October 2017 digital rtt

October 2017

RENO MURAL EXPO 2017

NAVAJO NATION ARTIST CHIP THOMAS

Nicholas Galanin, Things Are Looking Native, Native’s Looking Whiter, 2012

AUGUST 26, 2017 — JANUARY 21, 2018

Unsettled explores over 200 artworks, spanning 2000 years, traversing time and space across the Greater West.

Curated by JoAnne Northrup with Ed Ruscha

Premier Sponsor Louise A. Tarble Foundation | Lead Sponsor Wayne And Miriam Prim Major Sponsors Anne Brockinton Lee; Stacie and Charles N. Mathewson; Mercedes-Benz of Reno; RBC Wealth Management and City National Bank

Donald W. Reynolds Center for the Visual Arts | E. L. Wiegand Gallery 160 West Liberty Street in downtown Reno, Nevada | nevadaart.org

OCTOBER 2017 CONTENT

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A PROBABILITY OF WORDS

10 CANNABIS NEWS & POLICY COVER STORY 14 Reno Mural Expo 2017 EVENT 28 PumpkinPalooza 2017 30 Reno AerialFest 34 Reno Zombie Crawl FEATURE 36 Cannabella Kitchen 50 Northern Nevada Veterans

Resource Center - Part 3 56 State 36 Clothing Co. 64 INCLINE VILLAGE

CRYSTAL BAY VISITORS

BUREAU REPORT 66 LIT

36

68 RADIUS 70 REAL ESTATE 74 RENO AS FUCK 76 RENO STREET PHOTOGRAPHY 78 SKATE NV

28 42

80 THE NEST 84 TRAINING TIPS 86 UNITED WE STONED 90 WANDERED OFF

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94 WINE IS MY SPIRIT ANIMAL

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Editor/Publisher Oliver X Art Director Chris Meredith Contributing Designers Courtney Merediwh Tucker Monticelli Design Associate Courtney Smith Contributing Writers Amanda Horn Annie Flanzraich Britton Griffith-Douglass

Debe Fennel Isha Casagrande Lanette Simone Tessa Miller Thomas Lloyd Qualls Contributing Photographers Alfyn Gestoso Anicia Beckwith Chris Holloman Digiman Studio Joey Savoie Eric Marks Kyle Volland Nick Sorrentino Marcello Rostagni

Interns Gabriela Denne Sales 775-412-3767 Submissions renotahoetonightrocks @gmail.com Website renotahoetonight magazine.com

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All content, layout and design is the property of Reno Tahoe Tonight Magazine. Duplication or reproduction is prohibited without the expressed written consent of Reno Tahoe Tonight Magazine. Copyright 2017. Reno Tahoe Tonight is produced on 10% recycled American paper and is printed with all soy and vegetable inks.

SNAPSHOT Photographer Sarah Ladeira August 22, 2017 the day after the solar eclipse Outside of Elko, Nevada.

A PROBABILITY OF WORDS Text Thomas Lloyd Qualls Photo Johnstone Studios

Y OU C AN N O T FIL L THE VOID 8 Reno Tahoe Tonight

T

here is an emptiness in me that terrifies me. A deep insatiable hunger. With little warning it can take over, hold me hostage, threaten me, my life, my happiness, my world.

I know you know what I mean.

It demands food, wine, coffee, sex: any kind of input, stimulation, entertainment, pleasure. And while I know that none of these will fill me, I will likely try anyway. Again and again.

Maybe tomorrow. Maybe today.

I manage this emptiness, like one does a gas gauge. Keeping one eye on it. Like a bit player in a live play. It comes and goes from center stage.

Sometimes the rest of the actors are so good I forget it is there. But it will always be part of the cast.

Sure, we eat because our bodies are hungry. But that is not all. We are also wary of what life may throw at us next. And so we eat for strength, for stamina. We eat because we are weary. And because we want to be comforted.

Warm thick-cut bacon. Fried eggs with runny centers. Melting butter on toast. Dark chocolate and ruby-colored strawberries. Freshly ground coffee with real cream.

Or, put another way: Clean white sheets. Stuffed pillows. Sumptuous comforter. Soft lips and whisper light tongue to playfully roam your body's wonderland. Time to explore. Space to delight Presence to enjoy.

Please don't misunderstand. These are all worthy of your time, your taste, your savoring.

We incarnated into flesh for a reason. And we neglect these pleasures at our peril.

And essentially, we need the ability to function beyond this. Above it. Below it. Ay, there's the rub.

To honor the flesh and the spirit.

But some of us came in to this life with something different. Something more, I believe. We swallowed lightening in another life. We rode dragons. We parted waters. And we are not so easily contented in this one. Not drawn to the safe, the comfortable, the enough.

Our memories of the heights threaten our livelihood in the valley. We are not believers in all or nothing. Not content to cut off one of our hands. Not complacent enough for sterility.

And yet, we must locate our boundaries. We must trace our own lines in the dirt. If only to give us a place to jump over with some certainty.

It has taken me a very, very long time to realize a void is not something you fill. And also, a void is not something to fear. A void is a place to create.

A place where we can turn the blank canvas into a playground, instead of a place for stage fright.

Emptiness is a gift. It is not a deficit to be filled.

It is a space where we can breathe. It is room to stretch our minds. Our bodies. Our ideas.

Forget what you've been told. We are not what we eat. We are what we create. And all of life is about finding that balance between giving and receiving.

Artists need not be so tortured over their birthright. For me, words are one of the greatest pleasures that exist. Because there is only a probability of them. And so you can eat as many of them as you need. And they won't make you fat. And they won't give you a hangover. And they won't get mad if you read other words.

So it is with paint, canvas, clay, instrument, dance, and song. There is no need to fret because you cannot fill up the void. Indeed, there is no need to try. That is not what the void is there for. It is there to hold space. To echo. To resonate with you, your vibration, the sound of your fire.

The space in a void was created large enough to hold you, your dreams, and your art, and still have plenty of room for your imagination to thrive.

I know, like me, your emptiness sometimes threatens to destroy you. But that is not at all what it is there for.

So why not stop for a minute. Take advantage of all that air around you. Take a deep breath. Then stretch out as far as you can. You do not have to fill up any of that space. But it is there for you if you need it.

Thomas Lloyd Qualls is a writer, a condition that is apparently incurable. If you like what you read here, remember that words can open doors, so follow them: www.tlqonline.com/blog-sign-up. Also, you could just invite him out for coffee or beer. He loves a good conversation. And human connection is much more filling than we imagine. Š 2017 thomas lloyd qualls Reno Tahoe Tonight 9

CANNABIS NEWS & POLICY Text and photo courtesy of Joey Gilbert

Cannabis Distribution & Drug Distribution Conviction

N

evada’s legalization of cannabis for adults 21 years of age or older has cleared the path for a flourishing commercial industry.

Today, investors, growers, product manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and a host of ancillary services find ample opportunity for business ventures and growth. However, concerns still remain when it comes to the budding industry and legal landscape surrounding cannabis, especially those related to distribution.

Nevada, like any other state in the U.S., has long enforced criminal laws regarding the distribution of drugs. Per Nevada law, individuals arrested for crimes in which they possess large quantities of controlled substances, such as possession with intent to sell or trafficking, face a number of severe penalties, including large fines, felony convictions, and years of imprisonment in a Nevada state prison (depending on the type of drug involved and quantity). Similar laws against distribution and trafficking are also enforced by the federal government – often with more serious consequences and lengthier terms of imprisonment resulting from mandatory minimum sentences.

With legalized marijuana, there is a clear opportunity and need for commercial delivery and distribution services, as distributors play an essential role in conveying consumer goods to the public marketplace. However, with that consumer good being cannabis, it is reasonable for individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses involved in legalized cannabis to have concerns over their exposure to criminal arrests, charges, and convictions.

Distributors of Cannabis Must be Licensed When voters approved Question 2 last year, they approved the development of policies that would regulate marijuana the same way as alcohol products. While there were once concerns over

10 Reno Tahoe Tonight

the alcohol industry having exclusive distribution rights to marijuana, a recent decision from a Carson City District Court judge requires that alcohol distributors and other business entities must apply to the state Department of Taxation in order to be licensed to perform the function.

Distributors, when properly licensed, have the ability to legally deliver cannabis and cannabisproducts from production facilities to retailers.

Holding proper licensing and permits should prevent law enforcement from seizing product and making arrests, and prevent the state government from prosecuting and convicting licensed distributors. Failing to apply and obtain proper licensing, however, can still expose distributors to criminal repercussions.

While proper licensing and permits will enable the flow of legalized cannabis in Nevada, there are still questions about whether distributors may be exposed to federal regulation. The disparity between state and federal marijuana laws has long been a concern, and is receiving renewed attention given Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ stance on drug crimes and marijuana.

As the industry waits on signs from the Department of Justice as to whether the federal government intends to utilize scarce resources to actively target recreational cannabis businesses in a state where marijuana is legal, it is important to note that there is no law or license exempting distributors from exposure to federal criminal consequences. The nature of this exposure will be dictated by the current administration’s drug crime and marijuana policies, and their efforts moving forward. Distributors and other businesses in Nevada’s marijuana industry who want to ensure they are adhering to state laws and protecting themselves should always consult experienced marijuana attorneys.

Joey Gilbert was cast on NBC’s reality TV show The Contender. Gilbert is a retired professional boxer, currently a criminal defense and personal injury lawyer, sports agent, and motivational speaker.

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COVER STORY

Text Oliver X Cover art and photo “stephanie in cow springs – I am the change”

by Chip Thomas and taken on the Navajo Nation, Arizona Special thanks to the artists for the use of their photos

RENO MURA “Paint the world” – Artist Abel Preciado, Reno

The word mural comes from the Latin murus meaning wall. Arguably the world's oldest art form, murals date back 30,000+ years to the Upper Paleolithic period (some of the earliest artifacts were discovered in the Chauvet Cave in Ardeche in southern France), and are found in nearly every culture in every corner of the globe. Murals tell the story of a moment, a place, a people and a culture, through both realistic and abstract images, shapes, forms, colors and words.

Besides being created for art's sake, in modern times, murals have been used to amplify the plight of the voiceless, to express resistance, and as a tool of political persuasion and propaganda. Mexican muralist Diego Rivera depicted the revolutionary struggles of peasants and workers in his frescoes.

I became fascinated with murals and graffiti as a young boy after seeing a larger than life depiction of a pimp spray-painted on a liquor store wall in Compton, California on 69th and Denker. The male image had a large afro, sunglasses, a big apple hat and was wearing a blue jean jacket 14 Reno Tahoe Tonight

and bell bottoms. His left arm was extended and his left hand formed a large “C” followed by the letters “rips.” It was the first gang mural I'd ever seen. To this day, murals hold a special place in my imagination.

In 1993 in Oakland, a piece of graffiti galvanized the city. “Oakland Is Proud” was written along the I-880 corridor where over 250,000 eyeballs a day saw it on East 12th Street. Visible from both BART and the train tracks, the piece was written as a reaction to growing gang violence. Oakland had infamously become one of the top five murder capitals in the nation, and was once again getting horrible national press. Community leaders were calling for peace amidst the proliferation of violence and drive-by shootings in the African American, Hispanic and Chinese communities.

The murder rate (and the message of the piece) became a rallying cry for kids in the hip-hop community to “Stop the Violence” in a year that would come to mark the golden age of hip-hop.

The “Oakland Is Proud” piece was created by Hobo Junction founder-rapper Plan B. Tragically, Plan B would later be killed that

Brwery Arts Center Carson City

AL EXPO 2017 same year. The community response was immediate, and calls for peace in the streets were widespread. The killing of Plan B was a wake-up call and the “Oakland Is Proud” message became an important symbol for change, and is often credited for helping decrease the murder rate by almost 40% the year following Plan B's murder.

While living in LA in the early 2000s, I became a fan of a monthly magazine called URB, which featured hip-hop culture, indie art and electronic music. Each month (on either the back cover, inside back cover, or inside front cover) an artist named Mear One (mearone.com) featured his stunning apocalyptic urbanscapes that were antiestablishmentarian in tone and remarkably complex. Mear had paid his dues on the streets of LA, getting arrested dozens of times for graffiti vandalism, and was a mercurial talent, completely committed and immersed in graffiti and underground art culture. His pieces were vivid in depth, scale and detail and unlike anything anyone else was doing at the time.

His murals were strident, didactic, political and absolutely brilliant.

In 2002, I hired Mear One to do live art at a show I produced at The Palace in Hollywood that featured artists like The Visionaries and Digital Underground founder-drummer Chopmaster J, who wrote the hit “Spirit” off of the Boyz n the Hood soundtrack. The piece Mear painted sold on the spot for a steal at $1,000. It's worth 10 times that now, as Mear One has become one of the most recognizable and collected outsider artists in the nation, commanding five figure fees for his amazing paintings, which now often feature spiritual undertones and ancient indigenous totems and symbology. Mear visits the Tahoe area occasionally, painting at the underground Moontribe gatherings held deep in the forest.

In Reno Tahoe Tonight's first year in business, we went down to Oakland to do a video interview with a phenomenal street artist named Chor Boogie (chorboogie.com) who we found on MySpace. He was the first street artist to be commissioned to do an Olympic mural. Chor did the official mural of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He'd recently moved from San Diego to San Francisco and agreed to be interviewed. We commissioned him to do our first wrap around

Reno Tahoe Tonight 15

cover for the August 2009 issue of RTT. He was painting murals at the Hotel Beaux Arts near Chinatown at the time and he put us up there for a night, and then met us at a tattoo parlor in Oakland, where he was doing a piece on their exterior back patio wall for their grand opening.

Chor's upside down aerosol technique, exhibiting his remarkable hand control, allows for a continuous flow of pressure out of the cap. His ability to form perfect circles employing this unorthodox method is astounding. Chor has risen to become one of the premier street artists in the world, renowned for his vivid colors, abstractions, celebrity portraits, “boogiebirds” and representational forms.

Once considered blight, murals are now widely accepted. They beautify communities, spark dialogue and debate, engage the viewer, enliven barren walls and increase neighborhood property values, and, like Plan B's piece, inspire pride.

Cities and municipalities large and small, in both urban and suburban environments, are now commissioning murals to enhance quality of life, morale and civic pride.

Corporations and sports franchises have even gotten into the act. While researching this article, I found a link to a page featuring 21 corporate office murals that show some fabulously creative murals commissioned by major corporations world-wide. (creativebloq.com/agencies/office-murals-2131981).

In May of this year, the Oakland A's baseball team commissioned The Illuminaries, a local street art crew, to do a giant elephant mural to cover a fivestory building at the corner of 19th and Webster as part of a new marketing campaign tying the A's with Oakland. The crew worked for three weeks to finish the enormous piece, spray-painting the 105foot mural on the side of the PG&E building.

Here in Reno, thanks to the organic rallying cry of “More Art Everywhere” by art advocates Geralda Miller and Eric Brooks of Art Spot Reno (artspotreno.com), who conduct bi-monthly mural tours in Midtown and downtown, hundreds of pieces of public art now dot the cityscape of a region that is rapidly becoming more cosmopolitan in its proclivities and sensibilities.

The work Miller and Brooks, co-founders of the Reno Mural Expo, are doing to bootstrap the outsider arts community is nothing short of astonishing. Their dedication will impact this 16 Reno Tahoe Tonight

region for generations to come and they've done this with little fanfare, lots of sweat equity and elbow grease. The dynamic duo took some time to chat with me about their monumental undertaking.

Oliver X: How did you come up with the idea for this event and what's its official title?

Eric Brooks: It's called the Reno Mural Expo.

Geralda Miller: There are so many festivals happening. Everything is a festival here. But this is more than a festival, because the art is going to stick around for a long time. These murals are going to be here. When a festival leaves, there's really no trace of it after that. We're saying this is an “exposition” because we're “exposing” the community to art that's going to be here visually for years. We're exposing the people of Reno to our downtown; we're exposing our community to wonderful new artists, to international and national artists, as well as our local artists.

Eric Brooks: And it will affect the next generation of young painters in our area and it should raise the ceiling of quality here.

Oliver X: Talk about a few of the artists you're excited about.

Geralda Miller: All of the artists are really talented. Wait 'til you see some of the artist's mock-ups.

Eric Brooks: The stuff Joe C Rock is doing and Stephane Cellier...

Geralda Miller: We've got Aren Hertel.

He's a master painter. For him to decide to participate is really special. I don't think he's done a mural before.

Eric Brooks: Ricky Lee Gordon is from South Africa and has used art with the non-profit he started, to do schools for the kids down there.

And now he's in LA for a three year residency to do fine art painting. He's doing classical, amazing photo realistic painting and then transferring them to murals as well. We have two international artists (Collin and Ricky) and then we have ten national artists and some great local artists.

Oliver X: Run down the complete list of artists you have coming.

Collin van der Sluijs Detail

COVER STORY “With murals and all kinds of public art, people don't have to seek it out to see it. It's there for anyone who comes across it. That leaves room for an entirely different kind of experience. It's more candid than walking into a gallery where you're there specifically to look at art.

Murals exist in the world alongside everything else in your day to day life. I think that spontaneity is really exciting and unique.�

- Nathaniel Benjamin

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COVER STORY

“Imagine what people are going to think on their drive to work Monday morning, they're going to be blown away by all the art that popped up over the weekend!

This is just such an amazing event to happen in downtown Reno.

30 artists doing giant murals, all at the same time! This is free art for the public, to take pictures with, to contemplate, to wonder and to be inspired by! ” - Bryce Chisholm​

Collin van der Sluijs Detail 2 18 Reno Tahoe Tonight

Eric Brooks: Here are the artists: • Edythe Boone – Master of Ceremonies – Berkeley, CA • Collin Van der Sluijs – Maastricht, Netherlands • Ricky Lee Gordon – Cape Town, South Africa • Sebastian Coolidge – St. Petersburg, FL • Troy Lovegates – San Francisco, CA • Joshua Coffy – San Francisco, CA • Kyler Martz – Seattle, WA • Dr. Chip Thomas – Navajo Nation, AZ • Yale Wolf – Seattle, WA • Kelly Peyton – Portland, OR • Fallen Rose – Miami, FL • Jack Malotte – Duckwater, NV • Raphael San Ramon – Quincy, CA • Erik Burke – Reno, NV • Joe C. Rock – Reno, NV • Bryce Chisholm – Reno, NV • Ahren Hertel – Reno, NV • Mike Lucido – Reno, NV • Nathaniel Benjamin – Reno, NV • Asa Kennedy – Reno, NV • Emily Reid – Reno, NV • Lisa Kurt – Reno, NV • J. Darragh – Reno, NV • Ryan Fassbender – Reno, NV • Stephane Cellier – Virginia City, NV • Anthony Ortega – Reno, NV • Peter Whittenberger – Digital • Projection – Reno, NV • Dave Kim – Oakland • UTI Crew – Reno • Beau Bevier – Reno • Handsome Hernan – Reno

Christina Angelina's piece which is “The Face of Reno,” on the other side is Eric Burke's “Blueprint of the Mother.” Both very strong women's portraits. So they wanted to continue with that theme for any murals they do. They did a lot of research, found Ricky Lee Gordon's work, which I had already loved. Eric [Burke] had tried to get Ricky to come to Reno a few years ago, but it didn't work out. So he was already familiar with Reno. We approached him and he was on board.

A little bit later I was talking with Christina about a different issue and she said, 'Oh my God, I hear Ricky is coming. We're great friends.' So they're good friends and they're going to have these giant pieces on the same wall! [Laughter].

Oliver X: How did you get the various properties to agree to have semi-permanent installations on their walls?

Geralda Miller: Well, first of all we walked downtown Reno with a woman who owns property downtown and identified walls that we thought would be outstanding for murals and for fighting the issue of blight. Once we identified the walls, we contacted the owners of those businesses and buildings to see if we could paint murals on them.

Eric Brooks: We worked closely with the Reno Alliance for Downtown and the City of Reno to find these areas. Eric Burke is our consultant, and will be an artist during the expo. He already has a whole catalog of pretty much the entire city of walls that need to be done. All the walls we had on our list, except maybe one or two, he already had on his list...It took some effort to find some of those business owners, but everyone was excited, both in the idea of cleaning up those areas, and also in making them more walkable and accessible for tourists.

Oliver X: How did you select the artists?

Oliver X: Wow! That's an impressive list of artists Eric. Let's go back a bit. Tell me about Whitney Peak's involvement in the festival.

Eric Brooks: Whitney Peak was our first major sponsor and really got the ball rolling for this entire expo to happen. So we are grateful to them.

They were very hands on in choosing an artist.

We originally thought that Collin would be perfect for that wall. And they loved his work, but they wanted to go with a more powerful message of female empowerment. So, they already had

Eric Brooks: For Collin Van der Sluijs [from the Netherlands] for instance, I liked his work, so I sent him a Facebook message and said, 'Hey, do you want to be a part of the Expo?' And he said, 'Yeah.' He'd only done one mural, it's in Chicago.

There's a gallery there, The Vertical Gallery, that represents him and he wanted to come to Reno.

He wanted to come to see what the West was like.

And that's the buzz that Reno has right now. Kyler Mart from Seattle is huge; Fallen Rose is coming from Miami; Dr. Chip Thomas ( Jetsonorama) is coming from the Navajo Nation in Arizona.

Reno Tahoe Tonight 19

COVER STORY

Nathaniel Benjamin at the Legends Mall in Sparks They've all wanted to come to Reno and this was a good reason for them to do it.

We worked with Eric Burke, he's the one who got Kyler to come. Troy Lovegates has done work with Collin Van der Sluijs; they're going to do a collaborative piece on the Second Street side of where Rise nightclub used to be. Eric Burke was also instrumental in selecting and targeting the local artists. And we wanted to do not just the Big Three local artists (who are all going to do murals), but we also wanted to use this as an engagement for younger artists to improve their work.

Geralda Miller: And who are those “Big Three” artists again? [Laughter].

Eric Brooks: Eric Burke, Joe C Rock and Bryce Chisholm.

Oliver X: The “Big Three” [Laughter].

Eric Brooks: And we're reaching out to artists who've never done murals. Lisa Kurt's done a couple interior pieces, but she's never done an outdoor mural. It's going to be fun to see her paint and have a permanent piece out there. Emily Reed has never done a mural. She'll have her own wall, but she'll be learning from these other artists as she's painting. Mike Lucido will be doing the biggest wall he's ever done. Bryce's piece will be 20 Reno Tahoe Tonight

just about the biggest piece he's ever done. Native American artist Jack Malotte is coming from Duckwater. He's a famous printmaker in his own right.

Geralda Miller: One of my main interests was making sure we had female muralists. I wanted to see a diverse lineup of painters, and I think we've got that. We have women; we have an African American artist, we have a representative from our Native community, and we have our international artists represented. So I think we have a really diverse group. Let's talk about our Master of Ceremonies...

Eric Brooks: One of our early sponsors wanted to have Edythe Boone be more recognized. There was a documentary film made about her last year called A New Color directed by Mo Morris sffilm. org/artist-development/find-a-project/a-new-color.

We will be screening that film with a talk-back with Mo and Edythe at the Nevada Museum of Art, who is also a sponsor, on the Saturday night October 14 during the Expo. Edythe Boone is an African American woman in her late seventies who has spent her whole life as an educator and artist, primarily working in low income neighborhoods. Most of her life has been in Oakland, and she's still teaching there. When we approached her about it, she said 'I don't know if I want to do it, I'll have to take a day off of work.'

Chip Thomas She'll be up here for that day and night. We'll do a meet and greet with her after the film on the 14th. She's fantastic. Her nephew (Eric Garner) was killed at the hands of the police. What she has done and continues to do on so many levels is perfect for what Reno is gong through at this stage of our cultural development Cover Artist Dr. Chip Thomas “I would like to think that art challenges the way we perceive the ordinary.�

His larger than life portraits of the Navajo people adorn water tanks, fences, abandoned houses and roadside stands between the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley in Arizona.

A native of Raleigh, North Carolina and the son of a physician, Dr. Chip Thomas (aka Jetsonorama) came to the Navajo Nation after spending his residency summers leading first aid teams in Liberia. When he learned the federal government would pay for your education if you served four years in the National Health Service Corps, he signed a four-year contract to work as a full-time family practice physician. 30 years later, he's still there, having elevated his love of photography to a fine art with spectacular effect, through depictions of the lives and spirit of his patients, neighbors and friends on the reservation.

His process is tedious, printing two foot by two foot tiles on bond paper and pasting them onto often rough surfaces with acrylic matte medium in exact configurations to cover canvasses the size of buildings. His is important work, literally giving face to a proud and often misunderstood people subsisting on a vast land ravaged by open uranium mining and deep poverty, broken treaties and broken hearts, but buoyed by hope, pride, resilience and love.

I spoke to Dr. Thomas by phone to talk about his life and his mission of healing through art.

Oliver X: What inspired you to pick up a camera and create?

Chip Thomas: I was going to an alternative Quaker school in the mountains of North Carolina in 1969. That happened because the public school system in Raleigh was desegregated the year prior and there was a lot of violence in the school and on the buses. There was forced busing. I am thankful that my parents were in a position where they could afford to send me there.

I had my first opportunity in my 7th grade year when I was 12 to go into a dark room. In truth, prior to that, I was an avid student of LIFE magazine and Look magazine and the photos essays they ran.

Reno Tahoe Tonight 21

COVER STORY Oliver X: Your work reminds me of the photography of Arthur Ashe's wife, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe and her stunning black and white depictions of the Gullah people of the Sea Islands of South Carolina.

been an interest of mine and over the years as I've traveled—especially to Europe and South America—I appreciated the dynamism of muralism and street art, as opposed to what I was seeing in the cities here in the States.

Chip Thomas: Thanks for mentioning that.

You know I remember about the time Arthur Ashe won at Wimbledon back in the 70's, hearing that his wife was a photographer, but I really lost track of her. I'll have to check out her work.

In 2009 I did a three-month mini sabbatical in Brazil, and for weeks on that trip I was with people everyday who were doing street art and I was hanging out in the studio of an artist who was a street artist. It was a congregating place for street artists from different parts of the world. It was a really nice supportive environment. They were nurturing and they worked together really well. They were enthusiastic about going out into the streets publicly and making art.

Oliver X: When did you feel like you wanted to do photo enlargements and make murals?

Chip Thomas: I remember in '83 there was an explosion of hip-hop. I was living in West Virginia at the time and it wasn't that far from New York City. So I would actually go pretty frequently to see painted trains and people break dancing. Street art has always

Ricky Lee Gordon 22 Reno Tahoe Tonight

Just before I left Brazil, in March 2009, one of the artists showed me a photograph online of the installations that JR did in Rio of a woman's face with her eyes looking down from

Reno Tahoe Tonight 23

COVER STORY

24 Reno Tahoe Tonight

Scott & Jen - RME

Plan Bee's Oakland Is Proud piece

the favela. That was the first time I saw how a photograph could be used as a street art medium.

Upon my return to Arizona, I wrote to JR and asked if he would consider doing a project here on the reservation. Because I really wanted to learn that process and that technique. And I waited for three weeks and I didn't hear anything.

So I just took it upon myself and literally started very small, and gradually learned the process of tiling to put a couple panels together to make it a large photo. I had an opportunity to go to the Telluride Film Festival where I actually got a chance to meet JR and got to thank him for kinda changing the course of my life.

Oliver X: To stay anonymous you took the street name of Jetsonorama. What inspired you to take that name.

Chip Thomas: For the first couple of years I was doing illegal walls. My first few pieces (the illegal walls) were here on the reservation. I also got up a few in Flagstaff.

Oliver X: I read about some of the push back you experienced on the reservation about your art. Is that because the Navajo are hesitant to have their photos taken? How did you overcome that opposition and win your subjects over?

Chip Thomas: It's a fascinating thing. There really hasn't been a lot of negative blow back. It seems my toughest critics are young, indigenous (frequently) activists and artists who live off of the reservation. Whereas my strongest supporters of the work are people who engage it and see it and are living here on the reservation. There are some basic ground rules that I made for myself that I follow. I don't use anyone's image without consent. There's some imagery that I just steer away from. My work on the reservation is somewhat limited in that I'm not free to be as creative as I might want to be because of the cultural mores.

Oliver X: In what way?

Chip Thomas: For example, it is taboo to have an image up of someone who has passed away.

That's been problematic a time or two. Not always though. Whenever I talk about this I try to help people who don't know much about the reservation understand the mindset and cultural references of people on the reservation. I think one of the biggest factors that influences how people process information about the world is their religious practice. On the reservation there are Christians, but there is also the Native American church and then there are also the traditionalists. And the mores and values are similar, but there are some subtle differences.

My first year I thought I would acknowledge the three religions on the reservation. For example, one of my friends was studying to be a road man, and that's the person who conducts a Native American church meeting. And he had a peyote button. And he had one on the palm of his hand. And I photographed it and put that on a roadside stand, not knowing that the people who owned the stand were pretty hard core Christians who don't tolerate the traditional beliefs or the Native American church beliefs. So that's some of the navigating I've had to do culturally.

Read the full interview with Dr. Chip Thomas online at renotahoetonightmagazine.com.

See artists Scott Morgan and Jennifer Marie who are doing the neon water installation at Wingfield Park on October 14. Note that Bryce Chisholm will now be painting at The Depot and Nathaniel Benjamin will now be painting in Cortez Alley. Don't miss the official after party for the Reno Mural Expo featuring Scott Pemberton and Silver Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 8:30pm at BlueBird located at 555 East Fourth Street in downtown Reno.

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EVENT

Text Jackie Shelton Photos courtesy of NNCIL

PumpkinPalooza 2017

Pumpkin Fun for Everyone!

It was a warm August night in 2011 at Book Club, that NNCIL Executive Director Lisa Bonie happened to mention to Francine Burge, City of Sparks Special Events Supervisor, that she thought it would be fun to have a giant fall event dedicated to pumpkins. That conversation turned into the first PumpkinPalooza, which attracted nearly 1,500 people to Victorian Square in downtown Sparks to enjoy a day of pumpkinrelated events and contests, including pumpkin seed-spitting, pumpkin pie eating and, yes, racing pumpkins.

“We were looking for a signature event to nestle between the Rib Cook-Off and Sparks Hometowne Christmas and this fits in perfectly,” Burge says. “We presented the idea to the City Council and they got behind it 100 percent.”

Their faith was well-founded, as the next year’s event attracted nearly 5,000 people. Last year saw more than 12,000 happy participants throughout the day-long event. PumpkinPalooza was featured in the 2014 Food Network Magazine list of “Top Fall Events in the Country,” and again this year – both times the only Nevada event listed.

Now, six years later, we’re getting ready for PumpkinPalooza 2017, which has gotten better 28 Reno Tahoe Tonight

Sunday, October 22 - 10am-5pm

every year since its humble beginnings. Scheduled for Sunday, October 22, from 10:00 to 5:00, you’ll be able to enjoy a wide variety of fall activities with your friends and family members.

As always, it offers a day of fun featuring all things pumpkin. First up is perhaps the most popular contest taking place at PumpkinPalooza each year: the Pumpkin Derby. This race features customdecorated pumpkins set atop wheels cruising down a specialized pumpkin ramp, created by ProtoFab. Take your creative juices and pair them with physics and a touch of luck, and voila – a fun contest is born. Don’t know how to make a pumpkin racer? No worries, just visit www. pumpkinpalooza.org for a complete run-down.

Or bring your ideas down to the PumpkinPatch Garage and let our master pumpkin mechanics help you craft your racer on the spot.

How about a Pumpkin Seed Spitting Contest?

Wet that whistle and test your distance spitting skills in this festive, admittedly sort of icky, Pumpkin Seed Spitting Contest. Have your friends and family compete against you for the ultimate bragging rights.

For messy eaters with big appetites, PumpkinPalooza is hosting a traditional Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest. This no-hands, no-holdsbarred contest takes place throughout the day, and even little tummies can compete because it’s

not just about tonnage of pie filling consumed in this challenge – the judge in this contest is the audience, where the biggest applause recipient takes all.

Winners will receive special PumpkinPalooza medallions and other prizes. And Sparks Mayor Geno Martini will, once again, present the trophy to the grand prize winner of the Pumpkin Derby.

It wouldn’t be a true palooza without the chicken pot game and ring toss. PumpkinPalooza sponsors are offering up a variety of carnival-style games at the various vendor booths set along Victorian Square. Didn’t successfully make it the first time?

No worries – these games are inexpensive, so you can try again and again.

In fact, all pricing has been set with the goal of inexpensive fun for the whole family. “I remember taking my kids places when they were young and everything cost so much money,” explained Bonie. “So we have made a concerted effort with this event to make everything either free or very affordable.”

Attendance is free, carnival style games cost .50 cents each; entry into the Pumpkin Derby is $10 (and you can buy a pumpkin kit for $10 if you want); marshmallow shooter kits are available for $5, and there are lots of other things you can do for free or low cost.

Also free, PumpkinPalooza features several live musical acts for you to enjoy. The Note-Ables, Reno Rock Camp, Art in Motion, Rebekah Chase Band, arizona jones, and Hollywood Trashed will all be performing at the Great Basin Brewery stage in the heart of Victorian Square.

The highlight of the event is the Family Costume Parade, once again led by Grand Marshall Zomboo. What a terrific way to get extra usage out of your Halloween costumes!

Come hungry, as PumpkinPalooza will have lots of food trucks with all kinds of yumminess for sale. Noting how close this event is to the holidays (sorry), we have also brought in quite a few crafters and solopreneurs (think Scentsy, LuluRoe, Tupperware) so you can start your shopping early.

PumpkinPalooza is a fundraiser (and a friendraiser) for the Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living, which helps people with disabilities to live independently. You will see many NNCIL consumers volunteering the day of the event, along with hundreds of other community volunteers. If you would like more information on NNCIL, please visit nncil.org.

Information on PumpkinPalooza can be found at pumpkinpalooza.org.

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EVENT Reno AerialFest November 4, 2017 Special to Reno Tahoe Tonight

Celebrity Aerialists Take Flight in Reno On November 4, 2017 aerialists from around the world will gather in Reno for a festival, which includes an all-day work shop series, a competition, and an after party. The workshops (hosted by Skydance Studio) will cover all aspects of the aerial arts, including technique, performance, flexibility, injury prevention, and rigging safety. The faculty touts top-notch industry leaders, such as Carmen Curtis (Beyonce’s world tour choreographer), Terry Beeman (toured with Paula Abdul, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey), and Dreya Weber (choreographer for Pink, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and more).

Nine acts from near and far will compete for the title, with the farthest act traveling all the way from Malaysia. The evening will conclude with an after party at The BlueBird. Fresh Bakin’ will host the after party and will announce the surprise line up in the coming weeks.

“Reno AerialFest elevates and gives exposure to aerial artists and highlights Reno as an arts and culture destination, says Sarah Sperber, Executive Director. “There is a prolific health and wellness culture that is emerging here, and this event will showcase that on the 30 Reno Tahoe Tonight

international scale. Reno AerialFest engenders and encourages creative collaboration while enhancing the economic vitality of our region.”

The festival will highlight three local acts as well. In addition to the nine competing acts, patrons will also see aerial showcases by The Siren Society, Tahoe Flow Arts Studio, and the event hosts, our own Skydance. Industry leaders from Cirque du Soleil, The Lucent Dossier Experience, Quixotic, Fight or Flight Entertainment, Zen Arts, and Insomniac Events will be represented in the competition judge panel and workshop faculty. The event will not only be a spectacle for the live audience, but also an incredible networking opportunity for up and coming artists to train with the stars.

Reno AerialFest will take place at the Reno Sparks Convention Center (with the after party at The BlueBird). Workshop passes and spectator show tickets are available a la carte on the event website renoaerialfest.com.

Classes are available for every level, and first-timers and experts are welcome.

You’ll Need to Stay Awhile 25th Annual Donner Party Hike October 14–15: Enjoy a weekend steeped in history and exploration. Put on your hiking boots, choose a hike and discover Truckee’s history!

Tahoe Adventure Company Full Moon Kayak Paddle Increase your knowledge of astronomy with jaw dropping views of Lake Tahoe illuminated by the light of the full moon. 2-hour paddle with drinks, snacks and stargazing.

Flume Trail Flume Trail Bikes rents well maintained, light mountain bikes for the day. Shuttle to Spooner Lake for the Flume Trail or Tahoe meadows for the Tahoe Rim Trail are FREE with bike rental.

Northern Lights Festival – Incline Village & Crystal Bay November 30–December 31: Experience the popular 1990’s event “Northern Lights” showcasing the communities with festive wreaths and special activities. For the calendar and more information call (800) Go-Tahoe (800) 468-2463.

Tickets and Information: www.NorthTahoeActivities.com (800) Go-Tahoe Incline Village Visitors Center 969 Tahoe Blvd.

Incline Village, Nevada

Incline Village/Crystal Bay Visitors Center Shop for the holidays. Book tours through the Incline Village Concierge. See the Incline Historic Exhibit featuring artifacts and memorabilia from the Bonanza television series.

969 Tahoe Blvd., Incline Village, NV | (800) Go-Tahoe | GoTahoeNorth.com

EVENT 10th Annual Reno Zombie Crawl Text and photo courtesy of Ed Adkins of Crawl Reno

Zombie Crawl 2017 As usual, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. All I thought would happen is a few of us would have some fun. But I created a monster that grew and grew and eventually consumed my life and my city. Now, ten years later it’s given birth to much, much more and it wants to infect your life, if it hasn’t already.

It was fall of 2008, and having moved back to Reno the year before, I’d fallen completely in love with Reno’s nightlife scene. For months I’d kicked around the idea of planning a small bar crawl to celebrate my birthday with my friends. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and it turned out it was on a Friday that year. The theme?

Obviously, zombies.

As many reading this know, in 10 years that event has grown from 300 people to nearly 20,000 annually, filling the streets, selling out hotels and creating a massive costume party streaming out of all the bars, restaurants and clubs of downtown.

What started as a silly idea to have a little fun has become a real tourism generator that pumps money into the economy here in Reno and draws people from all over the world. For me, it’s also spawned a night-lifestyle brand called Crawl Reno, a running events company called Happy Athletics, and now it's spawned a bar called Headquarters.

And you’re invited to become part of all of it.

In its tenth year, the Reno Zombie Crawl will include everything that crawlers have grown to expect since 2008. We’ll have $3 drink specials and $3 beer specials at over 45 different bars, restaurants and clubs downtown. We’ll have costume contests, themed entertainment and exclusive give-aways that come along with your cup and you’ll get in free to all the clubs that usually charge cover. In addition, you get a commemorative “Ten Years of the Reno Zombie Crawl” cup and map of the

entire event that spans several city blocks and goes well past sunrise in some establishments, because Reno has no last call.

To celebrate that we’ve made it this far, we’re bringing back an old favorite. For starters, massive Thriller Dance is moving back under the Reno Arch. Free practices are taking place weekly at Heart & Sole Dance Academy. We’re also bringing back our famous VIP cups! While we had to abandon the all-you-can-drink nature of them years ago when we stopped selling them, these new cups will come with VIP passes allowing you to skip lines! We’re only selling a very limited amount of these so make sure you grab yours fast.

In addition to all of this, we’ve produced a music video starring the Black Rock City Allstars called Out Here that is quickly becoming the new anthem about what’s awesome in Reno. It’s the kind of gift we’ve wanted to give Reno for a long time, and we’re stoked on it. The song highlights how our city parties better than any other in the world and we think you’ll love it so make sure to check it out.

Another major development we’ve wanted to announce for a long time is the opening of Headquarters. It’s our love letter to Reno’s nightlife in the form of a super fun neighborhood bar and dance floor. We just opened and need a little help with our finishing touches, but once we complete our project we’ll have photos from every crawl that you can sign if you find yourself in one, and fun Easter eggs all over the place for you to find and crack up over with your friends. As the name alludes to, we’ll be starting our events there from now on, and we can’t wait to see you on the Zombie Crawl and all our other crawls. crawlreno.com

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Text Oliver X Photos Chris Holloman

Cannabella Kitchen Part 1 It's been 53 years since Dr. Raphael Mechoulam discovered THC and CBD in 1964 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In the ensuing years, Mechoulam was part of the groundbreaking research team that discovered the endocannabinoid system (a collection of cell receptors and corresponding molecules) present throughout the body, and believed to promote health and balance internally.

Due to it's designation as a Schedule 1 drug, cannabis research was almost non-existent in the U.S., and alternative treatments and modalities

derived from THC and CBD have only recently been explored domestically, with promising clinical results. It's in this environment (with over 25 states in the U.S. passing either medicinal or recreational use statutes) that commercial products containing THC are being brought to market nationwide.

Most of us have not had the opportunity of being an eye witness to the birth of a commercial industry as far reaching in its potential impact on society as the emerging cannabis culture. But the green rush is nearly in full bloom, and companies are poised to capitalize on the nation's number one cash crop, pioneering niche markets, and developing cannabis products of every stripe.

One such business – that is growing rapidly – is Cannabella Kitchen, a vertically integrated company that manufactures everything from premium edibles of all kinds, to salves and breath sprays—all infused with cannabis or CBD. Cannabella Kitchen Owner-CEO Lucinda Mahoney has built the company from the seed of an idea, into one of the most popular edible manufacturers in the state. Mahoney, former Chief Financial Officer for the Municipality of Anchorage, is a formidable businesswoman with an MBA from the University of Alaska and over two decades of experience in the Alaskan Energy industry with Fortune 10 oil companies, government agencies, Alaskan Native

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Corporations and not for profit organizations.

Her considerable skills and experience include treasury and investment management, system/ ERP assessments, organizational reviews, policy and procedures development, litigation support, business valuations for mergers and acquisitions and shared service management, among many others.

Cannabella Kitchen's products evoke a sense of nostalgia, with their simple but tasteful packaging made from recycled materials. The look, feel and focus of Cannabella's products have a Whole Foods vibe: safe, healthy and delicious.

I spoke with Mahoney, who runs Cannabella Kitchen with the laboratory help of her husband Steve, son Kyle and their growing staff, at her Carson City headquarters.

Oliver X: What initially drew you to the cannabis industry?

Lucinda Mahoney: Friendships! Too much red wine! Seriously, one of the strongest drivers was witnessing the pain that close friends were experiencing as a result of cancer. All that their doctors could provide was opioid based pain killers with unacceptable side effects. They wanted to use cannabis and had to obtain it on the black market – or even worse – use those opiates to relieve the pain. I saw the now legal cannabis industry as a unique opportunity to participate in providing legal alternative medicine that might make their lives better. I also did research to learn about the cannabis benefits for so many other ailments. It broke my heart to hear about children who needed cannabis medicine and could not easily obtain it. I cannot express how delighted I am that I was able to be part of designing, producing and providing these medications, both to my friends and now my neighbors (through dispensaries, of course).

Oliver X: When did you decide on the niche you wanted to fill with your business, and what did your initial market analysis tell you about edibles?

Lucinda Mahoney: My personal life goals are based on good nutrition, healthy lifestyle, strong family bonds and simply to be happy. I developed the company with these same goals in mind. In Cannabella’s efforts to provide only the healthiest products we decided to limit our products to smokeless alternatives. With this in mind, we

looked to provide nutritional products that included choices such as dried fruits like kiwi, mango, pineapple, and apricot. These products have healthy benefits beyond the cannabinoids.

Cannabella’s other products, such as brownies, are gluten free and our lemon bars are sugar free, providing customer’s choices in reaching their own nutritional goals. For those customers with a super sweet tooth, we have challenged our world-class staff (more than half of whom are women), to develop a line of fruit based gummies in watermelon and lemon, to name a few. In maintaining our nutritional goals we use only unrefined sugars.

Oliver X: What's the story behind the name Cannabella Kitchen?

Lucinda Mahoney: This name was selected because it personifies who we are; in Italian, Cannabella means beautiful cannabis and it also has a very feminine, homey context. We hope our products provide beautiful results for all our customers.

We added the word “Kitchen” to identify Cannabella products as being developed and made with the same care you would find in your kitchen at home. Our staff includes bakers, chefs, chemists, and only those who really care about what we make and how we make it. Our kitchen is fun and creativity abounds. Much more, our customers can be assured that the skill and care that can be found in grandma’s kitchen will always be part of Cannabella Kitchen.

Oliver X: How did you develop your product line?

Lucinda Mahoney: After months of research and working with our Advisory Board, that includes a medical doctor, we developed our current product mix. It is a balancing act of getting the most accurate application of cannabinoids to the most delectable options we can find. Part of the Cannabella line is simply an application of age-old cannabis infused goods like brownies.

The challenge was working with master bakers to make a brownie that would delight, but also provide a healthy option. Hence, we matched history with health and, viola, a gluten free brownie that will knock your socks off!

Even now we are always looking to add additional products that fit with our goals.

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FEATURE We have been working with northern Nevada beekeepers and adding herbal essences to make topical salves for Neuropathy experienced by those undergoing chemotherapy, Joint Aches for the occasional hard morning, and, due to my own Achilles dilemma, from jogging Muscle Aches. Cannabella is even working with cosmetic chemists in France to develop a line of luxury women’s facial products. Cannabella continues to strive to meet the needs of our customers, and we will go wherever we need to go to get those products to them.

Oliver X: As you establish your market presence, how do you see the business scaling up?

The recent opening of the recreational market with cannabis products has opened up a whole new set of options to Cannabella. Those options also created challenges, as we move forward to maintain our quality and care, while at the same time, satisfying the needs of our customers. We are constantly looking for new and unique ways to give our recreational customers what they want in a fashion that they can most enjoy.

Oliver X: What are some of the new products you have coming online in the immediate future?

Oliver X: How do you see your brand serving the health concerns of your customers?

Lucinda Mahoney: We want our customers to look to our products and know that there are smokeless consumption alternatives that can also be nutritious and delicious. For example, we infuse olive oil imported from Spain that has excellent flavors that blend nicely with the THC. Olive oil contains important vitamins and nutrients and is loaded with antioxidants.

It is gentle on our digestive system and is an important part of a balanced diet. Our locally collected raw honey (vs commercial honey) contains disease-preventing and disease fighting flavonoids. It can help with allergies, diabetes, sleep problems, coughs and wound healing. I like a cup of tea with Cannabella honey in the evening to help with a great night of sleep.

Cannabella’s CBD (cannabidiol) and CBD/THC combination products infuse all the benefits of CBDs into otherwise tasty and effect fruits, sweets and baked goods. The therapeutic values of CBDs have been widely discussed and we trust that Cannabella customers have taken the time to do some home web searches to understand them all the better. Cannabella will continue to strive to provide both the most wholesome and tasty options available in our product line.

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Lucinda Mahoney: Carefully! With the onset of adult recreational use of marijuana, the volume of sales in the entire industry has increased significantly. However, at Cannabella we still strive to deliver the best quality for our customers and will not compromise the quality in order to meet demands. We are very fortunate to have fabulous dedicated staff to help us grow.

Lucinda Mahoney: Based on customer requests, we are in the process of evaluating additional dried fruits to add to our line. We are also improving our confection products by introducing new fruit-based, nutritional gummy products.

Additionally, we are expanding our product line to include more CBD edible products. I have already discussed our salves, creams and can hardly wait for our facial products. We are also exploring the addition of various beverages as well.

We're also making lemon, lime, peach and watermelon flavored gummies. Organic sugar is used with an IMO sugar (tapioca), making a less sugary gummy. We use pectin as a gelling agent. Pectin can lower cholesterol and improve digestive health. The gummies are made with ingredients that are natural, non GMO and vegan.

Oliver X: What are your best-selling products to date?

Lucinda Mahoney: Our best-selling product is our fruit snack pack. This package contains a selection of our dried fruit that is carefully infused with 10 mg of THC, per piece. The pack includes two pieces each of mango, pineapple, apricot, kiwi and gluten free peach ring gummies. These are very popular with hikers, skiers, climbers as well as with folks who simply want a nutritional infused snack.

Oliver X: What are your thoughts about the growing role of women in the cannabis industry?

Lucinda Mahoney: Having spent the majority of my career in the oil industry and in key finance leadership roles, I repeatedly found myself hitting the glass ceiling. My goal as a woman leader in the cannabis industry is to quash the glass ceiling and provide unlimited opportunities for women to excel. Without that limitation, women’s natural collaborative nature can flourish and provide us all benefits we might only imagine. Combine that with a new industry with opportunity that abounds and we will see women in cannabis reach goals and heights in large measures never before available. This fledgling industry has no historical boundaries for women, and as such, I hope we can rewrite the rules for success for women.

Oliver X: What excites you about the industry right now and how do you see the edibles category growing in the state in the coming years?

Lucinda Mahoney: I see edibles as a significantly growing area – especially for the tourists that visit our state. Edibles provide creative opportunities for unique products that our consumers can enjoy.

In part 2 of our feature on Cannabella Kitchen, we'll look at their production operations facility and their exceptional staff. Purchase Cannabella Kitchen products at over 30 fine dispensaries in northern and southern Nevada.

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FEATURE Text Oliver X Photos Kyle Volland

Northern Nevada

Veterans Resource Center: Part 3

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“The individuals who work here are truly

amazing people. Each person takes such a personal interest in making sure that our vets are taken care of that it's reflected in all aspects of their lives. Thank you so much for making sure our Veterans are taken care of and safe after they've done so much to ensure the same for this country..� - Facebook review of Northern Nevada Veterans Resource Center by Sarah Dahlke

T

he individuals who work here are truly amazing people. Each person takes such a personal interest in making sure that our vets are taken care of that it's reflected in all aspects of their lives. Thank you so much for making sure our Veterans are taken care of and safe after they've done so much to ensure the same for this country. - Facebook review of Northern Nevada Veterans Resource Center by Sarah Dahlke What does it take to restore dignity to a person who gave everything for our freedom? It's a loaded question, but when our veterans put themselves in harm's way in our name and then return home, life can often be very different for them. Getting the information out to veterans about the resources and aid available to them takes great dedication and a highly developed set of skills.

Veteran Shane Whitecloud was uniquely cut out for just such a career challenge. Here in part three of our ongoing series on the lifechanging work done by the staff at the Northern Nevada Veterans Resource Center, I speak with Whitecloud about his work as Outreach Specialist and what drew him to give back to his community by serving our homeless veterans.

Oliver X: What brought you to Veterans Resource Centers?

Shane Whitecloud: In 2013 I was pretty much kinda at the bottom of the barrel you could say.

I'd just been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease; I was in-between jobs and I'd finally started submitting resumes out for different jobs trying to find something. I'd seen a job listing for program support for this place called the Veterans Resource Center where they work with homeless vets. I submitted a resume there. The Regional Director there at the time, Kyle, calls me on my

phone and says, 'Hey, you don't know me, but I actually have gone to a couple of your concerts.

You actually took the time to sit down and talk with me and you were very personable. I didn't realize you were a veteran. How would you like to come to work here as a case manager?'

I came in and saw Kyle and we sat down and did the interview. He hired me on the spot. So I came to work for the Veterans Resource Center. It was very emotional for me at the beginning because it was not something I'd ever thought to submit for.

I was at that point in my life where I didn't think I was qualified for something like this.

For the first couple of years I was a case manager working directly with the clients, helping homeless veterans get re-housed. It was an amazing experience. Very emotional job. This job can cause emotional burnout really fast because you deal with homeless veterans who all have different stories. So hearing all of those stories and taking them all in, then having to go home and see your family afterward is tough. And being a veteran myself, it became very personal because you say to yourself, Man, I was two seconds shy of being in this same exact position. It really hits home in a lot of areas. You want to help everybody, you wanna save the world...and sometimes they don't wanna be saved. And those are the ones that really hit hard. But then one of your clients will come back in a year and he's in a suit and he's really clean cut and has a great job. He's got a chocolate cake in his hand that he's bringing to you to tell you thank you. And it's like the best tasting chocolate cake you'll ever have in your life!

Oliver X: That's awesome Shane.

Shane Whitecloud: I truly, truly believe in this organization. So, now I've been here about five years. I got promoted to Outreach Specialist for the corporate office about a year and a half ago.

Now my official job is to help oversee outreach for all 14 branches of the VRC. Oliver X: 14 branches!

Shane Whitecloud: That's right. We have nine in California, three in Arizona and then we have two here, and our Behavioral Health Center is here also.

Oliver X: So you're working non-stop.

How do you manage your self-care?

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FEATURE Shane Whitecloud: It's tough because you know I work for Rock 104.5 as well. I work here from eight to five and then I work there from seven to midnight. But I have a family at home and I have the band. I'm halfway through my Masters degree. I have a lot going on. But in all honesty, this is my self-care. Helping other people and connecting people to other people who can help has been therapeutic for me. I also have severe PTSD, and I've found that the more I dive into this work and the more I help other people, the better I feel about myself in doing so.

And I set a really good example for my kids as well, and that makes me feel good.

Oliver X: Talk a little bit about your military service.

Shane Whitecloud: I was in the Navy and I served on a ship called the USS Cimarron, which was an oiler out of Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i.

In the time frame that I was in we went to Kuwait, Singapore, Japan, Australia...40% of the crew was female. My company was the very first co-ed company in boot camp. So it was new territory. Company 194. It was the very first Navy boot camp company that had men and women together. It was absolutely amazing.

Oliver X: How do you find your client?

What do you personally do to get someone aware of VRC? Shane Whitecloud: Typically I'll reach out to resources that do something that could be usable by a homeless veteran. Redwing Boots for example, they contacted me one day and said, 'Hey, we wanna do this promotion and help raise money for the VRC.' And I said, “That's amazing! Why don't we sit down and talk about it.” And in the time frame that I talked to them, they went from that to donating cases of boots to us every month that we can give to our homeless vets. We've got shelves in the donation room that are stacked with Redwing Boots.

As far as donations go, that has to be strictly voluntarily provided, I do not solicit them. I go out and if somebody wants to give donations that's great. The great thing about donations here at this organization, because it's not the same for all non-profits, we operate under a government grant and a percentage of that grant is set aside to pay employees' wages.

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By that happening through the grant, 100% of the donations we raise go back to the veterans we serve. With most non-profits, like 60% of the donations go to the people they serve and 40% goes to the em employees wages and marketing and stuff like that. That being said, it doesn't mean a veteran can pick up the phone and call me and say, 'Hey I'm a vet, can you pay my phone bill?' They have to be enrolled in our system. They have to be a client in order for us to use those donation dollars for them. At the same time, we have built up such a bevy of resource within our community, that if a veteran comes in and says, 'Hey, I'm having trouble with this or that' I can make a phone call and do what we call a “warm hand-off.” So instead of just going, 'Here, call this number they can help you,' I call them and say, 'Hey, I've Joe over here and he needs assistance can you help him?'

Oliver X: What's the most rewarding aspect of what you do?

Shane Whitecloud: For me, the most rewarding thing is seeing the community come together.

When we first started, PR on VRC was all word-of-mouth. Thanks to people like you and other organizations and the radio taking an interest in helping us out, the word has gotten out there. If I have a veteran who tells me his washing machine has broken down, now I can go on social media and say, 'We need a washer for this veteran' and within an hour somebody is ready to help out. To me, that means more than anything, because I see multiple people coming together to help this veteran, not just one person. It feels like you have a village helping.

One more thing I want to say about our VSO program. In our office we have a veterans services officer, that person helps veterans get their benefits. So if a veteran comes into our office and they're completely homeless with no wages whatsoever, the veterans services officer can help them get their DD214's and help them get their documentation, their medical records and can even help them file claims. If they qualify, they can start getting a monthly allotment for veteran disability or mental health disability or whatever the situation may be, if it's service connected or even non-service connected. We can help veterans get some form of financial aid by using our VSO program. vetsresource.org

FEATURE State 36 Clothing Co. Text Oliver X Photos Scott Chandler Photography

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FEATURE It has been a pretty common occurrence for people to dream of starting up their own t-shirt companies--and for good reason. The industry is booming, from mom and pop shops to corporate operations, t-shirt companies have thrived in pop culture. FUBU founder and CEO Damon John of Shark Tank fame made his quarter billion dollar fortune from a simple four letter word emblazoned on oversized plain white t-shirts that became an iconic urban symbol. Custom Ink, founded in 2000, posts $200 million in annual revenues on delivery of over 20 million t-shirts each year to customers.

This month marks the one-year anniversary of a local brand's first year in business. State 36 Clothing Co. makes high-quality branded men's, women's and children's t-shirts, hoodies and apparel that celebrates Nevada as the 36th state in our union. Battle born and proud of their Nevada heritage, the brand is as tenacious as the state that inspires its name. Below I speak with company founder Morgan Gottier about State 36 Clothing Co. and her exceptional product line.

Oliver X:

Tell me how you started State 36 and what inspired your name? Was it always a dream you had to be in the t-shirt and apparel business, or did you come to it later in your career(s)?

Morgan Gottier:

State 36 Clothing Co. was established and created from a love for Nevada history. My family moved to Reno in 1917. My great-grandfather and grandfather had an enormous sense of pride for the place we all call home. This pride was contagious and continues to influence our decisions as a family to start businesses in Nevada, raise our family here and support the growth our state is experiencing.

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I have always been drawn to fashion and like expressing my creativity through it. In high school, I designed my prom dress, and my mom built and sewed it. After attending the University of Nevada, my husband and I began our careers in Reno. We have been private business owners since 2008. While starting an additional business was nerve-wracking, we relied on drive and passion for the idea and our past business experiences. With the support of my husband, children, family and friends, State 36 will be celebrating our first anniversary in October!

Oliver X: You entered a crowded local market, with brands like Reno eNVy with name recognition. What did you find out about the local brands when you did your market analysis before deciding to launch State 36? Did you see a niche there you could fill?

Morgan: It is an exciting time to be a small business owner in northern Nevada. The region is thriving and we are excited to be a part of it.

We have found a niche in Nevada’s history and our quality of products. I wanted to highlight our state’s past and find relevance for future generations. Our customers find connection to their history in Nevada and the vintage design and feel of our products.

Oliver X:

The quality of your clothing is top notch. Great hand feel. Many brands go through a trial and error period with their choice of vendors. How did you find your supplier?

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FEATURE

Morgan Gottier: We spent extensive time finding suppliers that could meet our desired quality standards. In the beginning, there was some trial and error of product selection. We wanted to find lines that had a great feel and were sustainable. The majority of our materials are made through environmentally friendly processes.

At State 36, we are focused on maintaining strong relationships with our suppliers and wholesalers so that we can maintain a high-quality product.

Oliver X:

Do you sell exclusively online or do you have retail relationships established?

What styles are your top sellers?

Morgan Gottier:

All of our products are on our website state36.com. Larkellen, in the Arlington Mall, carries select State 36 products.

We also have had several pop-up shops in the area. We enjoy partnering with local businesses as our region grows. To find out when we are having a Pop-Up shop, follow us on Facebook or Instagram @state36clothingco for updates.

Our top sellers are our women’s mountain design, men’s badge design – NV36 – and kid’s native design.

Oliver X: Talk about your product line and what consumers can find at State 36 this fall.

Morgan Gottier: We are excited to introduce our fall/winter line in October. The new line will include some warm fall colors and new designs tied to the outdoors and state pride. There are styles and a fit for everyone in the family.

As we celebrate our first anniversary, we will be celebrating Nevada’s birthday all month long.

Watch for specials around Nevada Day!

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FEATURE

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INCLINE VILLAGE CRYSTAL BAY VISITORS BUREAU REPORT Text Annie Flanzraich

Full October

Explore fall colors and activities in North Lake Tahoe

T

he days are shorter and cooler, and the air smells crisp and clean. Fall is here. But, that doesn't mean it's time to hibernate next to the fireplace all day (well, not yet). Outdoor activities in North Lake Tahoe abound during the shoulder season, and now is the perfect time to explore.

Hiking Through History Explore Donner Summit with local historians on one of six interpretive walks and hikes on Oct. 14. Hikes depart from the Sugar Bowl ski area and range 3.5 to 6 miles with varying degree of difficulty. During the journey, participants will explore trails, see petroglyphs or the China Wall, stroll through meadows or discover hidden Sierra lakes. All hikes end in a hamburger lunch and presentation. For more information and to reserve a spot, visit activitytickets.com/activity/donnerparty-hike-saturday-oct-14-2017/396.

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Paddle On See the evening light transform Lake Tahoe’s natural beauty with two evening kayak tours.

During the full moon on Oct. 6, Tahoe Adventure Company hosts a 2-hour guided tour.

Participants paddle while learning about natural history and astronomy. The evening finishes with beach-side star gazing, hot drinks, and snacks. Trips cost $65 and include all kayaking equipment, knowledgeable guides, instruction, natural history and astronomy discussions, and kayak games. For more information and to buy tickets, visit activitytickets.com/activity/ full-moon-kayak-tours/51#calendar-header.

Watch one of Lake Tahoe’s legendary sunsets from a kayak during a tour with Tahoe City Kayak from Oct. 1-15. This 2-hour tour departs from Commons Beach in Tahoe City at 6:30 p.m. Participants can float in a single kayak or

join with a partner in a tandem kayak. Tours cost $65 for a single kayak and $130 for a tandem.

Visit gotahoenorth.com/event/daily-sunset-kayaktour/2017-10-01 for tickets and more details.

Bike the Flume Trail Take in Tahoe's spectacular views from the Flume and Tahoe Rim Trail with the help of Flume Trail Bikes. This North Lake Tahoe company rents well-maintained, light mountain bikes for the day and includes a helmet, pump, spare tube and water bottle for the ride. Located next to Tunnel Creek Café in Incline Village, Flume Trail Bikes also offers a free shuttle to Spooner Lake for the Flume Trail or Tahoe Meadows for the Tahoe Rim Trail with bike rental. For more details, visit activitytickets.com/activity/mountain-bike-theflume-or-tahoe-rim-trail/355.

“Bonanza” Collection With its acquisition of the assets and programs of the Incline Village & Crystal Bay Historical Society, The Thunderbird Preservation Society presents a collection of “Bonanza” television show artifacts from former Incline Village resident, Chuck Greene. Chuck is the son of Lorne Greene, the Canadian actor who played Ben Cartwright in the long-running series.

Check out the collection in the gallery at the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Center, 969 Tahoe Blvd. The Visitors Center is also where you can find a helpful staff, tons of information, and a charming gift shop with new merchandise and a gallery. To get in touch, email info@gotahoe.com, or call 775-832-1606 or 800-Go-Tahoe (468-2463), or Info@GoTahoe.com.

So, bundle up and get out there.

After all, winter is coming.

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LIT Text and photos courtesy of Janice Hermsen

My Home Library When I was growing up, I don’t think I gave much thought to how many books I owned. I loved to read and there were a few books that I remember really enjoying. In my early teens, I read The Diary of Anne Frank. I was inspired and wondered what I would have done in similar circumstances. I read one book that I recall thinking my mother would have been so angry if she knew I was reading it. Still cannot remember the name of that book, but I laugh every time I think about it. My favorite books were Nancy Drew mysteries. I don’t know if we had the whole set, but I know I read every story and couldn’t wait for the next one.

Reading and having books at home was such a natural part of my childhood, I never considered what it would be like not to have a home library or a book of my own. We were approached at LeRue Press recently by the Washoe County Volunteer Services to do a book drive for the Read and Succeed Program on What’s the Story?

Radio Show and at LeRue Press. The focus?

Books for kids who don’t have any in their homes.

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The program is self-funded and has provided over 750,000 books over the last 10 years for home libraries, The Boys and Girls Club, homeless shelters and early childhood centers. We have joined the program as a partner and are honored to be able to help such a worthy cause.

The Read and Succeed Program needs skilled volunteers to help sort books for distribution.

To keep the program alive, they have a goal of $25,000 in funding for a part-time coordinator to manage the program. In the meantime, we continue to collect books for distribution so other children can share their memories of their favorite books they read as a kid, or the book they thought they should hide from mom, right?

To donate to the program is easy. Books can be dropped at the barrels at LeRue Press in Reno, at the Reno Town Mall by the America Matters Studio or contact Volunteer Services at 775-348-0346. They acept money too!

Janice Hermsen is a columnist, publishing consultant, radio host and media director of NSAEN International Film Festival

SATURDAY Oct 14, 1-4pm $20 presale, $25 day of the event

Tickets and information available at RenoRiver.org, 775.825.WALK

RADIUS Text Amanda Horn Photo "Trevor and Balloon" Trevor Paglen, Prototype for a Nonfunctional Satellite (Design 4; Build 4), 2013, Mixed media, 16 x 16 x 16 feet. Courtesy of Altman Siegel Gallery and Metro Pictures. 2013

I

didn’t know it was possible to sit alone on a broad swath of lawn so close to Manhattan.

But there I was, an hour-and-a-half from the Big Apple, in the Hudson Valley, sitting solo on a lush green lawn. It was a Saturday afternoon, wand I had taken a day trip from New York City upstate to Beacon. Beacon is a quaint, vibrant community that is home to Dia: Beacon, one of the premier art destinations in the United States.

Situated on the banks of the Hudson River, the museum was opened in May 2003 by Dia Art Foundation. The building, a former Nabisco box printing factory, contains numerous wide open galleries that house Dia’s collection of art from the 1960’s to the present, as well as special exhibitions and public programs.

Dia is a contemporary arts organization that maintains several sites around the planet, including Walter De Maria’s Lightning Field in New Mexico and Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty on the Great Salt Lake in Utah. These are some of the kinds of works for which the Nevada Museum of Art Center for Art + Environment collects archives. These types of large-scale Land art pieces, and more importantly the artistic and philosophical practices that produce them, influence the scholarship that the Reno-based Museum does. For me, visiting museums and having art experiences is a necessary part – and welcome perk – of my professional life. Personally, such sojourns bathe my soul, giving me pause to wonder, to wander, to ponder and be present.

The trip to the Hudson Valley proved no

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exception to this truth. In fact, it may have been the most transformative of any of my workrelated explorations to date. The collections at Dia: Beacon are incredible; one does not often get to experience large-scale artworks indoors. Most buildings cannot accommodate such and even if they could it would not feel right. But given the airy, open architecture of the converted factory, the galleries become immersive, experiential delights.

Of all the pieces on display, my favorite were the fluorescent light sculptures by American minimalist artist Dan Flavin. Known for using fluorescent light tubing available on the commercial market, Flavin transformed space by “sculpting” with light. His work forces us to question the relationship of shadow to light, the nature of ephemerality, and challenges our definitions of various art mediums. What comprises a drawing? What makes a sculpture a sculpture, or a monument a monument? To paint, does one need a brush?

My New York trip did not center around a journey to Beacon. Rather, I went East to cavort with an artist who not only challenges assumptions about art, but also uses his practice as a force to probe the technologies and institutions to which we mindlessly acquiesce our agency daily. That artist is Trevor Paglen. The Nevada Museum of Art, Donald W. Reynolds Center for the Visual Arts, E. L. Wiegand Gallery is currently engaged in a major project with Paglen called Orbital Reflector.

[radius]= an experiential art journey

Orbital Reflector is a sculpture constructed of a lightweight material similar to Mylar. It will be housed in a small box-like infrastructure known as a CubeSat and launched into space aboard a rocket. Once in low Earth orbit at a distance of about 350 miles (575 kilometers) from Earth, the CubeSat opens and releases the sculpture, which self-inflates like a balloon. Sunlight reflects onto the sculpture making it visible from Earth with the naked eye — like a slowly moving artificial star as bright as a star in the Big Dipper.

Visually and philosophically one can think of Orbital Reflector as a type of post-Earth Land art.

In practice, it will be the first sculptural satellite ever to launch into low Earth orbit. The Museum is co-producing the project with Paglen; the satellite is anticipated to launch in the Spring of 2018.

In September, Paglen opened a New York show at Metro Pictures based on his work with artificial intelligence. The work, which is designed to help us see how machines see us, is both beautifully abstract and gut-wrenchingly terrifying. Through all of his works, Paglen challenges us to think about the nature of autonomy, to consider who is watching, and to suggest that maybe we also need to watch them.

After two nights in the gallery-hub of Chelsea, soaking in art and bumping elbows with art-elites, the journey to Beacon was a welcome respite. Yes,

the collections are swell, but the experience itself is stellar. I never thought I would need to go to New York to slow down, but that is indeed what this trip forced me, in some unexpected way, to do. It also fueled the passionate fire I have for the work we are doing at the Nevada Museum of Art, from the current exhibitions on view to the art we are sending into space. Art washes the soul, and gives us reason to pause.

Amanda Horn is a Reno-based writer, yogini, and creative community enthusiast. A former circus performer, she has been pushing boundaries most of her life, constantly redefining her own and testing the radius of the world she inhabits. She currently serves as Director of Communications for the Nevada Museum of Art. Follow her on Twitter @TeboHorn or email her at amanda.horn@nevadaart.org.

This is Amanda Horn's last column for RTT. It has been my profound pleasure to work with Amanda these past four years. Her poetry, wit, intellect and expressions of humanity betray a wealth of soul that is uncommon and sorely needed in this world. She will continue to elevate her station at the Museum and might just lift off the planet entirely.

Watch for her in the night skies over Reno, she'll be the heavenly body that's winking at you.

- Oliver X Editor-Publisher Reno Tahoe Tonight Reno Tahoe Tonight 69

REAL ESTATE Text and photo courtesy of Shirley Larkins

REAL ESTATE BUBBLE?

Everyone has heard by now that our real estate market is on fire in Reno-Sparks, but I've also started to hear people talking about the next bubble. If you've been in our area for the past 10 years, this is a real concern because you saw how low property values got; how desperate people were, and might have even lost your house. I'm a big numbers gal and have been tracking the market closely since 2009. I know that it can feel crazy to see a property that sold just five years ago be valued at $100,000+ more today. I want to assure you readers, this market we are in right now is no bubble.

In most segments of town property values are close to where they were in 2004-2005 – some higher even. However, the difference in our market today is that this increase has been driven by the local economic recovery; new jobs coming into our area; more money available for purchasers, and people coming to our area from out of state. This, along with a lack of inventory in some price points has caused the prices continue to creep up, but it is real growth in the market.

The foundation of this growth is legitimate.

Just check out this updated graphic from the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), that shows the employment tracking for our area from December 2014 to July 2017. We are exceeding what was projected.

The jobs are real and with that comes the money,

the people and the growth in the community.

I'm excited to see our community thriving and growing, and think that we will remain in this cycle for at least a couple of more years. As the home builders catch up to where we need to be, I forecast there will be some leveling of the home prices. But I also think that we will remain strong and the returns will be there for people when they want to sell.

If you have specific real estate questions, please submit them to slarkins@chaseinternational.com and I am happy to answer them. There are a lot of changes happening and staying on top of things, being market savvy, and being engaged will keep us all moving in the right direction.

Stop Zillow Update We’ve gotten another 1,000+ signatures on the petition in the last month, bringing us up to 42,036 and counting. There is an awesome consumer guide to Zillow you should check out at stopzillow.com/zillow-consumer-warning-guide/ Shirley Larkins is a real estate professional with Chase International and has been selling properties for over 12 years. She has experience in all types of sales (residential, MF, land, commercial) and loves working with first time buyers. She can be reached at slarkins@chaseinternational.com or 775-379-9617.

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PUT IT UT

CANNABIS DISTRIBUTION WE OFFER COMPETITIVE PRICING, TIMELY DELIVERIES AND NO CONTRACTS REQUIRED.

*FOR USE ONLY BY ADULTS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.

RENO AS FUCK Text Tyson Schroeder & Anthony Lee Photo Anthony Lee

Deep in the dark heart of a neighborhood in Reno you probably haven’t heard of (at 2115 Dickerson Road), lives a little shop full of Strange Bikinis.

What becomes of West Second Street after some twists, turns and time travel, is Dickerson Road, a long lost side street that runs along the Truckee River. This area is full of excellent businesses that could almost all qualify for a “Reno As Fuck” Business of the Month feature. You may have seen some t-shirts rolling around poking fun at this, boldly asking with a rat cartoon “Where’s Dickerson Road?” Fear not, fellow travelers. There is a lot to be had here.

In 2012 Strange Bikinis Founder Ali Conway started a swimsuit company whose goal is to make women of all sizes look good in a swimsuit. “If you know anything about Strange Bikinis, you know that I’m a huge advocate for value positiveness.

Anything to make women and young girls feel great,” Conway says. The idea formed when Conway was attending UNR in 2005, and made a bikini for herself and took it to the lake. “I got a bajillion questions about it, and so I was like, maybe I have something here.” So she moved to Los Angeles and attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising before moving back to Reno to get out of the Los Angeles struggle.

“Right when I first moved here I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do,” Conway said. She worked at Junkee Clothing Exchange for a while, but wasn’t feeling fulfilled there.

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Conway says the business really started to spark when her mom told her about a new store in her hometown of Mesquite, Nevada that wanted to order some swimsuits from her. “And that basically just started it all,” Conway recalls.

The Strange Bikinis showroom, warehouse and factory opened in 2016, and are all located in one building with a naturally funky feeling, with pink corrugated metal walls a brick entryway and an eccentric mix of desert, forest and beach themes.

It’s clear there is some Los Angeles couture style mixed with that Nevada pull-yourself-up-by-thebootstraps attitude we all love and respect.

“Ever since I was a little kid I just dressed really unique,” Conway said about the name ‘Strange Bikinis’. “I got beat up in the 5th grade for wearing bell bottoms.” Her swimsuit designs are definitely something you haven’t seen before. Strappy and undeniably sexy, a perfect fit for the Reno-ites who love them.

Conway is one of the many super entrepreneurs in Reno that make this city such a wonderful place to pursue a passion. She’s a one-woman shop with just one other person who helps out part-time.

“Because I’m in Reno it’s been a success. I don’t think Strange Bikinis would have happened, at least not as fast, if I was in LA,” Conway said.

“About 60% of my sales are from Reno.”

Be sure to give her a visit at strangebikinis.com.

RENO STREET PHOTOGRAPHY Photographer Eric Marks facebook.com/RenoStreetPhotography

Down the Rabbit Hole - Canon 5D Mark IV ISO 640 f2.8 1/640

"Where Do You Go When You've Been Forgotten?"

- Canon 5D Mark IV ISO 2500 f2.8 1/125

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SKATENV Photographer Kyle Volland Skater: Powell-Peralta Pro Scott Decenzo backside noseblunt slide at Classic skate shop demo.

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THE NEST Text Tessa Miller Wardrobe + Styling: The Nest Photographer Ali Denney Models Caroline Guy, Emme Haw, Allyson Barajas

— (widely attributed to) Theodore Roosevelt

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i

wish someone would’ve introduced me to this quote 20 years ago. In shooting this lookbook with our wonderful models who are still in high school, I was transported back to my own teenage years.

the awkwardness. the comparisons.

Even through all that inner turmoil, they still held some of my most cherished memories in life.

But to go back again now that I’ve grown comfortable in my own skin? Nah. But I certainly do appreciate the (at least outward) confidence these lovely ladies had to have to let me dress them in vintage jumpsuits and tell them to jump around and act silly.

Because let’s be honest. Do we ever really fully grow out of the fears, self doubts and comparisons?

Maybe not, but I know I’m going to strive to have more days where I wear whatever the hell I want and not think twice about it. And you know, I find those are the days that I actually get the external feedback that we all crave now and again—more so than the ones where I care what other people are going to think of my outfit.

Oh, the irony, right? Such is growing up.

And we never stop.

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圀伀刀䬀匀䠀伀倀 匀䔀刀䤀䔀匀 簀 䄀䔀刀䤀䄀䰀 䌀伀䴀倀䔀吀䤀吀䤀伀一 簀 䄀䘀吀䔀刀倀䄀刀吀夀 渀漀瘀攀洀戀攀爀 㐀Ⰰ ㈀ ㄀㜀 眀眀眀⸀爀攀渀漀愀攀爀椀愀氀昀攀猀琀⸀挀漀洀

TRAINING TIPS Text Camille Lyman Photo By Irina Houston Texas

HOLIDAY HEAVY LIFTING Over the next three months, most people are concerned about losing weight through the holiday season. I would like to share another avenue that can also be focused on during the time of drinks and treats: muscle growth! Reverse psychology going on from me to you; spend more energy building muscle which will in the end also lead to weight loss.

The first key ingredient to increase your lean muscle mass is your workout routine. This is not the time for endurance cardio sessions, which is why I usually encourage doing a quick 35 minute H.I.I.T. Instead, you want to focus on putting more of your energy into lifting heavy enough weights that you create small micro tears in the muscle tissue, and when you give yourself rest, your muscles will rebuild themselves stronger and bigger in a process called hypertrophy.

This is not to say that you should be spending every waking hour in the gym attempting to lift more weights each session. Remember a key point: muscles grow back bigger and stronger with rest.

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Which is why low levels of stress and getting enough sleep is also very important. If you do not give your muscles enough rest in between workouts, you can actually tear them down with each excessive workout and cause a decrease in strength and size. This is definitely not what you want.

So the main thing to remember is that you will need to create a fine balance between spending enough time in the gym to progressively overload your muscles, then back off, allowing them a chance to heal. It's our duty to develop the mind and body connection to help reach goals that we want for our bodies. In this case the mindful connection is to build muscle, which, along with healthy food choices, can shed fat pounds in the same process.

Camie Cragg Lyman Owner of CCF Reno & Downtown NSL Professional Beach Bikini Athlete Instagram//Facebook//Twitter//Snapchat ccfreno.com

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UNITED WE STONED Text Mitchell Colbert

Are New Regulations for Cannabis Edibles a Trick or Treat?

It's October, and that means Halloween will soon be upon us. Between the costumes, getting to stay up late, and the candy, Halloween has always been my favorite holiday because there is so much to love. Since we're talking about candy, let's talk about cannabis edibles, which are seeing some new regulations in both Nevada and California.

Nevada Says Goodbye to Lollipops and Gummi Bears In June, Nevada's Governor, Brian Sandoval signed Senate Bill 344 (SB 344) into law, which regulated the production, packaging, and advertising of cannabis infused edibles, and made some other changes to the industry, with the goal of protecting children.

One major change edible makers will have to cope with is a hard limit of 100mg of THC per edible product, separated into 10mg servings. Edibles will also need to be tested for homogeneity of cannabinoids and have no more than a +/- 15% variance with no more than 20% of the THC in 10% of the product. If you have ever had that experience eating edibles where some don't give you an effect, but others give a very strong effect, that is due to a lack of homogeneity and the THC not being evenly mixed in.

There are also provisions in the regulations to restrict marketing and advertising that could appeal to children, to prevent products themselves from being potentially appealing to children, and to require childproof packaging on all cannabis products. Advertising is also prohibited from depicting anyone under 21 or even depicting the consumption of cannabis. Ads cannot be in any mass media channel (print, radio, or television) if over 30 percent of the audience is under 21 years old. Advertisements cannot be placed on public transportation, or at any event that allows people under 21 to enter.

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Certain appearances and types of edible products will also be banned. Edibles may not resemble ice cream or lollipops, nor can they be modeled after a brand of products primarily consumed by or marketed to children. Edibles also may not have any likeness to a real or fictional person, animal or fruit, including, without limitation, a caricature, cartoon or artistic rendering. So, no Captain Keif cereal and no gummi bears/fruit/worms/ sharks/etc. The packages also must be designed to not appeal to children, so no cartoons, nothing similar to existing brands marketed to children, no mascots, no action figures, and definitely no toys. Another requirement the industry is bracing for is the requirement for opaque packaging of edible products, and potentially even individually wrapped servings. Beyond that, SB 344 also requires written warnings be sent home with parents buying edibles. This warning will tell them to keep products out of reach of children because edibles can cause severe illness in children, and that, to allow them to ingest cannabis may result in an investigation by an agency which provides child welfare services.

In California, Cookies Can't Look Like Cookies California also passed a major set of regulations in June, when Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 94, the Medicinal and Adult Use of Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (SB 94 or the MAUCRSA) into law. The MAUCRSA made numerous improvements to California's medical and adult use systems, such as creating a statewide system of appellations (similar to wine) and the state's first delivery regulations. Like Nevada's SB 344, edibles are limited to 10mg of THC per serving and requires homogeneity.

But unlike the Nevada bill, there is no maximum limit per product.

The MAUCRSA also contained provisions very close to those in Nevada's SB 344, aimed at protecting children. In California, all cannabis products must be sold in resealable, tamperevident, child-resistant packages, and the packaging and labeling must not be attractive to children. Like SB 344, there can be no advertising or marketing that appeals to children.

Furthermore, the edible products themselves must not be appealing to children, or be easily confused with commercially sold candy or foods that do not contain cannabis.

That line is perhaps the most troubling, leaving some edibles manufacturers wondering, How do I make a cookie that doesn't look like a cookie?

This Halloween, Should Parents Worry?

In 2014, Robert Hendrickson, a toxicologist with the Oregon Poison Center, said that their plea is for anyone who has cannabis-containing candies out there, just make sure that they're locked up.

And that's a good thing to do all the time. He was also clear that their main concern was that the candies could get mixed up, not that anyone was intentionally handing out cannabis-infused candy to children. In Colorado that same year officials had no reports of children accidentally eating potlaced candies this Halloween.

While more warnings were issued in 2015, there were still no reported incidents. In 2016, however, there was some discrepancy in reporting. While the Colorado-based publication Westword reported no cases of children accidentally eating cannabis-infused candies, the Illinois-based publication WQAD 8 did identify one report of a child receiving a cannabis candy. Luckily, the child did not eat it because their parent identified it. It is not known from the WQAD 8 article if the child found the edible somewhere or received it while trick or treating.

Given that there is only one case that anyone can identify where a cannabis-infused candy got into the trick or treat bag of a child, there are much bigger risks to children on Halloween.

It's important for kids to stay with an adult at all times, and adults and children should both be well-lit if staying out after dark (have fun and make it part of the costume!). Even though cannabis-infused candy shouldn't be a concern, parents should always check their kid's candy for tears or holes, and if the wrapper is punctured do not let your child eat it.

Pistil + Stigma is a consulting firm working with organizations in public, private, and nonprofit sectors on groundbreaking policy issues nationwide. Our team of lobbying, community affairs, and cannabis strategy consultants help businesses acquire competitive licenses and grow sustainable and socially conscious businesses.

Lea Moser, a Policy Analyst for Pistil + Stigma, contributed to this article.

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WANDERED OFF Text Natasha Bourlin

A City that Haunts You W alking toward the rear of the dark voodoo shop, something stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t the bizarre array of wares I’d meandered through, ranging from freakish looking dolls to parts once attached to living creatures. It was nothing visible, audible or tangible. Just a heavy feeling that shrouded me like a woolen blanket in seconds.

In the far reaches of the shop where I stood, suddenly at full attention, you could hear both a light sobbing and soft cajoling voice. Witnessing my reaction and location, the shopkeeper casually chimed in, “Oh, there’s a séance going on in the back.”

If I hadn’t felt “it” before I was told what “it” was, I would have thought the shop just another tourist novelty. This was my first visit to one of the most notoriously haunted cities in the country.

Longtime home and inspiration to textual goddess of the supernatural, Anne Rice, and setting for many a film seeking to spook, the inimitable city thrives on lore.

It’s also home to a mélange of cultures that have settled in the port city over centuries.

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A diverse global community descended on the southern Louisiana coast beginning in the 1700s, forming a cultural kaleidoscope still present today.

New Orleans is a place where flamboyancy is celebrated, creativity is unstifled and locals and visitors alike laissez le bon temps rouler (let the good times roll). Where you can get a booze-laden daiquiri and drive away with it – so long as the straw isn’t inserted. Where people can imbibe until daylight returns and ingest incomparable cuisine.

Where counties are referred to as parishes and the cardinal directions are lake, river, downtown and uptown instead of the familiar north, south, east and west.

NOLA—which stands for New Orleans, LA (Louisiana)— is comprised of survivors, and has been since it was founded in 1718 by the French. Then taken by the Spanish. Then taken back by the French before being sold to the U.S. by Napoleon in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

From the earliest settlers to those who brought the city back after Hurricane Katrina, fortitude and strength is steeped into the city’s history and people.

Survival is such an enduring facet of NOLA’s rich tapestry, it perhaps even supersedes death. Which is why October, or more specifically Halloween, in New Orleans rivals even Mardi Gras as a sought-after time to visit.

Raise your goosebumps to new heights on a ghost tour through the city. From haunted history to spirits and vampires, thrilling storytellers guide through the oldest parts of town and leave you sleepless that night.

Above-ground mausoleums mark New Orleans’ cemeteries, dubbed Cities of the Dead. While practical in nature, since bodies are unable to be buried as many parts of the city lie below sea level, the monuments are visually striking. Tours can be booked for deeper historical exploration, but simply wandering amongst the grave sites is eerily fascinating.

Testimonies to the Civil War that once raged through the region remain. Historic plantation homes within and surrounding the city teem with tales of rebellion, secrecy and romance. Myrtles Plantation’s story dates to 1796. The antebellum property is now a bed and breakfast, and touted as one of the most haunted homes in America. Evening tours and overnighters can cause one’s skin to bristle.

Centuries ago, African slaves from various continental regions brought many of their languages, beliefs and cultural practices to Louisiana.

Many remained there once freed, forging strong communities. A fusion of customs from varied ethnic influences, ultimately including Haitian and Christian, resulted in a regional religion all its own: voodoo.

Voodoo shops dot the French Quarter and Jackson Square, their curiosities on display. Tours are available to peruse the shops while being told tales of the practice’s history. Perhaps the most revered practitioner, Marie Laveau, has a namesake voodoo shop on Bourbon Street. Her gravesite in St. Louis’ Cemetery Number 1 is one of the most visited.

While the very landscape of New Orleans can invoke a feeling of mystery, with parks and properties draped with overarching oak trees crawling with Spanish moss, it’s juxtaposed by the locals’ love of vibrant costumes and parades.

October is no exception.

Mobile masquerades parade through the French Quarter around Halloween annually, like the Krewe of Boo. The freaks come out and truly monstrous floats roll by, tossing beads to a cadre of costumed creatures.

And then there’s the annual, three-day Voodoo Arts + Music Experience. Each Halloween weekend, dozens of bands, immense

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WANDERED OFF art installations, a haunted mortuary, carnival rides and a marketplace take over City Park. In a town renowned for its culinary prowess, you won’t find your average pizza slice and greasy fries at food vendors here. Instead, try ‘gator po’ boys, fried duck quesadillas, crawfish nachos and, naturally, jambalaya.

Test your fear fortitude and spend the night in the French Quarter where the halls are purportedly haunted. Specific spirit-seeking specials are available at the Dauphine Orleans Hotel and the Bourbon Orleans Hotel, or check out voodoofestival.com for lodging deals for event goers.

Spooky, stunning, inspiring. Brash, beautiful. There is not a place in the world like New Orleans. There’s an energy there that mere words cannot capture. It’s something in need of experiencing firsthand...in October, or any other time of year.

Myrtles Plantation Photo Credit: Amanda Deville with The Cherry Tree Photography Krewe of Boo Parade photo

by Krewe of Boo Photo of tarot card reading

by Zack Smith courtesy New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau

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WINE IS MY SPIRIT ANIMAL Text Mikalee Byerman

Netflix and Chill?

Lemme grab my hoodie.

I have a friend who is a relationship therapist.

And he, probably not surprisingly, is not a fan of online dating.

Instead, his advice goes something like this: “Stop looking for love. Live your life as you normally would. Enjoy the things you normally do. Explore your hobbies, have fun with your passions in life. Then one day, you’ll look up and see someone doing those exact same things — exploring his passions and having fun with the passions in his life, in your same space.”

Except, there’s one problem with all of this: I am an introvert.

If I’m doing things “normally” per his advice, exploring my hobbies and having fun with the passions in my life, then according to his logic, I will look up one day while cuddled up in my favorite oversized hoodie, in a corner of my sofa, blanketed by the glow of flickering candles and soft Christmas music (don’t judge), reading a non-fiction book — and then I’ll see the love of my life. Staring back at me. From the opposite corner of my couch?

According to my well-intentioned friends: “You know what you should totally do?

You should…”

…go to church!

Pro: I love symbolism and storytelling and contemplating weighty matters of the universe.

Con: Terrified by the idea of being surrounded by sheeple (sheep + people); also terrified of an errant “fuck” issuing forth from my mouth during casual convo while enjoying cookies and coffee with the youth pastor.

… try online dating!

Pro: Potential to meet lots of men of diverse backgrounds, many of whom I likely wouldn’t meet in daily life.

Con: Potential to meet lots of men of diverse backgrounds, many of whom I likely wouldn’t meet in daily life.

… go to a bar!

Pro: Wine.

Con: Introvert, people. What part of “introvert” don’t you understand?

… go gay!

Um, that sounds like a psychopath. Or maybe a stalker. Not my future lover. Just sayin’.

Pro: Women smell good. And they’re soft.

Con: Biology.

Yes, I’m an introvert. A 44-year-old (read: invisible), single mom of three (read: exhausted), kids ranging in age from “attending college” to “barely potty-trained” (read: RUN! Red flags!), gainfully employed in a 40-hour-plus-perweek-job (read: lacking sweet, sweet time), still optimistic enough to believe in love (read: insane), with enough baggage to fill a FedEx plane (read: PTSD sufferer), who wonders if love actually exists for me (read: insane-ier), who is an introvert (read: loves the quiet, jammies and fireplaces — in that order).

Despite my friends’ best efforts and copious suggestions, here I still am: an invisible, exhausted, overworked, introverted and straight PTSDsufferer, open to new suggestions.

So how the actual fuck does someone matching this description meet a man?

Well, let me tell you how. Because I’ve heard. Over and over again. From people who claim to know.

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Oh, and on a side note: I truly think the single 40+ crowd needs its own support group — one where errant “fucks,” wine, hoodies and candlelight are embraced and abundant.

Oh wait, that’s my sofa. Now I get it.

Mikalee Byerman is the author of 100 Things to Do in Reno Before You Die (now available at Barnes & Noble, Sundance Books, Larkellen, Reno Envy and other local hot spots). Byerman is VP of Strategy for the Estipona Group and totally likes people, despite being an introvert. Her written stuff and whatnot is at mikaleebyerman.com.

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