The Homestake Opera House has set this year's holidays inside a single story. Its 2026 Festival of Trees is billed as "A Dickens Christmas," and the invitation opens with the Ghost of Christmas Past. Five weeks later the same stage puts on A Christmas Carol. Almost everything else on Lead's calendar between now and New Year's Eve happens on a West Main Street block between those two dates.
Up the hill, Terry Peak is working on its own season, with a date that depends on snow. The Opera House dates are already on the calendar, so the Opera House sets the rhythm of the holidays until the lifts start turning. The dates below are listed in order, starting today.
Three days, starting today
Today through Saturday is the busiest stretch of the season. It runs from a free science afternoon to a live auction, and the venues are within walking distance of each other.
- Thursday, November 12, 1–3 p.m.: Ask a Scientist with Gavin Cox at the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center. The Lead Area Chamber of Commerce lists it as free.
- Thursday, November 12, 4–6 p.m.: The Lead Area Chamber of Commerce mixer takes place at the Homestake Opera House.
- Friday, November 13, 4–7 p.m.: Festival of Trees Preview Night is free, with carols, Santa and Mrs. Claus, treats, and the first round of silent auction bidding.
- Saturday, November 14, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.: Mile High Market: 2nd Saturdays in Lead brings maker crafts, historic tours, a shopping stroll, local food, and designated open-container areas on Main Street.
- Saturday, November 14, 5–9 p.m.: The Festival of Trees main evening.
Saturday's two events overlap by an hour, so a day spent along Main Street at the market can end in the Opera House lobby when doors open at 5:00. The listing reads:
"The Ghost of Christmas Past is calling you to gather for the 2026 Festival of Trees! Join us for a wonderful evening of Christmas cheer that shall carry us all the year long!"
Admission is $10 at the door. The evening includes heavy hors d'oeuvres, specialty holiday drinks, silent auction bidding, and a musical performance by Sara Carper. It ends with a live auction of trees and wreaths run by auctioneer Adam Karrels. Both nights of the festival ask guests to bring a donation for the Boys & Girls Club, the Twin City Animal Shelter, or both.
Thanksgiving weekend moves the season outdoors
After the festival weekend, the calendar is quiet until Thanksgiving, when the season spreads beyond the Opera House. Light Up Lead runs from November 27 through December 31 at participating homes and businesses around town. It is a display that lasts all month, so you can drive or walk past it any evening.
The next morning, Saturday, November 28, the Opera House holds its Holiday Market starting at 10 a.m. Local businesses and artisans will sell handmade gifts. Small Business Saturday shoppers can stay on one block and pick up wreath-and-ribbon ideas from the trees that sold two weeks earlier.
Weekday mornings at the Visitor Center
Between Opera House nights, the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center keeps regular daytime programming. The center is open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and both admission and parking are free. That makes it an easy stop when relatives are in town and the mountain isn't open yet.
Two December programs are worth planning around:
- Wednesday, December 9, 9–10 a.m.: a session on the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Dark Matter Detector Experiment.
- Thursday, December 10, 1–3 p.m.: Ask a Scientist with Alex Geffre, a follow-up to this week's session with Gavin Cox.
Both fall in the work week before the busiest weekend of December.
December 12 and 13 stack three events into one weekend
The second Saturday of December lines up the market, a free community show, and a jazz matinee the next afternoon. The Chamber's Miner's & Merchants mixer follows on Thursday.
| Date | Event | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Mile High Market: 2nd Saturdays in Lead | 10 a.m.–6 p.m. | Free to stroll |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Community Christmas Pageant & Concert, Homestake Opera House | 5–6:30 p.m. | Free; donations requested |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | Dave Martinson's Big Band: Duke Ellington's The Nutcracker Suite | 2 p.m. | $75 VIP table, $30 general, $25 members and seniors, $10 students 17 and under |
| Thu., Dec. 17 | LACC Chamber Mixer: Miner's & Merchants, 300 W. Main St. | 4–6 p.m. | Free, open to the public |
The pageant's donation request is specific. Organizers are asking for contributions to cover theater rental and insurance, the cost of putting on a free show at 313 W. Main St.
The Sunday matinee takes familiar holiday music in another direction. The Opera House describes it as "holiday music jazzed up and full of swing," built around Duke Ellington's The Nutcracker Suite. Students 17 and under get in for $10.
The story finishes on stage December 18–20
The Ghost of Christmas Past who opened the Festival of Trees invitation comes back with the rest of the cast the week before Christmas. The Opera House is staging A Christmas Carol in Patrick Barlow's adaptation, directed by Deb Minter, from Friday, December 18 through Sunday, December 20. Performances are tentatively set for 7 to 9 p.m.
That is the end of the Dickens theme. The building has one more night on the calendar, a New Year's Eve Celebration with an 80s Bash on December 31, which leaves Victorian London for something with more neon.
Meanwhile, at Terry Peak
The mountain works on a different timetable. Terry Peak describes its season as starting in late November or early December, depending on weather. As of this week, the homepage says crews are preparing for the season and that snowmaking season is "right around the corner."
The snowmaking system is the main reason that window has become more dependable. Terry Peak's $6.5 million snowmaking upgrade tripled pumping capacity from 1,000 to 3,000 gallons per minute and extended snowmaking to about 85% of the mountain. New coverage reaches Snowstorm, Welcome, Kussy, Ben Hur, Holy Terror, Millsite, Missing Link, Little Hope, Upper Stewart and Little Phil. Crews completed the work over the past two summers. At the end of last season, KOTA reported that the resort credited the upgraded system with keeping conditions strong through a warm, low-snow winter.
When the lifts open, the setup will be familiar: Surprise Express, Kussy Express, Coeur Wharf Express, Stewart Lift and the Snow Carpet. Food and drink are at Stewart Bar & Grill in Stewart Lodge and at the Dark Horse Saloon and Freshies in Nevada Gulch Lodge.
If you're still thinking about a season pass, the October sale has ended. As of November 1, 2026, regular 2026–27 prices are $800 for adults, $475 for juniors and $150 for seniors, plus tax. Passes for children 5 and under and for skiers 80 and older are $20. During the sale, the adult pass was $478, so waiting cost $322.
Snowmobilers have a fixed date. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks lists the trail season as December 15 through March 31, and its Black Hills trail map shows routes through the Lead and Deadwood area and around Terry Peak. That puts trail opening three days before A Christmas Carol opens.
Lead's winter starts on West Main Street on November 14, whenever the mountain opens. If you're thinking about a home in town, a cabin near Terry Peak, or a property where winter weekends like these are the reason to buy, Jenni Sneesby would be glad to talk through the options with you. Let's Connect.
