Northwoods Tahoe July - August 2019

TA H O E

R E A D N E W I S S U E S O N L I N E AT W W W. N O R T H W O O D S . N E W S

Serving Truckee & Tahoe July / Auagust 2019

Tahoe’s Lake Clarity —Then and Now—

By Jill Beede According to legend, long ago, a Washoe Indian brave was crossing from what is now Nevada to California trying to evade threats of the Evil One. In preparation for his journey, the Good Spirit gave him a leafy branch with magic qualities to fend off the Evil Spirit if it crossed his path. If he saw the Evil Spirit, he was to pluck a leaf off the branch and water would immediately spring up giving the Indian time to escape. When the Indian saw the Evil Spirit, he tried to pluck off a leaf but instead dropped the better part of the branch. Water began to rise and soon Tahoe – Big Water – protected him from his enemy.

For thousands of years, the Washoe—hunters and gatherers— lived in the Tahoe Basin spring through fall. It was a sacred place to them. They managed the fish population and never hunted or gathered more than was necessary. They sowed seeds, weeded, pruned plants and bushes, and even did prescribed burns in the fall to keep the environment healthy and pristine. A former Washoe tribal leader explained: “The health of the land and the health of the people are tied together, and what happens to the land also happens to the people.”

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he was devastated to see the entire basin stripped of its timber and its rivers and streams clogged with sawdust. To make things worse, the thousands of sheep and cattle grazing in the basin were eating the little native vegetation remaining to hold the soil.

In 1873, scientist John LeConte measured the lake’s clarity using a method used in the Mediterranean called the Secchi method (lowering a white dinner plate). It showed Lake Tahoe at a clarity of 108.27 feet. This confirmed the abundant resort ads that claimed Tahoe was a pristine and healthy environment to vacation in, due to its clear lake and pure air.

In 1899, President William McKinley signed a proclamation setting aside 136,335 acres in the southwest part of the basin as the Lake Tahoe Forest Reserve—what eventually became Desolation Wilderness. With permission from Nathan Gilmore, his Glen Alpine township was also included. Nevada Senator William M. Stewart proposed a Lake Tahoe National Park to include the entire basin along with western slope forestlands.

The problem was, he attached to the proposal the lake becoming a giant reservoir.

Muir’s reaction was: “Not even for a much desired extension of a reservation should such injustice be for a moment considered.”

The bill died.

John Muir’s first visits to the Sierra between 1873-1875 led him to conclude that, of all the glaciated lakes in the Sierra: “Lake Tahoe is king of them all, not only in size but in the surpassing beauty of its shores and waters.”

However, when he returned in late 1888,

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Mark Twain described his many fishing expeditions in a canoe on Lake Tahoe in his 1871 publication, Roughing It: “Down through the transparency of these great depths, the water was not merely transparent, but dazzlingly, brilliantly so. All objects seen through it had a bright, strong vividness, not only of outline, but of every minute detail, which they would not have had when seen simply through the same depth of atmosphere.

So empty and airy did all spaces seem below us, and so strong was the sense of floating high aloft in mid-nothingness, that we called these boat excursions ‘balloon voyages’.”

harryJONES allisonJONES aaronJONES JillBeede

Disclaimer: Articles, if printed, become the exclusive property of Community Ink, Inc. We reserve the right to edit, or choose not to print submissions. The views and opinnions expressed in the content of Northwoods Tahoe are not necessarily shared by the Publisher, Editor, Community Ink, Inc. or anyone else.

Leaving Tahoe brokenhearted, Muir vowed never to let other forests meet the same fate as Tahoe. In 1892, Muir formed the Sierra Club and was its first president. In 1895, he went on to write the Mountains of California, not even mentioning Lake Tahoe.

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Ironically, when lumber baron D. L. Bliss, turned his focus to tourism at the end of the 19th century, he became obsessed with the lake’s water quality and level. He built a large hotel at Lake Tahoe’s outlet, the Tahoe Tavern, and started a transportation company which brought a train from Truckee along the Truckee River to the Tavern’s pier. At the pier, passengers could get off the train, walk across the pier and board his Steamer Tahoe to be delivered to other resorts around the lake—including one he owned in Glenbrook.

Bliss also owned most of the water rights around the lake.

In the last half of the 1800s, there were many different threats to Tahoe Water: tunnels and conduits, or aqueducts delivering water to California’s Rubicon River and/ or the Carson Valley. In 1902, a true threat to Lake Tahoe’s size and depth emerged. The United States Reclamation Service decided to make its first big project the transformation of Nevada’s Lahontan Valley desert into farmland by constructing a canal which would redirect some of the Truckee River flow to the valley, where it could join the Carson River. For this to work, they needed a new outlet from Lake Tahoe.

Bliss feared this would do irreversible harm to the lake by lowering its natural rim. He

joined hands with a fellow lakefront homeowner, William Tevis, to file an injunction.

Though successful that time, the battles did continue. In the interim, Duane Bliss died and his son William S. Bliss, took over.

Following public outcry, the tunnel idea was scrapped. But then, they wanted to lower the depth of the outlet channel by 51 inches which would do irreparable harm around the lake and damage the entrance to Emerald Bay. In 1913, Bliss met with Department of the Interior representatives, California state representatives, and other Tahoe landowners. An agreement was reached for the building of a new dam and gates with the stipulation that the lake’s natural rim of 6,225 feet not be lowered below more than an emergency level of 6,223 feet. However, in 1930 the level dropped to 6,222 feet. In July of that year, during the middle of the night, William Bliss removed the carburetor from the steam shovel’s engine and sent a messenger to Auburn to get an injunction.

Instead, a work crew representing the Bureau of Reclamation arrived with the intent of blasting the rim and digging a new channel. Bliss sent someone with a note to his Tahoe Tavern manager who sent back two anglers in a boat, pretending to fish, then holding up trout by the tail as if they’d pulled them from the lake. In actuality, they’d been pulled out of the hotel’s freezer. Since there was a law prohibiting interference with commerce, fishing, or navigation on the lake, the crew accepted defeat. Soon, the sheriff from Auburn brought the injunction and Bliss bought everyone a drink.

William Bliss continued his battles with the water but in 1937, exhausted from what was happening—wasting Tahoe’s water by not

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Continued from Page 3 storing it, letting it flood the valleys, then drawing more Tahoe water than allotted during the valleys’ irrigation season—Bliss announced to his family that he would leave Tahoe, never to return. He held true to his word and passed away four years later. Several reservoirs were later built: Boca (1939), Prosser Creek (1962), and Stampede (1970).

In 1946, there was a call to end individual sewage systems, as septic tank sewage was seeping into the lake and streams. The old attitude of “out of sight, out of mind” could no longer prevail. Research began on who best would handle a public system with the ultimate solution of removing the sewage from the basin so it could not seep into the water table. (It takes 700 years for non-biodegradable pollutants to flush out of the lake.) Finally, scientist Charles Goldman advanced the effort by taking a small amount of treated sewage to the center of the lake and the water turned green in three days. People paid attention to the problem after that.

In 1957, the League to Save Lake Tahoe was founded to monitor the basin’s development and recreation plans, and work with local, state and federal lawmakers to take action to preserve the environment and Keep Tahoe Blue.

In the early 1960s, water quality became an actual public health hazard when water weeds had established themselves along the most popular beaches, attracting flies and insects, and creating foul smells. This was caused by low water levels, hot summers, and construction.

By far, the worst damage came from the Tahoe Keys development’s Graph courtesy of UC Davis (https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/lake-tahoe-water-clarity-declined-2015) dredging in the Upper Truckee Marsh which has turned out to be the most environmentally damaging project in Tahoe’s In 1969, Coe Swobe, a Nevada state senahuman history. Half of the marsh was detor, helped broker a California-Nevada Lake stroyed, which was the primary filter for river Tahoe Planning Agency (later becoming the water entering the lake.

TRPA) to fight pollution. It was signed by Nevada Governor Paul Laxalt and CaliforPopulation rose from a couple thousand to nia Governor Ronald Reagan. These efforts 18,000 from the mid-50s to mid-60s and helped stall and eventually kill a project to annual visitors during that time rose from build a bridge across Emerald Bay. 30,000 to 150,000. More than just algae growing in the lake, the worst culprit was In 1994, water quality had dropped to 64 ultra-fine sediment particles from storm wa- feet—the worst on record. It had only taken ter washing into the lake from roads, parking European Americans 120 years to strip the lots, and developed areas. In 1968, clarity forest, destroy the fisheries, and reduce Lake was 102.4 feet— nearly six feet lower than Tahoe’s clarity almost in half. Between 1860 when first measured in 1873.

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Continued from Page 4 and 1900, one billion board feet of oldgrowth timber had been removed from the basin. In 2015, 35,038 trees in the Tahoe Basin were either dead or dying. The longterm effects of the massive logging in the later 1880s were evident.

The current forest is overcrowded, mostly with even-aged white fir, which is particularly susceptible to drought and beetle infestation—current beetle reproduction is five times per season instead of two. In the 1990s, we faced the same problem and many trees were cut down but not removed from the basin due to lack of funding, adding to the fire danger. Any small fire today would quickly become unstoppable. Catastrophic soil erosion into the lake would be imminent and the progress we have made with lake clarity would be reversed.

Tahoe’s lake water is the warmest on record— warming .03 degrees per year since 1968.

The shallow water along the lakeshore is murky and there’s slippery algae on the rocks. Non-native warm-water fish and aquatic plants are spreading. For example, the non-native Eurasian watermilfoil, abundant in the Tahoe Keys, provides cover for non-native fish like largemouth bass, who in turn prey on the native minnows, who are now dying out. There’s a recent fear of a Quagga mussel invasion which could forever change the lake’s ecosystem and would be devastating.

The formation of the Lake Tahoe Summit

by Nevada Senator Harry Reid and President Bill Clinton in 1997 brought national awareness and government funding to help preserve Lake Tahoe’s environment. At that time, lake clarity was 64.1 feet. Since that

time, funds received for the Lake Tahoe Environmental Program have been just over one billion dollars: 32% Federal, 45% Nevada & California, and 34% local and private.

What’s been done: • 729 miles of erosion-control improvements along Tahoe’s roadways • Many of the lake’s natural water filters, wetlands, marshes, and meadows have been restored • Thousands of boat inspections • 16,000 acres of wildlife habitat have been restored •65,000 acres of hazardous forest fuels have been treated to reduce wildfire threat In 2015, lake clarity had increased to 73.1 feet, but there’s still much to be done. The lake clarity challenge is to have it increase to 78 feet by 2026 and maintain that clarity for five years, with a long term goal of 97.4 feet.

Jill Beede is the author of Tahoe’s Magical West Shore and a Lake Tahoe area based freelance writer. http://www.trpa.org/get-involved/10-waysto-save-lake-tahoe

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Coming to Genoa – Lillian Virgin Finnegan In September, Genoa will celebrate the Centennial Genoa Candy Dance. In 1919, Lillian Virgin Finnegan, Jane Raycraft and the “ladies of Genoa” organized a dance to raise money to purchase streetlights for town. They made homemade candy to pass around to guests at the dance, which was the highlight of the event. In the following years, volunteer candy makers were called upon to continue the Candy Dance to raise funds to pay to keep the lights on. For one hundred years, generations of volunteers have continued the annual Genoa Candy Dance event, raising funds to support the Town of Genoa’s budget.

At this year’s Candy Dance event, visitors will be greeted at the corner of Main and

Nixon Streets by a 7-foot bronze statue of Lillian Virgin Finnegan, created by local artist, Debrine Smedley. The statue was created to honor Lillian and symbolize all of the volunteers who have contributed to the continued success of Genoa Candy Dance over the years. The statue site will include a bronze bas relief plaque depicting and honoring all of the volunteer candy makers, as well as plaques with information about Lillian, the Genoa Candy Dance, and Genoa’s volunteers.

from the Nevada Division of Tourism. The project has been enthusiastically supported by the Town of Genoa, the Genoa Town Advisory Board, and the Friends of Genoa nonprofit organization.

Statue Project donors will be place on a recognition wall at the statue site. An original streetlight will be mounted over the recognition wall to represent “the dance that brought light to Genoa” and the “light” of Artist rendering of statue site.

The Centennial Genoa Candy Dance Statue Project began in October, 2016, with Debrine Smedley’s vision of creating a statue of Lillian Virgin Finnegan to symbolize the spirit of volunteerism in the Town of Genoa.

Together with Gail Teig, she organized a committee and the Statue Project began. All of the funding for the Statue Project was raised through the generosity of donors, in-kind contributions, and a grant

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Bas relief honoring all of Genoa’s candy-makers

Debrine with the cast statue and small bronze model volunteerism that continues to shine on the town. The statue will be installed and “veiled” just prior to the August 16 dedication event.

The culmination of the Centennial Genoa Candy Dance Statue Project will be on Friday, August 16, when the Lillian Virgin Finnegan statue will be unveiled and dedicated during a special public event on the corner of Nixon and Main streets. Among the special guests will be Lillian Virgin Finnegan, portrayed by Genoa resident, Kim Harris. The ceremony will begin at 6 PM, with the ringing of Genoa’s carillon. After the ceremony, there will be music and festivities throughout Genoa. 1919 period dress is encouraged. All are welcome to come and celebrate Genoa’s volunteers!households,

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The Statue Project Committee: Gail Teig (Chair), Lynne Bowersock, Sharon Davis, Nan Fleming, Judith Hanson, Lee Hanson, Nancy Jackson, Dick Mattinson, Linda McDonald, Marilyn Prestigiacomo, Debrine Smedley (Artist), Larry Smedley, Barb Wilson, Kim Harris (“Lillian” Ambassador), Dan Dykes (Friends of Genoa), Melanie Miller (Friends of Genoa). https://www.facebook.com/genoacandydance/

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Northwoods Calendar EE CK RU

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July 20 – 21 Donner Lake Marathon

One of the best! The Donner Lake Triathlon is a favorite of many triathletes. The venue, setting, and course offer a truly beautiful and challenging Summer experience. Half Triathlon | 70.3 | Olympic Triathlon | Sprint Triathlon | Kids Triathlon | Aquabike | Aquathon – Join us at Donner Lake in Truckee California! http://donnerlaketri.com/.

July 21 Wanderlust Festival

toric Downtown Truckee. This running event showcases the Sierra landscapes and gives runners a taste of our wonderful mountain town. The Truckee 5K benefits Sierra Education Watershed Partnerships. https://truckeemarathon.com/.

Exploring this region on interpretive walks and hikes, you can almost hear the clip-clop of oxen and the rumble of wagon wheels, as countless emigrants scaled the mighty Sierra Nevada in search of a better life. Learn about the success of the Stephens Party; the tragic events the Donner Party endured; and the importance of the transcontinental railroad. Join us for Saturday hikes, or Saturday and Sunday, and enjoy a weekend steeped in history and exploration. Put on your hiking boots, choose a hike and discover Truckee’s history! Visit http://donnerpartyhike.com/.

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July 5- August 25 Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival

August 4 Truckee Half Marathon & 5k, Truckee Kids Running

Fourth annual! Course options include the Truckee Half Marathon, Truckee 5K, and Kids distances. All races start and finish in His-

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dreaming, you’re experiencing the enchantment of Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival at Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park. Https://laketahoeshakespeare.com/ for tickets.

September 14-15 Donner Party Hike

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Squaw Valley is home to the world-renowned Wanderlust Yoga Festival, a fourday event that celebrates yoga, meditation, music, nature and camaraderie all in the pristine High Sierra. Some of the world’s best yoga and wellness teachers, and top musical acts descend upon the Village at Squaw for the event, bringing expertise and passion to the festival. https://squawalpine. com/events-things-do/wanderlust-festival.

JULY-SEPTEMBER 2019

The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare’s uproarious battle of the sexes directed by Sara Bruner comes to Lake Tahoe. We can’t say it enough…enjoy extraordinary entertainment in an exceptional setting! Imagine your toes in the sand, a fantastic bottle of wine nearby, a gourmet meal in hand and first-class entertainment before you… all while basking in a perfect Lake Tahoe sunset with your friends and family. You’re not

July 26 Tahoe Big Band Dance

All ages invited! Listen and/or dance to the great music of the 17-piece Tahoe Dance Band at South Lake Tahoe Senior Center, on the last Friday of each month. From 7:3010 PM enjoy appetizers, wine, desserts, Big Band dancing, door prizes and fun for all. $10 per person at the door, those under 21 are only $5. It is not necessary to come with a partner. Get more information by calling Jim at (530) 541-3285 or Tara at (530) 5443626.

August 7 Wine vs. Beer at West Shore Cafe

Join West Shore Cafe for live music and wine and beer tasting with food pairings, along the shores of Lake Tahoe. This last event in a series runs from 3 to 6 PM. Entry is free and open to all ages. Flights of beer or wine will be available for $20 for those ages 21+. Wine vendors and beer vendors will offer a final showdown on this night.

Featuring 8 samplings and food pairing for $45. Winners will be chosen by the public along with a panel of judges, including a cicerone and sommelier. Whoever has the best pairing wins the ultimate title. We hope you can join us! http://westshorecafe.com.

August 9 – 10 Concours d’Elegance Wooden Boat Show

Be a part of Lake Tahoe’s classic wooden boat history at Homewood, California.

Celebrating its 47th anniversary, Lake Tahoe Concours is considered the premier, judged, wooden boat show in the nation. Each year, more than 85 of the best antique, vintage and classic boats in North America compete in specialized classes for top honors and bragging rights. The meticulously restored boats include historic lakers and launches, some dating back to 1915; pre and postWWII racers and runabouts; utility boats and flashy Rivas. Obexer’s Boat Company, home of the first wooden boat dealership on Lake Tahoe, will be the site of the event and is located on the West shore of Lake Tahoe.

Anyone who appreciates the beauty and art of restoration should attend. You will be rewarded with the largest gathering of these powerful and pristine watercraft! Log on to https://laketahoeconcours.com/ for more information.

Ausgust 10 – 11 TA-HOE NALU Lake Tahoe Paddle Festival

It’s the world’s original stand up paddle board race! Experience racing over the clear waters of Lake Tahoe, surrounded by the majestic Sierra Nevada. This paddle festival is fun for all ages and skill levels with an Elite Race offering $10,000 in prize money.

The Ta-Hoe Nalu Paddle Festival includes a reception party, live music on the beach, vendors/manufacturer exhibits, and free paddle clinics and demos for beginners and advanced paddlers. It was voted the “Best SUP Event” in the country by Outdoor Magazine. There are six different races with varying distances. Log on to http://www. tahoenalu.com for more information.

August 16-17 Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC)

B4BC is excited to announce the 15th Annual Skate the Lake in Tahoe City. Skate the Lake is a 28-mile Skate-Bike-Roll along the majestic shores of Lake Tahoe and the beautiful Truckee River that raises funds for B4BC’s education, prevention and survivorship programs. The event is a collective ride for breast cancer awareness and prevention, that attracts skateboarders, long boarders, roller-skaters, bikers, and bladers (essentially

anyone on wheels). Participants are encouraged to ride in honor of a loved one who is or has battled breast cancer. All ages and abilities are welcome! Registration on Friday from 2 to 8 PM, including a kick-off party at Tahoe City Commons Beach. The main event is from 8:30 AM to 2 PM on Saturday, beginning at Sugar Pine Point State Park on Tahoe’s West Shore. For more information, email is email@b4bc.org.

September 7-8 Trails & Vistas Art Hikes

Art + Nature + Community. Participants will enjoy music, performance art, ephemeral sculpture and literary art pieces placed along an earthen trail. Guides will lead threehour long guided interactive hikes winding through 12 site-specific art installations.

Hikes begin at Tahoe Cross Country Center, 925 Country Club Dr. in Tahoe City, at 9 AM. Continued on Page 12

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Continued from page 11 For more information or to purchase tickets for the art hikes or the Trails & Vistas World Concert on Saturday night, visit http://www. trailsandvistas.org.

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August 3 BMX State Championship Qualifier

From 10 AM – 4 PM, the Annual State Championship Qualifier is being hosted by South Lake Tahoe BMX at the BMX track in Bijou Park. Approximately 300 riders will compete. Riders are all members of USA BMX sanction and range in age from 2 years (Strider bikes), to over 60 years old (cruiser bikes). Class levels are novice, intermediate, expert and semi-pro level. For more information about USA BMX, go to http://www. tahoebmx.com/. Spectators are free and the track is located at 1201 Al Tahoe Blvd.

For more information, call (530) 618-BMXR.

August 24 Vikingsholm Castle Celebration

Join us for the highlight of the summer as we celebrate the 90th birthday of Vikingsholm!

Drive down to the castle to enjoy a tour and attend a catered reception with fine wine, followed by a special presentation featuring Dr. Helen Smith, (5 – 8 PM). The evening will end with cake and a bubbly toast! This fundraiser celebrates the new Vikingsholm Forever Endowment Fund. Yes, gifts, please! Tickets are $90. https://sierrastateparks.org/event/vikingsholm-90th-celebration/.

Join us annually the fourth weekend in August in Lake Tahoe, California for a great race and the time of your life! The Lake Tahoe Triathlon takes place at Ed’ZBerg Sugar Pine State Park on the west shore of Lake Tahoe. Home of the Hellman-Ehrman Mansion, this property features tall pines, a historic pier, beautiful grounds, and spectacular beaches. Half Triathlon | 70.3 | Olympic Triathlon | Sprint Triathlon | Kids Triathlon | Aquabike | Aquathon, are all available. Visit https://laketahoetri.com/ for more information.

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We invite you to experience adventure cycling around the 72-mile shoreline of a challenging lake by participating in the 16th Annual Tour de Tahoe cycling event – Bike Big Blue. This is your chance to ride around Lake Tahoe at Summer’s end supported by one of the most experienced bicycle event management teams in the West. https:// www.bikethewest.com/tour-de-tahoe/.

Reno Sparks Water Lantern Festival

Water Lantern Festival is a floating lantern event that is all about connections and magical nights in cities across the U.S. Reno Sparks Festival will include food, games, activities, vendors, music and the beauty of thousands of lanterns adorned with letters of love, hope and dreams reflected upon the water. As the sun begins to set on the evening sky, Water Lantern Festival begins to shine with the launch of the lanterns onto the water. Watch your unique lantern drift out into the water as it joins other lanterns carrying hope, love, happiness, healing, peace, and connection. It’s a night that you’ll never forget. https://ticket.ticketspice.com/ reno.

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LAX at the Lake is the Tahoe Basin’s only boys & girls 7v7 lacrosse tournament. Our mission is to host America’s favorite 7v7 tournament where the experience for players, teams, and families is both enjoyable & relaxing. This is what separates us from other 7v7 tournaments! We look forward to hosting you and your families this summer! Get more information on the website at www.laxatthelake.com. The High Sierra Lacrosse Foundation has adopted the following Mission, Vision and set of Values: Mission - Through the sport of lacrosse, we develop character; Vision - In developing an individual’s character, Lacrosse acts as a catalyst for contributing to stronger, more robust communities and Values - accountability, citizenship, integrity, passion/love of game, respect/humility and tolerance.

July 27

August 24-25 Lake Tahoe Triathlon

September 8 Tour de Tahoe – Bike Big Blue

August 3 LAX at the Lake – Lacrosse

rewarded. The format creates a thrilling, drama-filled atmosphere for spectators and players alike! Fans can watch the world’s best golfers as they compete for a $3.5 million purse and 300 FedExCup points. Broadcasts daily on The Golf Channel. The stunning Montrêux Golf & Country Club is Northern Nevada’s only Jack Nicklaus Signature Design course and provides a challenging, yet beautiful test for 132 top-notch PGA TOUR professionals. More information at https:// barracudachampionship.com/.

July 22 – 28 Barracuda Golf Championship

This year marks 21 years of bringing firstclass professional athletes to Reno-Tahoe for the Barracuda Championship. A favorite among golf professionals, the Barracuda Championship is one of only 47 stops on the PGA TOUR and the ONLY stop offering the Modified Stableford playing format! This exciting scoring system encourages professionals to play aggressively as lower scores on more difficult holes are handsomely

August 6 – 11 Hot August Nights

Where cars are “cherry” and cruisin’ is “cool!”

The Biggest Little City revs into high gear for Hot August Nights, the largest classic car and nostalgic event in the country! The world’s premier classic car event, more than 5,000 vehicles from the golden era of design are showcased with events throughout Reno Continued on Page 14

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August 17 Dragon Boat Festival

A 2,500-year-old Chinese sport comes to life. The 2nd annual northern Nevada Dragon Boat Festival celebrates ancient Chinese culture, sport and the natural wonders of the Reno-Sparks region. Dragon boats are 40-foot human-powered canoes decorated with ornate Chinese dragon heads and tails.

Led by the rhythmic beat of a drum, teams consisting of 20 synchronized paddlers, one drummer, and one steersperson race the boats 500m across the lake. The more in sync the paddlers are, the faster the boat glides through the water. The festival is open to the public and very family friendly.

Festivities include the Health and Wellness Village, various vendors, exhibitors, food trucks, artisans and more. The event is held at Sparks Marina Park at 300 Howard Drive in Sparks. Visit http://www.gwndragonboat.com/Default. asp?id=nevada&l=1 for details.

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and Sparks. (Check out the location map of official activities.) Join the party! Featuring show-n-shines, nightly cruises, drag races, burnouts, a classic car auction, swap meet, shopping at the Big Boys Toys Store and The Dazzling Diva, free headline entertainment, The Garage VIP concert experience and so much more. Fantastic legendary musicians and headliners that you won’t want to miss, including KC and the Sunshine Band, Chubby Checker, Pablo Cruise, The Temptations and the Little River Band! The evening performances start at 8:15 PM and take place in two outdoor stage locations. Be there or be square and have the time of your life! Log on to see the location map of official events at https://hotaugustnights.net/.

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August 16 Lillian Virgin Finnegan Statue Unveiling

Come to Genoa Nevada for a historic event: the unveiling of the Lillian Virgin Finnegan Statue, originator of the Candy Dance.

This year marks 100 years for the popular event, so wear your period costume and be there at 6 PM for the Carillon ringing, statue unveiling and music and festivities. See our article in this issue.

August 24 Nevada City Uncorked

Nevada City’s charming Victorian elegance provides the perfect backdrop to showcase Uncorked, a sip-and-stroll event that includes 16 local food purveyors and regional wineries. Enjoy this smorgasbord of flavor; a connection as much as possible between local farms and participating restaurants and caterers. Browse specialty shops as diverse as a salumeria, a cheesemaker, and a chocolatier who will offer an array of tasty bites and signature flavors. For a map and times, visit https://www.nevadacitychamber. com/nevada-city-events/nevada-city-uncorked/.

August 29 Hangtown Thursday Night Car Show

August 23-24 Minden Founders’ Main Street Event You’re invited to this show-n-shine car show in downtown Minden, with a Friday night band and a street party. On Saturday, there’s more music, food, drinks, vendors and an auto parts swap meet. Even better, it is free to attend! All proceeds benefit the non-profit Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch.

Sponsored by the Placerville Lions Club and hosted by the Placerville Downtown Association, this Thursday evening car show is a great way to spend a hot August night.

Participants in the show may begin parking on Main Street at 5 PM. Please do not park earlier to leave the spaces free for our downtown customer parking. Spectator parking is free after 4 PM and admission is free to visitors. Plan to enjoy a nice dinner downtown and stroll among some beautiful and rare automobiles. The show runs from 6 to 8 PM. https://www.placerville-downtown.org/2019/08/29/1429/hangtowncar-show.

SEPT 28 -29 Candy Dance Genoa ,NV September 6 – 8 The Great Reno Balloon Race

Soaring high above the Reno skyline, upwards of 80+ colorful hot-air balloons take flight. It has been one of Reno’s most spectacular events for over three decades and is located just 2 miles from downtown Reno! Sure, it might be a bit earlier than you’re used to, but it’s worth the “wake”! Accolades include “Best Special Event in Reno” and “Best Special Event in Northern Nevada.” Log on to https://renoballoon.com/ for times and location.

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