In 1935, a German Shepherd named Dizzy worked on Sundance Mountain with a small pack strapped on to carry supplies to the workers. Dizzy belonged to Bert Sloan, whose café was the planning center for a giant lighted star above Palmer Lake. For three months, volunteers carried materials up the mountain and assembled the five-point star. It first lit up in mid-December that year. A statue of Dizzy now stands on the Palmer Lake Village Green as a symbol of the all-volunteer effort, according to the Palmer Lake Historical Society.
Two years later, the Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department took over care of the star and started paying for it with an annual chili supper. The supper is traditionally held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That one arrangement still shapes the Tri-Lakes holiday season. Most of the season lands on a handful of Saturdays, and many of those days do two jobs at once. They are holiday events, and they also pay for or collect for something local.
The Supper That Set the Pattern
The star has been rebuilt more than once. In 1976, the town's bicentennial committee led a project to replace the original wooden posts with galvanized steel and update the wiring. A helicopter flew the posts, wiring and concrete up the mountain in three hours. The original construction had taken three months. The bulbs kept their original positions and height.
The upkeep is still done by hand. In May 2026, KKTV reported that the Palmer Lake Firefighters Association had climbed Sundance Mountain before Memorial Day to make sure all 92 bulbs worked. The association lights the star through the holiday season, from November to New Year's Day, and also turns it on for other holidays and 9/11. Last season was the star's 90th anniversary, as KKTV noted in December 2025.
The star's lighting season sets the rough edges of the holiday calendar below. Almost everything happens between the last weekend of October and mid-December, and the busiest days are Saturdays.
Four Saturdays Carry the Season
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. Thanksgiving lands on November 26, which puts Small Business Saturday on November 28. Here is how the big days line up, followed by the one Sunday that closes the season.
- Saturday, October 31. Downtown Monument businesses hold their annual Safe Trick-or-Treat from 4 to 6 p.m. along Second Street, around Limbach Park and at nearby shops. The Chamber lists parking at the Lewis-Palmer Administration Building, Limbach Park and Saint Peter's Church. From 6 to 9 p.m., the Palmer Lake Pub at 876 Hwy 105 hosts a free Halloween celebration, according to the Tri-Lakes Tribune.
- Friday and Saturday, November 6 and 7. The Downtown Monument Holiday Open House is held the first Friday and Saturday of November each year, with food, special events and sales as downtown businesses start the holiday season. The Our Community News calendar also lists two more events on Saturday, November 7. Encore Community Arts performs "Disney's 101 Dalmatians Kids" at 1 and 4 p.m., and the Tri-Lakes Chamber holds its Business After Hours Annual Non-Profit Showcase from 5 to 7 p.m.
- Saturday, November 28. Small Business Saturday in historic downtown Monument runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. This is also the traditional date for the Palmer Lake Star chili supper.
- Saturday, December 5. Small Town Christmas runs downtown from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Monument's Annual Tree Lighting takes place at Limbach Park the same day.
The Holiday Open House and Small Town Christmas dates come from the Chamber's yearly scheduling rules, "1st Friday and Saturday in November" and "1st Saturday in December." Check with organizers as each date gets closer. The OCN calendar gives similar advice and asks readers to confirm event details a day or two ahead.
November 7 already shows how events stack up. A family could shop the Open House in the morning, see a matinee and finish at the nonprofit showcase in the evening, all on the same Saturday.
November 28 Is the Crowded One
The Chamber's description of Small Business Saturday sounds a lot like the reasoning behind the chili supper. It calls the day "the most important shopping day of the year for our local economy" and says that when you shop locally, "more revenue stays here, and that directly benefits this community." The Palmer Lake supper has made the same case for its own cause since 1937.
If the fire department keeps its traditional date, both events will fall on November 28. Downtown shopping runs until 6 p.m. The 2026 supper time and ticket details are still to be announced, so watch for the fire department's announcement and don't rely on last year's details.
There's also a new independent shop to visit that week. Between the Sips, a bookstore that sells only romance novels and has a tearoom attached, opened in late August at 481 W. Colorado 105, in a strip mall west of I-25. The Gazette reports that the shop serves high tea on weekends and pots of tea during the week, runs two book clubs and carries about 200 authors. That list includes Colorado Springs writers Rebecca Yarros and Meghan Quinn and Monument native Ali VanCleave. Owner Sheena LaBadie told the paper, "When you go to a tearoom, you've got the cozy, lovey feeling and I thought, mix it with romance."
December 5 Runs From Morning to Dark
The first Saturday of December is the longest day of the season in downtown Monument. Small Town Christmas starts at 10 a.m. with visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus and their reindeer, plus hay rides, crafts and other traditional activities. It runs until 6 p.m.
The Annual Tree Lighting at Limbach Park brings live entertainment, food trucks and holiday activities before Santa arrives to light the trees. Guests are encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations for Tri-Lakes Cares and local families in need. The start time hasn't been posted yet, so check the town's page as the date gets closer.
The night before, Friday, December 4, "One Star – A Christmas Concert" runs from 7 to 9 p.m. at St. Peter Catholic Church, 55 N. Jefferson St. in Monument. It's listed on the Tri-Lakes Cares events calendar. St. Peter's is one of the parking spots the Chamber lists for downtown events, so the concert and the Saturday festivities share the same few blocks.
On this weekend, the holiday event and the local cause overlap almost completely. A donated can of food for Tri-Lakes Cares is part of the price of admission for watching Santa light the trees.
The Days Between the Saturdays
A few events fall outside the big Saturdays, and they fill in the weeks between them.
- Friday, November 20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. TLWC's Joys of the Holiday Season Holiday Home Tour.
- Saturday, November 21, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The 6th Annual MITEE Gobble Squabble.
- Sunday, December 13, 1 to 4 p.m. The Palmer Lake Yule Log Hunt at Palmer Lake Town Hall, 28 Valley Crescent St., according to the Palmer Lake Historical Society. The Monument Independent lists the same date and address with a 1 p.m. start.
The Yule Log Hunt is the last big event of the season, and it brings things back to Palmer Lake, the town where Dizzy's statue stands on the Village Green. The star stays lit above town through New Year's Day.
Whether you're mapping out Saturdays around the Star or just figuring out which events to fit in between, Chad and Todd at The Lauber Group follow the Tri-Lakes calendar closely and are happy to share what they know about Monument and Palmer Lake. If this season has you wondering what your own place near Second Street or Sundance Mountain is worth, reach out and get your home value.
