shops and Galleries Behind the Night

Noel Night works because downtown's stores are locally owned. "There are no chain stores here," Grinspan told The Telluride Times. "All of our retailers are mom-and-pop stores, owned by individuals who moved to Telluride, fell in love with the town, and wanted to find a way to stay."

Past lineups give a good idea of which doors are open on the night. One year's list in The Telluride Times included Butcher & Baker, Sublime, Telluride Toggery, Scarpe, Between the Covers, Two Skirts, Jagged Edge, ACE Timberline Hardware, Telluride Truffle, Hook and Crossbow Leather, along with a vendor fair at the Alibi and a Telluride Arts Art Walk. An earlier Telluride Times list added Elinoff Gallery, Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, Tony Newlin Gallery, Ah Haa School for the Arts, Telluride Arts HQ Gallery and Telluride Transfer Warehouse. Those were past years' participants. Each December's list is put together again.

Santa has also been part of the night. In 2025, Visit Telluride advertised free photos with Santa, cookies and hot cider at Alpine Bank from 4 to 5 p.m., before the tree lighting.

Where the Giving Goes

In 2025, Grinspan said Cashmere Red would stay open until 9 p.m. with its usual 20% discount and would partner with Angel Baskets: customers were asked to give $5, and the store matched it for a total of $10. "Our local food bank is important," she told The Telluride Times, "and I think some people forget how many in this community are still in need."

Telluride Angel Baskets runs a holiday program that provides food and gift certificates, selected gifts, household goods, games and toys to more than 200 families, about 600 people, in San Miguel County and western Montrose County. Family applications for 2026 closed at the end of September, and the organization asks anyone who missed the deadline to contact Peter Kenworthy.

The busiest weeks for the program line up with Noel Night. Angel Baskets has no full-time staff. It depends on its volunteer board and hundreds of community volunteers to wrap gifts and pack family bags in early December, then deliver them in mid-December. Ways to help:

• Give online through the PayPal link on the Angel Baskets donate page, or mail a check to Angel Baskets, P.O. Box 4063, Telluride, CO 81435.
• Buy a children's gift in December at The Enchanted Forest Toy Shoppe, the program's toy and game sponsor.
• Volunteer for the early-December wrapping, the mid-December deliveries, or the year-round Telluride Food Pantry, which runs deliveries on Wednesdays and pickups on Thursdays.

After the Lights Come On

Once it is lit, the Ski Tree stays on. "It's on a timer," Watkinson told The Telluride Times. "It goes on every night throughout the season as it gets dark." After December 9, anyone walking through Elks Park after dusk will find it lit, made of skis that local families gave to the town.

"That tree is always a reminder to me how this town can really come together and do cool things when it wants to," Wilson told Visit Telluride. "It was a simple little idea, a Christmas tree made out of skis, but it took the whole village to build it."

At O'Neill Stetina Group, much of our advice depends on how the town's calendar works: when Main Street is at its fullest, how the holiday weeks unfold from Noel Night to Holiday Prelude, and what it means to own a home a short walk from Elks Park in December. If that rhythm is part of how you're thinking about a home here, we're glad to talk it through. Schedule a Private Consultation.