In 2011, Deck the Trees was about a dozen decorated trees in the lobby of the Monte Vista Hotel. You could see every tree in one visit and vote in one room.
According to the organizer, Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry, the 16th season starts December 3 and runs through January 1, 2027. The trees will be spread across a hardware store, a social house, a music venue and dozens of other businesses in Black Mountain and Swannanoa. The voting works the same way it always has, at $1 a vote. The bill the votes help cover has changed. The tradition got spread out across town in the same years the need behind it nearly doubled.
How a Lobby Display Became a Trail Through Town
The event grew one room at a time. By its 11th year in 2021, it had 21 trees in the hotel and 24 more in businesses around town, and close to $200,000 raised in total. In 2025 the Monte Vista closed for renovations, so the whole display had to move out into town. Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry's 2025 annual report counts more than 50 trees in 38 local businesses that season. It thanks Peri Social House, Tyson Furniture Co., White Horse Black Mountain and Town Hardware & General Store for stepping in to host trees while the hotel was under renovation.
The 2025 brochure read like a walking map of downtown. On West State Street it ran from Town Hardware at 103 and Kilwins at 116, past the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center at 223 and the Monte Vista at 308, to Peri Social House at 406. It also crossed to Que Sera Restaurant and the North Carolina Glass Center on East State Street, and ran out Montreat Road to Ole's Guacamoles at 401. In Swannanoa, the 2025 stops included Blunt Pretzels on Alexander Place and Cherry Tree Beads on Railroad Street. That list is from last year. The 2026 lineup comes from SVCM's own map.
Moving the trees changed what a vote involves. A lobby lets you see every tree in one stop. A trail sends you through shop doors, and SVCM describes the event as a chance to support the businesses hosting the trees.
This Year's Anchors, and How a Vote Works
For 2026, SVCM's October 26 announcement names three businesses hosting several trees each. The rest are spread among dozens of other local businesses.
- Town Hardware & General Store, 103 W. State St.
- Peri Social House, 406 W. State St.
- White Horse Black Mountain, 105 C Montreat Rd.
The two State Street anchors sit at opposite ends of the downtown stretch, so walking between them takes you past most of the shopping blocks. White Horse is just off State Street, up Montreat Road.
This year's theme is "Making Spirits Bright." It was announced on January 5 at the closing celebration at White Horse, as each year's theme traditionally is. Each dollar counts as one vote, and you can vote as many times as you like. You can scan the QR code at a tree, put cash or a check in the box beside most trees, or click a tree in the photo gallery on the Deck the Trees page. SVCM encourages online donations. The gallery is there so people who can't visit in person can still vote. SVCM posts the full tree map on the same page. Winners are announced in January in two categories, most votes and best fit with the theme.
The trees are put up by a small volunteer committee, now chaired by Kat Achtemeier, along with shop owners, church groups, scout troops, school classes and first responders. Libba Fairleigh led the effort for many years. When she retired from the committee in 2025, Visit Black Mountain reports, SVCM's director called her the event's "guiding light," and the award for the top-earning tree now carries her name. Black Mountain News reported that last season's Libba Fairleigh Share the Warmth Award went to the Black Mountain Beautification Committee and the Black Mountain Presbyterian Weekday School. Over the years, top-earning trees have also come from the Black Mountain Fire Department, local Girl Scouts and Tyson Furniture.
What the Dollars Are Up Against
Since 2011, Deck the Trees has raised more than $545,000 for SVCM's Fuel Fund. The last three seasons show both the event's peak and the gap it now faces.
| Season | Trees | Raised by Deck the Trees |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | About 45 | About $78,000 |
| 2024 | 51 | $126,051.92 |
| 2025 | More than 50, in 38 businesses | $82,808 |
The 2024 record came in the season after Hurricane Helene, when giving surged to help neighbors still recovering from the storm. The 2025 total was the event's second-best ever and came closer to its usual level.
The spending side kept rising. In 2025, SVCM's Crisis Ministry provided more than $182,000 in energy assistance to 449 valley households, a 90% increase since 2022. That works out to roughly $400 per household. The trees' $82,808 covered less than half of it. SVCM also reports that local heating-oil costs have risen about 64% since last winter. Visit Black Mountain adds that federal and state energy help has been cut back.
"Since last winter, the local cost of heating oil has increased by about 64%."
That line comes from SVCM's 2026 announcement. It matters because oil is one of the main ways the fund delivers help. According to the annual report, most neighbors who get heating assistance receive it as a utility payment or a heating-oil delivery. Visit Black Mountain lists propane, electric bills and firewood as other costs the fund covers. SVCM says all Deck the Trees donations go to direct heating assistance through the Crisis Ministry.
The Firewood Crew Fills a Different Gap
Some homes in the valley still heat with wood, and SVCM serves them with labor instead of checks. Every other Saturday morning in the cold months, volunteers meet at a woodlot in Swannanoa to split and deliver firewood. They delivered 34 full truckloads to valley homes in 2025. The report credits donated labor and equipment, surplus wood from Helene, and a Wood for Warriors crew that regularly drove in from Hickory with keeping last year's costs very low. The storm wood helped one winter. Higher oil prices hit the rest of the program every month.
The First Weekend on the Trail
The trees go up the day before Black Mountain's biggest holiday weekend, so the first three days are the easiest time to walk the trail with downtown in full swing.
- Thursday, December 3. Voting opens at participating locations during business hours, according to SVCM's schedule. Visit Black Mountain notes that Holly Jolly Friday is the busiest night of the season, which makes Thursday the calmer time to see the trees.
- Friday, December 4. Holly Jolly starts at 5 p.m. with late shopping, carolers, cocoa and Santa. The Holly Jolly Christmas Markets at White Horse Black Mountain run that night too, at the same address as one of the anchor hosts.
- Saturday, December 5. The Christmas Parade heads down State Street at 4 p.m., with Santa arriving on his sleigh at the end. After dark, luminaries ring Lake Tomahawk for Circle of Lights. Times are posted on the Visit Black Mountain events calendar.
At the lake, the walk now passes a new 24-by-10-foot accessible fishing pier beside the tennis courts and pavilion. It connects to the paved path and was finished in early October as an Eagle Scout project by Troop 17, according to the Town of Black Mountain's November–December newsletter.
Visit Black Mountain recommends walking instead of driving on Holly Jolly Friday and parade Saturday, since parking fills quickly. The trail stays up after that weekend. White Horse holds more Holly Jolly Christmas Markets on December 12 and 19, and voting runs through January 1.
When I list a home in this valley, I try to tell the story of the street around it, the shop fronts and the traditions that make a block feel like home. Deck the Trees is one of the best of those stories. If you'd like to talk about telling your own property's story this season, Kim Gentry Justus would be glad to walk State Street with you. Connect for a Curated Consultation.
