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The festive atmosphere for the 2009 Big Sky Christmas Stroll was a refreshing cap to end of a challenging year for the nation, the state, and the Big Sky community. The Stroll brought together businesses from the Town Center, Meadow Village Center, and Westfork Business Center to open their doors for the event. It was a good chance for folks to visit many of the new businesses such as Dragonfly Interiors, Big Sky Buzz coffee shop, Pearson Design Group architecture, Pure West Properties, and Sotheby’s Real Estate. The ski movies projected on a big inflatable screen are always a big hit, especially next to the roaring fire. Many of the businesses had so many people visit that they ran out of food toward the end of the evening - a good problem to have! Kids had lots to do with a long list of items for the scavenger hunt, they could write and mail letters to Santa, they could decorate cookies, and some even found a way to drink the chocolate from the chocolate fountain! Jakes Horses gave free sleigh rides throughout the evening, the Dickinson Carolers charmed the strollers, and the inspiring fireworks show closed the evening in style.

 A new element to the Stroll this year was the Festival of Trees. Being the first year, the participation was on the light side of things, but all five beautifully-decorated trees sold by the end of the silent auction, and there were proud tree owners by the end of the night. Participating businesses included Big Sky Resort, Carsole Sisson Designs, Winter & Company Real Estate, Morningstar Learning Center, and the Half Moon Saloon and Restaurant. These businesses each chose a non-profit or charity for the beneficiary of the auction proceeds, and these were EagleMount of Bozeman, Ophir School Art Department, Big Sky Community Library, and Morningstar Learning Center. While the trees added a very nice touch to the Stroll this year, next year we hope to change things up and possibly have the event indoors to help attract more participants and larger bids. If you’re interested in participating next year, please email us at info@bigskytowncenter.com.

The 3rd annual Pancakes with Santa event was held on Saturday morning after the Stroll, and we enjoyed serving a record number of people this year! Nancy Butler and Mary Lou Schriener were the stars of the morning when they were hit hard with orders for homemade pancakes, eggs, fruit, and sausages when everyone showed up at 9:30am. Some kids still had their PJ’s on to eat Pancakes with Santa.  Kene Sperry of Eye in the Sky Photography snapped some fantastic photos of the 50+ kids who shared their wish-list with Santa, and these photos can be picked up at Morningstar and Ophir School. If you want a digital copy of the photo of your child, check out the Town Center’s Facebook page, under Photos, and Pancakes with Santa.  Many thanks to the sponsors for this year’s event; Big Sky Build Inc. and Haas Builders!