Every November, Bigfork gets about 10,000 feet of garland and 5,000 feet of string lights. Hundreds of volunteers hang it on storefronts and landmarks like the Bridge Street Bridge, in a push that takes about four hours, according to the Daily Inter Lake. The Bigfork Elves have run that morning since the 1970s.
This year, people new to the job are running it. At the end of last season the entire Elves board decided to retire. Judi Eber is now head elf, and she took over from Michele Mank, who had been with the group for nearly 20 years. The 2026 holiday calendar has changed too. Last year, decorating and the Holiday Art Walk happened on the same Saturday. This year they are a week apart, and the season adds a new weeknight. Montana's Christmas Village is built by volunteers, and this year's spread-out schedule gives you more chances to be part of the building.
A Board That Handed Off All at Once
The handoff took place on Undecorating Day, Jan. 31, 2026. KPAX reported that the outgoing leaders spent that Saturday showing their replacements how the work gets done. "The entire board actually has decided to retire, so we're just here today supporting them and kind of teaching them the ropes of what needs to happen and where things need to go," Mank told the station.
That knowledge matters because the decorations come out of a working inventory. Eber told KPAX the group runs lean. "They function off a very minimal amount of money and we have to replace elf hats, and lightbulbs, and garland, and bows, so we do want to try and increase that," she said. She wants to raise the group's funding so it can grow the traditions in the coming years.
So the garland you walk past on Electric Avenue in December is supplies that get counted, stored, mended and replaced by a small group with a small budget. In 2026, that group is learning the job in its first season, with the people who did it before them nearby to help.
Two Saturdays of Work Before Anything Lights Up
The decorating happens in two stages. Both are open to volunteers, and both come before the public holiday nights.
- Prep Day, Saturday, Nov. 14, 8 a.m. to noon, at the Garden Bar. The Bigfork Eagle lists it under three other names: Bulb Twisting, Tree Chopping and Bow Making Day. The Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce's event notice says there are jobs for different levels of ability and mobility. If a ladder on Decorating Day isn't for you, this is a good way to help.
- Decorating Day, Saturday, Nov. 21, 8 a.m., in front of the Bigfork Inn. Volunteers get a quick lesson in bow and tree tying, then head out into the village. Last year, elves were split into teams and each team took certain businesses or landmarks. New elves got Santa hats, and returning elves got insignia pins once the decorating was done. Breakfast was coffee, hot chocolate and doughnuts, and lunch was chili from the Garden Bar and the Bigfork Ladies Service Club.
Last season's Decorating Day fell on Nov. 22, and the Holiday Art Walk started at 4 p.m. that same afternoon. If you hung garland in the morning, you were back downtown a few hours later for the shops. In 2026 the Art Walk moves to the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so a volunteer's long day of work and celebration becomes two separate outings a week apart.
The Nights the Garland Is For
When the work is done, the village holds a run of evenings built around it. Here is the 2026 lineup from the Chamber's calendar at bigfork.org and the Bigfork Playhouse Children's Theatre.
| Date | Event | Time | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Holiday Art Walk | 4 to 6 p.m. | Shops, galleries and boutiques open their doors, with wine, treats and special sales |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Shopping Spectacular & Makers Market | 4 to 7 p.m. | 20+ local businesses with holiday specials, plus a Makers Market that is new this year |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Parade of Lights | 6 p.m. | Roads close at 5:30 p.m., and Santa takes photos at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts until 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | A Touch of Christmas | 7:30 p.m. | Brach Thomson's holiday show, with music arranged with rock, jazz and funk influences |
| Dec. 11–13, 18–20 | Elf The Musical | 7:30 p.m. Fri./Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. | Bigfork Playhouse Children's Theatre |
The new Makers Market brings local artists and makers into downtown Bigfork on a Thursday evening, selling handmade gifts alongside the regular storefront specials. With the Art Walk on Thanksgiving weekend, the Thursday market and the parade two days later, the decorated village now has three separate evenings of shopping and strolling, all inside about a week.
The tree lighting ceremony at the Bigfork Inn is set for 6 p.m., with a bonfire, cocoa, carols, a reading of "The Night Before Christmas," and performances by the Bigfork Jazz Band and Five and Holding. Check the Chamber's events calendar for the date before you bundle up. Mank told KPAX that the lighting and the decorating together are "just something every Bigforkian looks forward to each year."
The parade is on the first Saturday of December, as it always is, and stores stay open late beforehand. Floats line up at the school-bus parking area on Grand Avenue. Last year's theme was "A Very Merry Grinch-mas: Grow Your Heart," and the Bigfork Eagle's photo report showed a large crowd along the route. If you're timing the evening, the parade runs from 6 to 7 p.m., Santa takes photos until 8, and A Touch of Christmas starts at 7:30. Families who want both Santa and the show have about half an hour to fit them in.
January Is When the Volunteers Run Short
Everything that goes up in November comes down on the last Saturday of January. Last season that was Jan. 31. Decorating Day draws hundreds, and the take-down draws far fewer. "Not everybody wants to come and take everything down. They all want to be a part of putting it up, their holiday cheer, but when it comes to taking it down, we're lucky if we get 35-40 volunteers," Mank told KPAX.
That is the same 10,000 feet of garland and 5,000 feet of lights, handled by a fraction of the November crowd. It is also the step that decides what Eber's group has to replace. Lights that are coiled carefully, bows that go back in their bins and hats that make it to storage are the supplies that don't need to be bought again next fall. For a group on a minimal budget, a well-staffed take-down saves money.
Last January, Bigfork resident Sarah Peterson came out to undecorate for the first time. "Bigfork is such a tight-knit community and it's just great to help with all of these events we do for our little village," she told KPAX. If you want to help the new board through its first season, you have four chances: Prep Day on Nov. 14, Decorating Day on Nov. 21, the holiday nights after that, and the last Saturday of January, which is when the most hands are needed.
At All Montana Real Estate, we've spent many years watching traditions like this pass from one group of neighbors to the next, and we think the Elves' handoff deserves a good first season. If you'd like to talk about Bigfork, your home there, or a family property you're thinking about, contact us any time this winter. You can also find more about the village on our Bigfork neighborhood page.
