All Images Melissa Plantz
The holidays in the box canyon offer charm, sparkle and a chance to breathe BY JENNIFER JULIA
E
very season in this box canyon of ours holds something special and unique, but if I had to pick a favorite season, there’s just something about the holidays. It is the time of year when our community can’t help but pull out its extra stash of charm and sparkle, the season when the mountains themselves seem to stand a little taller in their winter whites. The holidays are also when Telluride and Mountain Village, merry and bright, wrap their arms around you and hold you close, whispering in your ear, “Breathe deeply and enjoy what matters most.” This year on Dec. 1, Noel Night is the unofficial start to the holidays, a night when Tellu-
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a favorite local tradition. Christmas Day is a whirlwind in our house, the exchange of gifts often taking a backseat to a fun and relaxing day of skiing together. The holidays pick up speed on Dec. 26 with the kick-off of ride’s shops and restaurants, the Holiday Concert Series at ablaze in twinkling lights, the historic Sheridan Opera THERE’S NEVER offer special discounts, fun House, a weeklong extravaA SHORTAGE OF games, tasty nibbles and an ganza of entertainment that OPTIONS FOR A abundance of cheer. It’s the culminates on Dec. 31 with SPECTACULAR NIGHT starry evening we also get to the Opera House’s annual OF CELEBRATION. witness the annual lighting New Year’s Eve Gala. Rumor of the Ski Tree in Elks Park, a has it that they’re planning signal that winter is here and it’s time to indulge something extra special for 2021. in all the lovely offerings our mountain commuMany of the local bars and restaurants in Tellunity provides. ride and Mountain Village offer entertainment and On Dec. 11 and 12, we head to Mountain Vilspecial meal offerings for New Year’s Eve. There are lage with our kids for the family-friendly Holiday also numerous soirees, so there’s never a shortage Prelude to sit with Santa and his elves, snag a ride of options for a spectacular night of celebration. on the train, partake in sledding, ice skating and a And, in case you missed the first one, there’s ancurling demo, and take in a graceful figure skating other Torchlight Parade on New Year’s Eve, as well performance. By mid-December it’s time to put as a fireworks display in Mountain Village. up the tree, so we love to go to historic Schmid As for me and my family, we’ll do our best to Ranch for hot cocoa, to take in the stunning stay up ‘til midnight (at least, our kids will beg views and to decide as a family which tree we us to) and maybe this year we just might make want. It’s a discussion that can sometimes grow it. However we choose to ring in the new year, heated, but which generally ends harmoniously. I know I will take a moment to reflect on all the On Christmas Eve, we bundle up to watch challenges, triumphs and moments of joy the last the Torchlight Parade, a nighttime tradition on year has awarded us. It’s been an unpredictable the Telluride Ski Resort where a brave gang of time, but we leap into the next one with trust, locals trade their poles for blazing torches. It’s hope and gratitude. telluride.com | 855.421.4360 51
