February 14 to 20, 2018 by Tahoe Guide (Tahoe Weekly)

FEB. 14-20, 2019

A DREAM LAND BEYOND

THE WAYFARING SOUL OF MARTY O’REILLY // MT. ROSE’S MAKERS // JOHN MEDESKI HEATS UP A MAD SKILLET // FAMILY INDOOR FUN // CHEF ALEX TOLGER

HUCKLEBERRY GATES LONGBOARDING RACING

Great days don’t end with the last run

EVENTS Feb 16–17 Sunset Happy Hour Feb 16-17 Snowshoe Chalet Dinner Feb 16-17, 22-23 Disco Tubing Feb 16–24 Kid-O-Rama Feb 18 Big Truck Day Feb 19 & 21 Après S’mores Feb 20 SAF Peak2Peak Family Fun Race March 23 Pain McShlonkey March 29–31 WinterWonderGrass Tahoe March 31 The High Fives Mothership Classic Saturdays: Après Music Series Winter Fireworks Please check squawalpine.com for most up to date calendar of events.

Photo by Scott Rokis

Karey Dodge

TheTahoeWeekly.com

Volume 38 | Issue 4 TM

P.O. Box 87 | Tahoe City, CA 96145 (530) 546-5995 | f (530) 546-8113 TheTahoeWeekly.com

SUBMISSIONS Events & Entertainment Submit at TheTahoeWeekly.com Editorial Inquiries editor@tahoethisweek.com Entertainment Inquiries entertainment@tahoethisweek.com Photography production@tahoethisweek.com

MAKING IT HAPPEN

Graphic Designer Justeen Ferguson graphics@tahoethisweek.com, ext. 101 Entertainment Editor Sean McAlindin entertainment@tahoethisweek.com

FEATURES 7

Sierra Stories

Huckleberry Canyon

Sightseeing

Lake Tahoe Facts

Events

FAMILY FUN Bowl Incline

For the Kids

FUN & GAMES Horoscope & Puzzles

ARTS & CULTURE Mt. Rose Makers

The Arts

MUSIC SCENE Marty O’Reilly

Entertainment Calendar & Live Music 18 John Medeski

TAHOE WEEKLY TURNS 37 FROM THE PUBLISHER

OUT & ABOUT

LOCAL FLAVOR Tasty Tidbits

Chef Alex Tolger

Wine Column

Chef’s Recipe

ON THE COVER Ty Dayberry drops into Huckleberry Canyon at Sierra-at-Tahoe after a recent series of storms. Read more about exploring Huckleberry Canyon in Sean McAlindin’s feature “A Dream Land Beyond Huckleberry Gates” in this edition and at TheTahoeWeekly.com. | Photography by Nathan Vetter, Sierra-at-Tahoe, NathanVetter.co, @Nathan_Vetter

Thirty-seven years ago, the late David Mogilefsky published the first edition of “North Tahoe Week” on Feb. 18, 1982, declaring “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” as the slogan of the magazine (you can read the first edition at issuu.com/TheTahoeWeekly). We’ve had several name changes throughout our history, but the one thing that has remained constant is our commitment to highlighting the best that the Tahoe Sierra has to offer. Putting together each edition of Tahoe Weekly is truly a labor of love by our staff and our contributors who share an appreciation for the amazing communities that encompass the Tahoe Sierra. We strive in each edition to bring our readers interesting features, to spotlight interesting locals and to cover all there is to see, to do and to enjoy. And, we’re always looking for ways to improve the magazine we produce for our readers and for our advertising clients. We recently debuted our new Family Fun section written by Family Editor Michelle Allen after hearing from our readers the desire for more coverage of family activities. We also have a new online Event Calendar that’s made it easier to submit events to both our print edition and at TheTahoeWeekly.com; and it’s still free to everyone. And, we continue to increase the magazine’s distribution to meet demand by our readers, with many new locations added throughout the region including in Carson City. We’ve published a recordbreaking number of copies of Tahoe Weekly in the last year and we see no signs of that slowing down. We have other plans in the works to improve our content in the print edition and at TheTahoeWeekly.com (which features far more coverage than we could ever fit in a single print edition). But, as always, we rely on feedback from our readers and our clients to guide that content, so please take our Reader Survey at TheTahoeWeekly.com to help us do that. On behalf of our staff and contributors, I want to say Thank You to our loyal readers and our amazing clients, many of whom have been with us for the last 37 years.

Food Editor Priya Hutner priya@tahoethisweek.com Family Editor Michelle Allen michelle@tahoethisweek.com Copy Editor Katrina Veit Contributing Writers John Dee, Barbara Keck, Bruce Ajari, Mark McLaughlin, David “Smitty” Smith, Priya Hutner, Katrina Veit, Kayla Anderson, Lou Phillips, Sean McAlindin, Tim Hauserman, Alex Green, Lisa Michelle, Cam Schilling

TAHOE WEEKLY is published weekly throughout the summer and biweekly the rest of the year, with occassional extra issues at holiday times by Range of Light Media Group, Inc. Look for new issues on Thursdays. Subscribe to the free digital edition at issuu.com/ TheTahoeWeekly. Visit TheTahoeWeekly.com. TAHOE WEEKLY, est. 1982, ©2007. Reproduction in whole or in part without publisher’s express permission is prohibited. Contributions welcome via e-mail. The Weekly is not responsible for unsolicited submissions. Member: North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, North Tahoe Business Association, Incline Community Business Association, Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce, Tahoe City Downtown Association, Truckee Downtown Merchants Association, Tahoe South Chamber of Commerce and Alpine County Chamber of Commerce. Printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks. Please recycle your copy.

… the mighty Sierra, miles in height, and so gloriously colored and so radiant, it seemed not clothed with light but wholly composed of it, like the wall of some celestial city... Then it seemed to me that the Sierra should be called, not the Nevada or Snowy Range, but the Range of Light. –John Muir

Take our Reader Survey Tahoe Weekly still has a lot of great prizes to give away like ski lift tickets, restaurant gift certificates, sledding packages and more. Go to TheTahoeWeekly.com. Click on the link for Take the Reader Survey at the top of the page. Be sure to give us your e-mail to enter the contest. 

Find us at TheTahoeWeekly.com | Keep up-to-date at 4

Sales Manager Anne Artoux anne@tahoethisweek.com, ext. 110 Art Director Alyssa Ganong production@tahoethisweek.com, ext. 106

IN THIS ISSUE FEB. 14-20, 2019 Longboard Racing

Publisher & Editor In Chief Katherine E. Hill publisher@tahoethisweek.com, ext. 102

Facebook.com/TheTahoeWeekly & Instagram

@TheTahoeWeekly

Feb. 14-20, 2019

SIGHTSEEING

The Nordic trails are groomed to perfection at Tahoe Cross Country. | Katherine E. Hill

One of the lake’s famous natural sites, a volcanic plug on the West Shore. TART

Explore Tahoe (530) 542-2908 | cityofslt.us

South Lake Tahoe

Settled in 1863 as a stagecoach stop. TART

Vikingsholm Castle

Emerald Bay

(530) 541-3030 | (530) 525-9529 ADA parks.ca.gov or vikingsholm.com Tour the grounds of Vikingsholm Castle, see Eagle Falls and Fannette Island. TART

Watson Cabin

Fannette Island

(530) 583-1762 | northtahoemuseums.org The oldest building in Tahoe City and on the

(530) 541-3030 | parks.ca.gov

Lake Tahoe’s only island, home to an old tea house.

Heavenly

South Lake Tahoe

(775) 586-7000 | skiheavenly.com

Enjoy a 2.4-mile ride on the gondola to the top with panoramic views. South Tahoe

Hellman-Ehrman Mansion

West Shore

$10 parking | parks.ca.gov (530) 525-7232 Park | (530) 583-9911 Tours Located in Sugar Pine Point State Park. (Open for tours in the summer.) TART

High Camp (800) 403-0206 | squawalpine.com

Olympic Valley

Aerial tram rides, Olympic Heritage Museum, ice skating, events and more. Ticket required. TART

Kings Beach

North Shore

northtahoebusiness.org Home to the North Shore’s largest sandy beach, in the heart of downtown. TART

North Tahoe Arts Center

Tahoe City

National Register of Historic Places. TART

Free | (530) 581-2787 | northtahoearts.com

MUSEUMS Donner Memorial Visitor Center Truckee (530) 582-7892 | parks.ca.gov

The Donner Memorial State Park features exhibits and artifacts on the Donner Party. TART

Donner Summit Historical Society

Soda Springs

donnersummithistoricalsociety.org Museum and 20-mile interpretive driving tour

Gatekeeper’s Museum Daily | (530) 583-1762 northtahoemuseums.org

KidZone Children’s Museum

Tahoe Science Center

381

Incline Village

Free | (775) 881-7566 | tahoesciencecenter.org Exhibits include a virtual research boat, biology

truckeedonnerrailroadsociety.com

South Lake Tahoe 3066 Lake Tahoe Blvd. (530) 541-5255

Stateline 169 Hwy. 50 (775) 588-4591

Tahoe City 100 N. Lake Blvd. (530) 581-6900 Measured in Cubic Feet Per Second (CFS)

Truckee 10065 Donner Pass Rd. (Depot)

TROA.NET

(530) 587-8808

U.S. Forest Service | Incline Village 855 Alder Ave. (775) 831-0914 (Wed.-Fri.)

U.S. Forest Service | South Lake Tahoe Truckee

Exhibits include the train’s role in logging, fighting snow on the railway, the role of Chinese emigrants and a children’s area. TART

Western SkiSport Museum Donner Summit (530) 426-3313, ext. 113 | auburnskiclub.org Showcasing the history of skiing. TART

Kings Beach State Rec. Area (Thurs.-Mon., summer)

35 College Dr. (530) 543-2600

U.S. Forest Service | Tahoe City 3080 N. Lake Blvd. (530) 583-3593 (Fridays)

U.S. Forest Service | Truckee 10811 Stockrest Springs Rd. (530) 587-3558

TRANSIT North Tahoe & Truckee (TART) | laketahoetransit.com South Tahoe | tahoetransportation.org

Truckee

Interactive exhibits, science & art classes, the BabyZone & the Jungle Gym. TART

Featuring local artists and workshops. South Tahoe

Old Jail Museum

visittahoecity.com

FLOW AT FARAD

Kings Beach

Featuring historic photos & memorabilia, and the Steinbach Indian Basket Museum. TART

Features Washoe artifacts and exhibits on early industry and settlers. South Tahoe

Historical sites and Commons Beach. TART

Truckee River |

VISITORS’ CENTERS

Tahoe City

Tahoe Art League Gallery South Lake Tahoe

North Shore

Tahoe City

A 20,400 MARTIS 867 | CAPACITY: (530) 583-9283 tahoemaritimemuseum.org

Measured in Acre Feet (AF)

along Old 40. TART

Lake Tahoe Museum

Tahoe City

CAPACITY: 18,300 C

Tahoe Maritime Museum

Truckee Railroad Museum

Featuring exhibits of work by local artists and works for sale by local artists. TART

(530) 544-2313 | talart.org

INDEPENDENCE 14,587

6,227.96

Incline Village 969 Tahoe Blvd. (800) 468-2463

lab, 3D movies and docent-led tours. TART

(530) 587-5437 | kidzonemuseum.org Tahoe City

Games. Tower of Nations. Olympic Flame. Olympic CAPACITY: 9,500 C DONNER 2,980 Museum at high camp. TART 50

Self-guided tours, exhibits and hands-on activities. TART

Urban Trailhead at base of Heavenly. South Tahoe

Emerald Bay

Olympic Museum Olympic Valley C 226,500 STAMPEDE 198,734 CAPACITY: (800) 403-0206 | squawalpine.com 29,840 9 Winter Olympic PROSSER 6,356 Celebrate the homeCAPACITY: of the 1960

IN 2018:

225

West Shore

truckeehistory.org | truckee.com

CAPA PACITY AC CITY:: 40,87 CITY 40,870 70

6,227.38 |

200,000 AF

Eagle Rock

BOCA 5,702

Truckee

ELEVATION :

RESERVOIR CAPACITY

175

The Summit, just west of Truckee, holds the record for the United States’ snowiest April in 1880 when a storm dumped 4’ of snow in 24 hours.

Readings taken on Friday, February 8, 2019

150,000 AF

Truckee

Once known as the “Grandest Resort in the World.” Grounds open year-round. South Tahoe

LAKE LEVEL Lake Tahoe Natural rim 6,223’

125

Donner Summit

South Lake Tahoe (530) 541-5227 | tahoeheritage.org

100,000 AF

Drive through the neck of an old volcano.

Tallac Historic Site

East Shore

Cave Rock

ATTRACTIONS

South Lake Tahoe

(530) 541-5458 | laketahoemuseum.org

(530) 582-0893 | truckeehistory.org

Truckee

One of a few surviving 19th Century jails. TART

Boots McFarland by Geolyn Carvin | BootsMcFarland.com

TheTahoeWeekly.com

Donner Summit

Truckee Donner Lake

TRUCKEE AIRPORT

DONNER MEMORIAL STATE PARK

h Ta

SUGAR BOWL

WEST EAST SOUTH

DOWNHILL SKI AREAS

ra Rim T

Tahoe Vista

ALPINE MEADOWS

Dollar Hill

Lake

GRANKLIBAKKEN

Spooner Lake

Tahoe

Ta h o e R i m

CASINOS

Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the U.S. (Crater Lake in Oregon, at 1,932 feet, is the deepest), and the 11th deepest in the world.

DEEPEST POINT

Marlette Lake

Sunnyside a Tr

Maximum depth: 1,645 feet

TAHOE CROSS COUNTRY

Tahoe City

SNO-PARKS

Average depth: 1,000 feet

Crystal Bay

Kings Beach

Carnelian Bay

TAHOE CITY WINTER SPORTS PARK

SQUAW CREEK

DIAMOND PEAK

Incline Village

NORTH TAHOE REGIONAL PARK

Olympic Valley SQUAW VALLEY

NORTHSTAR

Truckee River

CROSS-COUNTRY SKI AREAS

MT. ROSE

RENO-TAHOE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

DONNER SKI RANCH

ROYAL GORGE

SKY TAVERN

SODA SPRINGS

CLAIR TAPPAAN

BOREAL

Reno & Sparks

TAHOE DONNER

AUBURN SKI TRAINING CENTER

Eagle Rock

NEVADA NORDIC

Glenbrook

Carson City

Volume: 39 trillion gallons There is enough water in Lake Tahoe to supply everyone in the United States with more than 75 gallons of water per day for 5 years.

Homewood o Ta h

HOMEWOOD

e Ri

DID YOU

m Tr a i l

Tahoma

SUGAR PINE POINT STATE PARK

Meeks Bay

KNOW

CA Cave Rock

Age of Lake Tahoe: 2 million years Watershed Area: 312 square miles

Zephyr Cove

Average Water Temperature: 42.1˚F

Emerald Bay

Average Surface Water Temperature: 51.9˚F

Cascade Lake

Average Surface Temperature in July: 64.9˚F Highest Peak: Freel Peak at 10,881 feet

Ta h oe

R i m Tr ail

Average Snowfall: 409 inches

Fannette Island

South Lake Tahoe

Stateline HEAVENLY

CAMP RICHARDSON

Fallen Leaf Lake

BIJOU PARK / LAKE TAHOE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Meyers

LAKE TAHOE AIRPORT

FREEL PEAK

ECHO LAKES

Natural rim: 6,223’ Lake Tahoe sits at an average elevation of between 6,223’ and 6,229.1’. The top 6.1’ of water is controlled by the dam in Tahoe City and holds up to 744,600 acre feet of water.

Size: 22 miles long, 12 miles wide Lake Tahoe is as long as the English Channel is wide.

Shoreline: 72 miles Lake Tahoe has a surface area of 191 square miles. If Lake Tahoe were emptied, it would submerge California under 15 inches of water.

Permanent Population: 66,000 Number of Visitors: 3 million annually Kirkwood

SIERRA-AT-TAHOE

HOPE VALLEY

Markleeville

KIRKWOOD

LAKE TAHOE

How the lake was formed

About 3 to 5 million years ago, the valley that would become the Tahoe Basin sank between parallel fractures in the Earth’s crust as the mountains on either side continued to rise. A shallow lake began to form in the resulting valley. Roughly 2 to 3 million years ago, erupting volcanoes blocked the outlet, forcing the lake to rise hundreds of feet above its current elevation, and eventually eroded down to near its current outlet. Between 1 million and 20,000 years ago, large masses of glacial ice covered the west side of the Tahoe Basin. Current geologic theory suggests an earthen berm (moraine) left by a receding glacier near Olympic Valley acted as a dam, causing the lake level to rise and then draw down rapidly when the dam catastrophically failed. Between

7,000 and 15,000 years ago, a four-mile segment of the West Shore collapsed into the Lake causing a massive submerged debris avalanche, widening the Lake by three miles and creating McKinney Bay.1 The Tahoe Basin is mostly granite, with little topsoil, and therefore few nutrients have washed into the lake to promote the growth of algae and other organisms that make water murky. As well, 40 percent of the precipitation falling into the Tahoe Basin lands directly on the lake. The remaining precipitation drains through the decomposed granite soil found in marshes and meadows, creating a good filtering system for water. Urbanization of the Tahoe Basin has eliminated 75 percent of its marshes, 50 percent of its meadows and 35 percent of its steam zone habitats. About 85 percent of all wildlife in the Tahoe Basin use these habitats.

About the lake Lake Tahoe is located in the states of California and Nevada, with two-thirds in California. It is fed by 63 streams and two hot springs. The Truckee River is Tahoe’s only outlet and flows from the dam in Tahoe City east through Reno and eventually drains into Pyramid Lake in the Nevada desert. However, water releases are not permitted when the lake surface level falls below the natural rim at 6,223.’ The lowest lake level on record (measured since 1900) was 6,220.26’ on Nov. 30, 1992. The Lake of the Sky appears blue in color as other colors in the light spectrum are absorbed and blue light is scattered back.

Lake clarity The University of California, Davis, operates the Tahoe Environmental Resarch Center, which monitors, among other

things, the clarity of Lake Tahoe. Clarity has been measured since 1968 and was first recorded at 102.4’. The waters of Lake Tahoe were clear to an average depth of 59.7 in 2017. The lowest average depth on record was 64.1’ in 1997. Lake Tahoe is losing clarity because of algae growth fueled by nitrogen and phosphorus.

Lake Tahoe’s discovery The first recorded discovery of Lake Tahoe by white explorers was on Feb. 14, 1844, when John Charles Frémont and Charles Preuss spotted the lake from atop Red Lake Peak. The lake went through several names before it was officially named Tahoe in 1945. Tahoe is a mispronunciation of the first two syllables of the Washoe’s word for the lake – Da ow a ga, which means “edge of the lake.” n

Learn more: Visit the Tahoe Science Center in Incline Village or tahoesciencecenter.org. Sources: Tahoe Environmental Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, “Tahoe Place Names” and David Antonucci (denoted by 1).

Out

OUTDOORS & RECREATION, EVENTS & MORE

Courtesy Boreal

FEB. 14-21, 2019

opens at Boreal Olympian Danny Davis has opened the Peace Park at Boreal and it’s open to the public for the first time. Peace Park reinvents freestyle terrain with a focus on fun and flow, as well as progression. The Peace Park is built for riders of all sizes and ability levels. To coincide with the opening, skiers and riders can enter for a chance to win a spot in the Woodward Peace Park Championship at Boreal from May 1 to 5 by uploading a video in the #mypeaceparkedit video contest. | Woodward Peace Park on Facebook

Granlibakken hosts

yoga festival The third annual Restorative Arts & Yoga Festival will be at Granlibakken Tahoe from May 31 to June 2, as first reported at TheTahoeWeekly.com. The festival will feature three days of health and well-being workshops designed for all abilities, along with shinrin-yoku forest-medicine, meditative hikes, sound-healing meditation and more. | granlibakken.com

Help with computers Kings Beach Library | Feb. 14, 21

Ongoing computer help. Call or stop by for our class schedule. 3-4 p.m. Free | (530) 5462021, placer.ca.gov

One Billion Rising Community Flash Mob Train Depot | Truckee | Feb. 14

Join Tahoe SAFE Alliance to represent Truckee/Tahoe in the annual One Billion Rising International Flash Mob, the biggest mass action to end violence against women. Wear dancing shoes and red. Learn the dance online. 4-5:15 p.m. Free | facebook.com

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

OUT & ABOUT

&ABOUT

Longboard racing

EVENTS CALENDAR

Peace Park

Feb. 14-20, 2019

PRESERVING SIERRA SKI HISTORY STORY & PHOTOS BY SEAN McALINDIN

olks young and old make the quarter mile trek through mushy snow to line up along makeshift fencing beside the one wide-open, sloping ski trail at the base of Eureka Peak at the Johnsville Historic Ski Bowl. It is pouring cold rain and the local competitors are wearing 19th-Century period clothing that could’ve belonged to their greatgreat-great grandparents. Plumas Ski Club members claim the first ski races in North America took place on Eureka Peak by miners and their families in the mid-1800s. First up are the women. After some trustworthy flask passing at the discretion of the participants, the skiers take their marks, slipping leather boots into leather bindings and preparing to descend to 300-foot slope with lone pole in hand.

LEFT: A group of competitors gather for a photo after

“ I grew up skiing here and I think a lot of us feel the same way. We do it because we love the community and we love the area. People want to be part of it.” –Greg Hinds The opening race is between two sisters from Portola – Abby and Madi Marshall. After a 3-second countdown, the gong sounds from behind and they are off. Abby is a longboard veteran who introduced her older sister to the sport and she easily takes the preliminary contest. The run only lasts about 30 seconds, but the crowd loves it as the sisters play up their sibling rivalry. “My goal every time is just to cross the finish line,” says Abby. “I imagine myself going left and I go left. I have a little bit of nerves flying down a mountain on 12-foot skis I made myself.” There are seven women and nine men entered in the competition today who hail from Quincy to Meyers and everywhere in between. E X C L U S I V E C O N T E N T AT

epic faceplant in the men’s semifinals landed him in the bronze-medal position. “This is skiing at its finest.” To build the longboards, enthusiasts take a 2 inch by 6 inch by 16 foot plank of vertical grain Douglas fir and shape it into skis. Classes to help would-be racers create their gear from scratch are offered at Feather River College and Quincy Junior Senior High School woodshop; Sierra Pacific Industries often donates the raw materials. Competitors also cook their own dope, or wax, from secret formulas made up of ingredients you’d find in an 1870 mining camp’s general store. This list, though closely guarded, includes lye soap, pine pitch, turpentine and paraffin. “Dope is king,” says Henriques. “It’s not the best racer who wins every year. If you have good stuff, you have a better chance.”

TheTahoeWeekly.com

A SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY

Watch Adam Henriquez race Donald Fregulia Read Mark McLaughlin’s account of the history of Longboarding

“The winner races, the loser drinks beer” says second-place finisher Greg Hinds of Graeagle. “I grew up skiing here and I think a lot of us feel the same way. We do it because we love the community and we love the area. People want to be part of it.” “The purpose is the revitalization of local history and community-based recreation,” says Adam Henriques of Meyers whose

Through events such as these, Plumas Ski Club is raising money to reopen the former volunteer-driven hill that used to host a ski-bus program from area schools and draw large crowds on winter weekends. Every September, Drew Fisher organizes Lost Sierra Hoedown to gather funds and energy toward this goal. He says the festival has donated $30,000 toward the restoration of the ski hill. So far, they have gotten a groomer, rebuilt the maintenance shed to the house, shored up the deck to the lodge with new railings, renovated the main building, replaced the plumbing in the bathrooms, acquired an old Squaw Valley

the race; RIGHT: Second-place finisher Abby Marshall of Portola with her homemade longboards;

mainline chairlift to install where the Poma used to run, purchased a generator and rerouted the electrical in the lodge to make it safe and functional. Fisher, like other drivers of this historical restoration project, does believe reopening the ski lift to the public in the future is a possibility, but that’s not really what it’s all about. “We have free community sledding days with a groomed slope, an open lodge to warm up in and classic lodge food options at affordable prices, not to mention functional bathrooms,” Fisher says. “Six years ago, none of that was a possibility. Johnsville Ski Bowl will never be a five-star ski resort with gondolas and a village, but that’s the

LONGBOARD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Feb. 17 & March 17 | 12 p.m. Johnsville Historic Ski Bowl | Johnsville

whole point: to provide the community with affordable outdoor recreation. So, when I see kids hiking little, hand-shoveled jumps alongside the longboard races, Johnsville Ski Bowl in my mind is open.” After the races, everyone gathers inside the lodge to listen to the loose old-time jamming of Feather River Jubilation Orchestra, dry out by the timeworn fireplace and share another sip from the flask to warm body and soul. “It’s all about that sense of community,” says Abby Marshall. “A lot of people in younger generations are seeking that out. I grew up around here and always loved the Gold Rush history. Just like me, a lot of us moved away and have come back.” | plumasskiclub.org n

OUT & ABOUT

TheTahoeWeekly.com

EVENTS

FEB. 14-21, 2019 Beginner Splitboard Tour

Squaw Creek Skate Parties

Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 16, 18, 20, 21

Resort at Squaw Creek | Olympic Valley | Feb. 16, 19

The tour is focused on beginners, defined as a back-country enthusiast that has all the needed equipment for splitboard touring but has done so less than 10 times. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. $75 | alpenglowsports.com

Scott Rokis | Alpenglow Sports

Women’s Beginner Backcountry Tour

Mountain festival

kicks off with films

Alpenglow Sports will ring in the 2019 Winter Mountain Festival on Feb. 16 with a screening of Mountainfilm on Tour in the Olympic Village Lodge in Olympic Valley. Tickets for the screening are $12 for adults, $8 for students and $5 for ages 15 and younger. Tickets can be purchased online. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.; the show begins at 7 p.m. A raffle from Flylow will benefit the Tahoe Backcountry Alliance. A schedule of the films that will be shown is online. | mountainfilm.org Alpenglow’s annual Winter Mountain Festival is a nine-day celebration of human-powered mountain sports. This year the festival offers more than 75 individual events for beginning and intermediate skiers from back-country tours to natural history snowshoe hikes, avalanche preparedness clinics and talks from athletes. The festival runs from Feb. 16 to 24 and is almost entirely free. Register online. | alpenglowsports.com

Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 16-18

The half-day tour is designed to introduce beginners to the amazing landscape of the Lake Tahoe back country in a safe, conservative and educational manner. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. $75 | alpenglowsports.com

Beginner/Intermediate Skate Ski Clinic Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 16, 17, 20 Learn to skate ski or refine your technique with nordic guru Ben Grasseschi, operator of Tahoe XC and former Far West Nordic coach. 9-11 a.m. $25 | alpenglowsports.com

Women’s Intermediate Backcountry Tour Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 16, 19, 21

The half-day tour is designed to introduce intermediates to the amazing landscape of the Lake Tahoe back country in a safe and educational manner. 9 a.m. $75 | alpenglowsports.com

Guided Snowshoe Tours Clair Tappaan Lodge | Norden | Feb. 16

Bring snowshoes or rent a pair. The tour lasts 2 to 3 hours. Bring snacks and dress comfortably, in layers. Hot chocolate and tea will be available before and after the tour. Space is limited. | RSVP (530) 426-3632 10 a.m. $10-$20 | (530) 426-3632, facebook.com

Join a weekly-themed ice skating party every Saturday in February with a DJ. 6-9 p.m. Free | facebook.com

Full Moon Snowshoe Tour Sugar Pine Point State Park | Tahoma | Feb. 16 State Park interpreters will be leading a tour exploring the natural and cultural history around the Hellman-Ehrman estate and Sugar Pine Point State Park. 6:30-9 p.m. $25-$35 | (530) 583-9911, facebook.com

Mountainfilm on Tour Olympic Village Lodge | Olympic Valley | Feb. 16 A documentary film festival that showcases nonfiction stories about environmental, cultural, climbing, political and social justice issues that matter. 7-10 p.m. | alpenglowsports.com

Hands-On Wax Clinic Tahoe Donner Cross Country | Truckee | Feb. 16

Learn how to make your skis really fast and make your ski bases happy. Bring a pair of skis and join Toko Wax guru Roger Chaney for a hands-on glide wax clinic. | tahoedonner.com

Alpenglow Expeditions AIARE Level 1 Course Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Olympic Valley | Feb. 16-18

AIARE Level 1 certified students can expect to develop a good foundation on how to prepare for and carry out a back-country trip, to understand basic decision making while in the field and to learn avalanche rescue techniques. | (800) 403-0206, squawalpine.com

Winter Superstars Week CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

Community Snowshoe Full Moon Hikes

Snowshoe Star Tours

Valentine’s Day Snowshoe Tour

Diamond Peak Ski Resort Incline Village | Feb. 15

North Shore Lake Tahoe | Tahoe Vista | Feb. 16

Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Center Truckee | Feb. 14

Please dress for the conditions, bring a headlamp or flashlight, and book early because space is limited. Cost includes guided tour, trail pass and equipment rental (if needed). 5-7 p.m. $35-$70 | (530) 587-9484, tahoedonner.com

Mountain Host Tours Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Olympic Valley | Feb. 15-21

Join the Squaw Valley Mountain Hosts offering free Mountain Tours for intermediate or advanced skiers and riders. 9:30 a.m. | (800) 403-0206, squawalpine.com

Chronic Pain Self-Management Program Tahoe Forest Center for Health Truckee | Feb. 15

Weekly classes to learn skills to help maintain a wellness, improve quality of life; techniques to deal with frustration, fatigue and more. 1-3:30 p.m. Free | (530) 587-3769, tfhd.com

Friday Night Snow Tubing Tahoe Donner Snowplay | Truckee | Feb. 15

Bundle up to tube and sled under the lights until 6:30 p.m. 1:30-6:30 p.m. | tahoedonner.com

This event encourages exercising in an intergenerational social setting for ages 9 and older and is part of the Community Health and Wellness Outreach Initiative. Light fare available for purchase. Pre-registration is required. 5:309:30 p.m. | (775) 831-3211, diamondpeak.com

Tahoe Adventure Company and Tony Berendsen present telescopic tours of the night sky. It all starts with guided sunset snowshoeing, followed by a tour of the night sky. Suitable for ages 8 and up. Hot drinks and snacks will be served. 4-8 p.m. $85 | (530) 913-9212, tahoeadventurecompany.com

Moonlight Snowshoe Hikes

Twilight Snowshoe Tour

Diamond Peak Ski Resort Incline Village | Feb. 15

Northstar Ski Resort | Truckee | Feb. 16

Join the Community Snowshoe Hike to Diamond Peak’s Snowflake Lodge. 5:30-9:30 p.m. | (775) 832-1177, facebook.com

Enjoy a guided, evening snowshoe tour through the tree-lined forest then relax around a fire pit to enjoy s’mores and hot chocolate. Dogs on leashes are welcome. 5-7:30 p.m. | eventbrite.com

Beginner Backcountry Ski Tour Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 16-21

This half-day tour is designed to introduce beginners to the amazing landscape of the Lake Tahoe back country in a safe, conservative and educational manner. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. $75 | alpenglowsports.com

Daron Rahlves Backcountry Tour Fundraiser Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 16

Disco Tubing SnowVentures Activity Zone Olympic Valley | Feb. 16, 17

Families can spin, slide and speed down the snow tubing lanes to vibrant DJ tunes as the night is illuminated with colorful lights and lasers splashed on the mountainside. 5-7 p.m. | squawalpine.com

A memoir-writing program for seniors. 2-4 p.m. | (775) 832-4130, washoelibrary.us

Sunset Sweetheart Trek Tahoe Meadows | Stateline | Feb. 15

Enjoy wine, cheese, crackers, grapes and more. Easy to Moderate for less than 2 miles roundtrip. TRTA members only; membership open to all. 4-6:30 p.m. Free | tahoerimtrail.org

Events are for all ages and include ski and snowboard races, a weighted ski patrol sled pull, luge racing event and more. Participates can sign up on the day of the event. Visit the Web site for details. | tahoedonner.com

Alpenglow Mountain Festival Area venues | Tahoe City | Feb. 16-21

Alpenglow’s annual Winter Mountain Festival is a nine-day celebration of humanpowered mountain sports. Register online. | alpenglowsports.com

Intermediate Backcountry Ski Tour Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 17-21

The half-day tour is designed to introduce intermediates to the amazing landscape of the Lake Tahoe back country in a safe and educational manner. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. $75 | alpenglowsports.com

Backcountry Basics 101: Post Avalanche Patient Care Tahoe City Golf Course | Tahoe City | Feb. 17

Mike Krueger WMET from T3 Adventures will provide an instructional morning that will evolve your avalanche rescue skills. This instructional basics class will have a classroom and field component. 9 a.m.-12 p.m. $75 | alpenglowsports.com

Daron Rahlves is an accomplished ski racers. Four lucky people will have the opportunity to ski tour with a legend. This event is a fundraiser for the Sierra Avalanche Center. Must be an intermediate skier. 8:30 a.m. $250 | alpenglowsports.com

Snowshoe Cocktail Races

Backcountry Basics 101: AIARE Level 1 Course

Winter Fireworks

Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 16-18

Every Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Free | (800) 403-0206

Weather in the Sierra -- Forecasting and Predictability, will give attendees a look behind the scene of the National Weather Service forecasts. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free | facebook.com

Tune Clinics

PassHolder First Tracks

Start Haus | Truckee | Feb. 16

Heavenly Mountain | South Lake Tahoe | Feb. 18

Camp Richardson | South Lake Tahoe | Feb. 16 Think you have what it takes to run with a full cocktail tray in hand through obstacles up and down the beach while wearing snowshoes? 5 p.m. | camprichardson.com

Lifescapes Incline Village Library | Feb. 15

Tahoe Donner Downhill | Truckee | Feb. 16-21

Participants must possess their own avalanche safety equipment (beacon, shovel, probe) and requisite back-country touring gear (skis, splitboards, bindings, boots, skins, poles, etc.) Snowshoes are not allowed at this Mountain Festival event. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $165 | alpenglowsports.com

Village at Squaw | Olympic Valley | Feb. 16

We’ll cover an array of topics to help keep those skis sharp and fast. 6 p.m. | starthaus.com

Tailgate Talk: NOAA Forecaster Zach Tolby Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 17

Passholders to Heavenly can enjoy First Tracks every Monday morning. 8:30-9 a.m. | (775) 586-7000, facebook.com

Feb. 14-20, 2019

Educational Sunset Snowshoe

Tahoe Treks

Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 18

Incline Village Library | Feb. 19

Chris Egger will inform you of the psychological and physiological effects that nature has on us during this outing in Page Meadows. 4-6 p.m. $75 | alpenglowsports.com

OUT & ABOUT

Informational talks by Reno-Tahoe locals about their inspirational journeys far and wide. In 2016 Samantha Szescioka and her adopted mustang journeyed 1,100 miles across Nevada. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free | (775) 832-4130

Tailgate Talk: Ski Writing Workshop Beginner Snowshoe Tour

Tahoe Mill Collective | Tahoe City | Feb. 18

Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 20

In this Ski Writing workshop led by Megan Michelson, you’ll learn the art and hustle of freelance adventure writing. 6-8 p.m. $25 | alpenglowsports.com

Join us for a glorious half-day snowshoe with Tahoe Adventure Company. Time will be spent fitting and discussing gear and covering a comprehensive lesson. 9 a.m. $25 | alpenglowsports.com

Tailgate Talk: Jess Barker Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 18

Following a successful ski racing and big mountain freeskiing careers, she began to travel farther around the globe to seek out wild places and aesthetic ski lines. 6:30 p.m. Free | alpenglowsports.com

Full Moon snowshoe tour Area venues | South Lake Tahoe | Feb. 19

Backcountry Basics 101 Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 20

This Backcountry Basics 101 focuses on what to wear in the back country, as well as mandatory equipment including ski pack, avalanche beacon, shovel, probe and more. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. $25 | alpenglowsports.com

Natural History Snowshoe Tour

Enjoy amazing illumination in the forest, occasionally challenging to see stars, constellations, satellites and space junk 12 a.m.-7:30 p.m. | tahoesnowshoetours.com

Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 20

A Tahoe Institute for Natural Science representative will lead the hike and discuss natural history issues related to winter ecology. 9 a.m.-12 p.m. $25 | alpenglowsports.com

Intro to Ski Mountaineering Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 19

Designed to take back-country skiers into the big mountains. Taking his experience from skiing on the highest peaks of the world, Adrian Ballinger has distilled the important foundational ski-mountaineering skills into one, action-packed day. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. $75 | alpenglowsports.com

Tailgate Talk: Noah Howell Alpenglow Sports | Tahoe City | Feb. 20

Last spring it all came together for Adam Fabrikant and Noah Howell on the 14,573 foot Begguya (Mount Hunter) in the Central Alaska Range. Howell talks about the trip. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free | alpenglowsports.com

55+ Snowshoe Hikes Chickadee Ridge Snowshoe Hike

Area Venue | Incline Village | Feb. 19

Mt. Rose | Incline Village | Feb. 21

Trekkers of all abilities are welcome to join IVGID Senior programs for a weekly light to moderate level snowshoe hike at various locations throughout the Tahoe area. 10 a.m.2 p.m. | (775) 832-1310, yourtahoeplace.com

This short and scenic hike will take you through Tahoe Meadows for scenic vistas of the Lake. 9 a.m.-12 p.m. | tinsweb.org

Backcountry Basics 101: Beacon Skills

Backcountry Basics 101: Avalanche Report/Beacon Essentials

Tahoe City Golf Course | Tahoe City | Feb. 19

Tahoe City Golf Course | Feb. 21

Join Jason Layh and PIEPS for an afternoon of beacon practice. This is a perfect event for those just getting into back-country travel in order to cover beacon basics. 1-3 p.m. $25

Join Alpenglow Sports beacon specialist Jason Layh and PIEPS for an afternoon of beacon practice. This is a perfect event for those just getting into back-country travel in order to cover beacon basics. 1-3 p.m. $25 | alpenglowsports.com

Virtual Reality in the Library Truckee Library | Truckee | Feb. 21

Full Moon Snowshoe Tour Tahoe Adventure Company | Tahoe Vista | Feb. 19 Join a Full Moon Snowshoe Tours through the brisk mountain air of Tahoe’s pristine forests. 4:30-7:30 p.m. $70 | (530) 913-9212, tahoeadventurecompany.com

Experience Virtual Reality with the Oculus Rift. For ages 8 and older. 4-5 p.m. Free | (530) 582-7846, madelynhelling.evanced.info

Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series Olympic Village Lodge Olympic Valley | Feb. 21

North Shore Networking Mixer The Local | Incline Village | Feb. 19

Tahoe Regional Young Professionals North Shore Mixer. TRYP members are free and nonmembers are $10. 5:30-8 p.m. | facebook.com

Presenting Brittany Griffith, ubiquitous on the world climbing circuit for two decades. Known for her diverse climbing ability and her black belt in tae kwon do. 6:30-9 p.m. | (800) 403-0206, alpenglowsports.com

Visit the Event Calendar at TheTahoeWeekly.com for a complete list of events.

MARKETPLACE Call (530) 546-5995, ext. 110, to be included in Marketplace.

Advertise in MARKETPLACE

Color

1 col x 2” $60 | 2 col x 2” $100 All ads included in free digital edition.

SV Snow Removal

❄ Squaw Valley / Alpine Meadows ❄ 12 years experience ❄ Local references ❄ We use shovels & snow blowers Call Bob at (530) 412-2703

ADULT TICKETs

$89

starting at WITH A 3-DAY PEAK PASS

KIDS

byop

6 & UNDER SKI FREE

$20 off adult ticket

Bring Your Other Pass Deal

Upcoming Events:

2/15: Moonlight Snowshoe Hike 3/9: Interpretive Ski Tour 3/10 Retro Ski Day & Passholder Party 3/10 Village Ski Loft Demo Day

Purchase lift tickets & rentals online: DiamondPeak.com 9

FAMILY FUN

TheTahoeWeekly.com

Family FUN

Roll inside at Bowl Incline

FOR THE KIDS FEB. 14-21, 2019

STORY & PHOTOS BY MICHELLE ALLEN

he Tahoe Truckee region is, without a doubt, one of the greatest outdoor playgrounds. Whatever the season, this area offers many activities for all ages to explore. And if you love Tahoe in the winter, then you love playing in the snow. But the storms that bring the snow can also prevent us from enjoying the snow. Snowstorms bring gusty winds, rain and heavy, wet snow (Sierra cement), all of which are not the best conditions for travel or for playing outside.

Mother Goose on the Loose South Lake Tahoe Library South Lake Tahoe | Feb. 14, 21

Jump start your child’s brain development with this award-winning program that combines music, movement and literature. 10:30 a.m. | (530) 573-3185, engagedpatrons.org

Toddler Story Time Incline Village Library Incline Village | Feb. 14, 21

With stories, puppets, music and movement for ages 18 months to 3 years. 11:1511:45 a.m. | (775) 832-4130

A great place for

Paws2Read Incline Village Library Incline Village | Feb. 14

family fun any day,

Children can practice reading to friendly therapy dogs and receive a free book. All ages welcome. 4-5 p.m. | (775) 832-4130, washoecountylibrary.us

Bowl Incline is especially inviting

Astro-Poetry Contest Tahoe Star Tours | Truckee | Feb. 14-21

on a stormy day. On a recent Saturday morning, during a wet snowstorm, my family was debating what to do for the day. Usually this conversation involves options like snowmobiling, skiing, sledding or ice skating. But it was raining outside, and the weather forecast called for heavy, wet snow by afternoon. It was not appealing to venture outside. My husband, Luke, had the idea to go to Bowl Incline in Incline Village, Nev. A great place for family fun any day, Bowl Incline is especially inviting on a stormy day. With 16 wooden bowling lanes, 10 billiard tables, a variety of arcade games, video poker machines and a golf simulator, Bowl Incline has something for every member of the family. As we arrive, I notice the bowling lanes are almost full and there are several families playing arcade games. My son Anikin hops on the motorcycle racing game, moving side to side to navigate the turns in the race. He races for a while but has more fun crashing into the sides of the course and into other racers, “just to see what happens.” Luke and Anikin make their way around the arcade playing pinball and other games like Pac-Man and car racing. They eventually run out of quarters and move onto a few rounds of air hockey. Getting annoyed that Luke keeps winning, Anikin gets bored and they decide to play pool. On the other side of the bar from the arcade area is Bowl Incline’s billiard room. The billiard room is equipped with beautiful, professional pool tables and all the necessary equipment. It also includes an electronic jukebox that is easy to use and has a wide variety of music. We put on Anikin’s favorite song,

Early Literacy Storytime AC/DC’s “T-N-T” (at the age of 3, Anikin swap-ped T-N-T for D-A-D). I watch as Luke teaches Anikin how to hold the cue stick and hit the ball properly. As they play, Luke gives him pointers on how to aim and sink a shot. Not long after, Anikin’s attention waivers and he tries to roll the balls by hand into the ball return. We collect the balls and return them to the staff. We debate whether we should bowl or not but instead decide to get lunch. We will come back for bowling some other time. We choose Jason’s Beachside Grille in Kings Beach, which features American traditional food in a beautiful lakeside location. The wood details throughout the restaurant remind me of an old Tahoe cabin. There is even a sunken waiting area that wraps around a gas firepit which adds to the charm and warmth. We sit down in a cozy booth close to the firepit and order burgers and chicken strips for Anikin. In my opinion, a meal at Jason’s is not complete without a trip to their delicious salad bar. Stocked with lots of fresh vegetables, salad toppings and a variety of pasta and potato salads, the salad bar can be added to a meal or be a meal by itself. At the end of the day, we feel grateful for the time we got out of the house and spent time together as a family. We head home ready to hunker down before the impending blizzard arrives.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The bowling lanes at Bowl

Incline; Anikin enjoys the video games; Playing pool in the billiards room.

Bowl Incline is also a fun and inexpensive place for a party. They operate on a first-come, first-served basis take reservations for parties of 20 or more. There is no food service (other than a vending machine) but they allow outside food and have a full bar. Check online for information on bowling leagues, the Pro Shop and specials. (look for the coupon for Bowl Incline in this edition). | bowlincline.com 

South Lake Tahoe Library South Lake Tahoe | Feb. 15

Build a child’s pre-reading skills with this engaging and interactive program designed to support a child’s early literacy development for a lifelong love of reading and learning. Suitable for children ages 3 to 5 with parents and caregivers.10:30 a.m. Free | (530) 5753185, engagedpatrons.org

Young Readers Society: Teen Chapter Word After Word Books | Truckee | Feb. 15

The Teen Chapter of the Young Readers Society Book Club is held the third Friday of each month. Book Club selections will be announced the month before. Recommended ages 13 to 17. 5:30-6:30 p.m. | wordafterwordbooks.com

Teen Scene

FAMILY INDOOR OUTINGS Bowling at Bowl Incline in Incline Village & Tahoe Bowl in South Lake Indoor swimming pools in Incline Village, South Lake & Truckee

Kahle Community Center Stateline | Feb. 15

Kids in grades 6-12 can shoot hoops, play volleyball, climb the rock wall and play arcade or video games. 6:30-9 p.m. $5 | (775) 586-7271

Indoor ice skating at Tahoe Arena in South Lake

Friday Fun Nights

Indoor climbing walls in Incline Village, South Lake, Squaw Valley & Truckee

Join the fun in the heart of the Village as the disco lights surround the ice skating rink every Friday night with drink specials, complimentary face painting and live music. | (800) 466-6784, northstarcalifornia.com

Tahoe Tot Spot play center in South Lake KidZone Museum in Truckee

Northstar California Resort Truckee | Feb. 15

FAMILY FUN

Jan. 10-23, 2019

FOR THE KIDS MAKE TRACKS TO TAHOE XC THIS SEASON

Courtesy Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Photo Credit | Photographer?

FREE SKIING

FOR YOUTH UNDER

19,

AND ADULTS

70+

T AHOE XC . ORG | 530-583-5475 | 925 C OUNTRY C LUB D R , T AHOE C IT Y

Kids’ extravaganza of fun Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows offer a weeklong kids’ extravaganza, Kid-O-Rama, from Feb. 16 to 24. Kid-O-Rama offers non-stop fun for kids of all ages. There’s a Kids Crafts & Game Room open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day to allow children to get creative and try new crafts, play games and mingle. Ski and family movies are shown each day with free popcorn. Families can enjoy different activities, such as snow tubing, disco tubing, face painting, carnival games, fireworks and s’mores aprés parties and events, such as Big Truck Day (Feb. 18), Kids Juggling Day (Feb. 21) and Dress-Up Day (Feb. 23). A daily schedule is online. | squawalpine.com

Kids Night Out

Teen Tuesdays

Northwoods Clubhouse | Truckee | Feb. 16

Incline Village Library Incline Village | Feb. 19

Kids ages 4-9 are invited to an evening of fun at Northwoods Clubhouse while parents enjoy a night on the town. 5-9 p.m. | tahoedonner.com

Offers kids a fun way to explore different ways to learn about technology. A new activity each week. 4-5 p.m. Free | (775) 832-4130, libraryaware.com

Kid-O-Rama Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Olympic Valley | Feb. 16-21

Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows offers a weeklong kids’ extravaganza. Kid-O-Rama offers non-stop fun for kids of all ages. Check out the Big Truck Event featuring fire trucks, snowplows and grooming machines. There are also street parties and kids’ concerts, a game and craft room and more. | (800) 403-0206, squawalpine.com

Peak2Peak Family Fun Race Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Olympic Valley | Feb. 20

Join the 3rd annual SAF Peak2Peak Family Fun Race. This race is fun for the whole family and the proceeds benefit Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Foundation. For kids and adults of any age, regardless of experience. 10 a.m.-12 p.m. | (800) 403-0206, squawalpine.com

Weird Science Wednesdays Presidents’ Break Kahle Community Center Stateline | Feb. 19-21

Incline Village Library Incline Village | Feb. 20

Enjoy school break with field trips, games, crafts and fun. 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Come join the fun and experiment with weird wacky science. 4 p.m. | (775) 832-4130, washoecountylibrary.us

Preschool Story Time

RUFF, Read Up for Fun

Kings Beach Library Kings Beach | Feb. 19

Truckee Library | Truckee | Feb. 20

The Kings Beach Library hosts a Preschool Storytime every Tuesday from 10:3011am. Each week has a different theme. In a lively, silly and casual environment kids work on multi-sensory pre-literacy skills. Stop by for loads of fun, and read books, sing songs, learn nursery rhymes, and do a fun and easy crafts. 10:30-11 a.m. Free | (530) 546-2021, placer.ca.gov

We accept Visa or Mastercard. Reservations required. Morning flights only for best weather conditions. The earlier, the better. All flights are weather permitting. 48 hour cancellation policy. Flights are from Carson City Airport.

Let the

Good Times Snow

at Granlibakken

Best in Snow

Family fun is right outside your door at Granlibakken Tahoe. Affordable skiing, snowboarding, and sledding in Tahoe City. Lessons & Rentals available. Lodging guests receive half-priced sledding passes and full-day lift tickets.

2 for 1

Entrėes Cedar House Pub Open Thursday-Sunday 5-9 PM Open daily during holiday periods. 2-for-1 entrees every Thursday & Sunday* Excludes holiday periods

The Truckee Library has joined forces with the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe to bring the RUFF (Read Up For Fun) Program to children in the library. Children can practice their reading skills by reading aloud to trained therapy animals. 4-5 p.m. Free | (530) 5827846, truckeefol.org

S’morey Time Village at Northstar | Truckee | Feb. 21

Gather ‘round the fire pit and listen to the story of how Tahoe came to be while roasting s’mores and enjoying warm beverages. Fun for the whole family. 6 p.m. | northstarcalifornia.com

530-583-4242 | Granlibakken.com 11

FUN & GAMES

TheTahoeWeekly.com

Horoscopes

FIRE

EARTH

AIR

WATER

Puzzles

Michael O’Connor is an astrologer, counselor and life coach | SunStarAstrology.com

Aquarius (Jan 19-Feb 19)

A pioneering cycle over the past few weeks will continue yet will likely slow down for the next several. Yet, some major shifts are destined to occur soon. Some of these already began last year. At worst you feel as though you are in foreign territory. At best, you are excited about the prospects. It might until April for these to more fully manifest, but they will…

Leo (Jul 22-Aug 23)

Your relationship life has been expanding. This could also manifest as your social network, whether online or out in the world. Now you are poised to take a deeper dive. This will bring about measurable, if subtle, changes. Although you are in a playful and adventurous mood generally, you are expected to give more these days and this includes investments into education.

Pisces (Feb 19-Mar 20)

You are getting ready to explore new lands. These may be outer and literal but could also include inner regions you have only dreamed of discovering. Already you are pushing to make things happen. The real work will begin in spring, yet a momentum is building, if only in your mind and emotions. Now is the time to plan and prepare.

Virgo (Aug 23-Sep 22)

Your relationship life is about to enter into an expansive phase. If you have the opportunity, this is an ideal window to escape for a while. Combining the two, getting away on a romantic holiday is an ideal prospect. Doing so could contribute to feeling more confident about yourself, your relationship and your life in general.

Aries (Mar 21-Apr 20)

You have become fully aware that it is time to enter new territory. Although you are happy to proceed slowly, your pace is sure. Yet, with each step forward you are also realizing the incline is getting steeper. Like a true mountain pass, it is not all uphill neither and some of the challenges are in the descent. As your goal now is not the peak so much as a place you can call home.

Taurus (Apr 20-May 21)

Mars in your sign now will shift you into high gear. Ambitions to be seen, heard, acknowledged and rewarded too are also therefore strong. Yet, you are probably wise to take action right now if this is your desire because the Sun in Pisces as of February 19th may have a deflating effect in this regard. However, the Pisces influence will activate desires to share quality time with friends.

Libra (Sep 22-Oct 22)

Hopefully, you have taken the opportunity to be more playful of late. If not, you might want to get in some R & R soon. A busier cycle is about to resume. Already you may find that you are busier in your life, partially due to the task of attending to more fronts than before. This could prove quite satisfying yet be sure to weave fun into the plot.

Scorpio (Oct 22-Nov 21)

Changes and fresh starts close to home have been keeping you busy. These include increase financially and could also manifest as focusing on where and how to invest. This can include renovations close to home as well as key purchases as opposed to stock, bonds or other business interests. Yet, your ambitions are rising so the prospect of risk ventures is there.

Gemini (May 21-Jun 21)

Many changes are occurring both inside and out. Of course, change is always happening. Yet some cycles are more rapid and turbulent than others. Somehow, you have entered a cycle of ending and completion, of death and rebirth. This can prove to be liberating and empowering. Yet, it can also bring sorrow and pain. You yearn for stability.

Sagittarius (Nov 21-Dec 21)

Increase and expansion continue, and, in many ways, this is affecting your perspectives on things. Circumstances may be pushing you to see a bigger picture, to plan for the long-term future. Lifestyle changes are implied. You will have to work a little harder to establish new rhythms and momentums, though, and this could include learning how.

Cancer (Jun 21-Jul 22)

You are poised to enter new territory. Whether literal or figurative, it could come about as a rebellious and/or adventurous determination. Your confidence levels could remain a challenge and you may, the short term, be happy to think and dream more than act. If you do take the initiative, rather than a spontaneous approach, a deliberate pace will prevail.

Capricorn (Dec 21-Jan 19)

You have begun to build on new foundations. This comes after a long stretch of major changes on the home front and with family dynamics and structures. Now you are entering a time when you are meant to be innovative and design a whole new approach. In the short term, this can manifest as a rebellious push to break through inner resistance and outer restriction.

CryptoQuip

When a person who’s replying is truly melancholy, you might call him a despondent respondent.

Hocus Focus differences: 1. Lady’s hat is different, 2. Boy is smiling, 3. House window is different, 4. Stone wall has become a fence, 5. Mom’s collar is different, 6. Mom’s nose is changed.

Feb. 14-20, 2019

FEATURE

SIERRA STORIES BY MARK McLAUGHLIN

Ope ration Haylift, Miracle in the Sky | P a r t I I tion Haylift’s effectiveness became evident, the Senate Interior Affairs Committee passed an emergency fund of $750,000 to help rescue snowbound livestock in Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana. As February began, Nevadans hoping for a break in the crippling cold wave were doomed to disappointment. On Feb. 5 and 6, the biggest storm of the winter slammed the Sierra and spilled into the Silver State. The 57 inches of snow that smothered Donner Pass closed U.S. Highway 40 (now Interstate 80) for nearly a day. Reno

Officials decided that

ew Nevada winters have been as brutal as that of 1948-49, when towering snowdrifts and record cold waves shut down the state’s major highways and isolated many rural communities. Seventy years ago, the elements nearly decimated Nevada’s livestock industry as cattle and sheep became helplessly snowbound. Twentieth-century Nevadans had never seen anything like it. Thousands of state, federal and military personnel participated in Operation Haylift, a massive relief effort using C-82 cargo airplanes known as Flying Boxcars to save more than 100,000 head of starving livestock throughout Nevada’s rangeland. Most of the ranchers in trouble were in eastern and southeastern Nevada, encompassing an area half as large as Ohio. The goal was to save an estimated 35,000 head of cattle and 100,000 sheep marooned in White Pine, Nye and Lincoln counties. Ely rancher and spokesman for the United Stockmen’s Association of Eastern Nevada George Swallow led the effort to organize a relief effort. Nevada senator Pat McCarran offered immediate support. He called Swallow and asked, “What kind of help and equipment do you need?” Swallow told him, “We need an airlift of C-82 cargo planes.” E X C L U S I V E C O N T E N T AT

TheTahoeWeekly.com Read Part I at TheTahoeWeekly.com

Thirty minutes later, Swallow received another call from Washington, D.C. This time it was Air Force Lt. General Lauris Norstad. He asked about the plan of operations. Swallow had no plan but off the top of his head he outlined and detailed the logistics needed to accomplish the task. Later, Swallow said, “After I got off the phone, I bowed my head in prayer, saying, ‘I hope to God it works.’ ” Officials decided that hundreds of tons of hay and feed would be loaded on the giant transport planes in Fallon and Minden and flown to operation headquarters in Ely. From there, the supplies would be trucked into the snowbound sections of the Silver State. News reporters from around the country descended on Ely and the town’s bars, restaurants, hotels and two houses of prostitution did a gangbuster business. On Jan. 24, 1949, six Flying Boxcars landed at the Ely airport, followed by 22 more planes over the next two days. Anxious ranchers scrambled to unload the planes.

Courtesy Eastern Nevada Historic Photo Archives

In addition to the truck convoys, Air Force pilots from McClellan Airfield outside Sacramento flew over the Sierra to Minden to pick up the hay and then off to eastern Nevada to make their deliveries. The skies around Ely and Elko droned with low-cruising transport planes. During most runs, a local rancher familiar with the area to be “bombed” rode alongside the navigators. Up to three “pushers,” each secured by a harness, were stationed near an open door at the tail of the plane. The pilot guided his Flying Boxcar over the target at 200 feet and then slowed to 130 to 140 mph. When the navigator signaled “Drop,” the pushers shoved the bales out the door. The payload usually hit within 50 to 75 feet of the stranded livestock. Most of the bales burst upon impact and the cattle were often eating by the time the plane made a second pass. The system worked well — except for a few mishaps. An air delivery in Spring Valley, north of Pioche, went awry when a bale crashed through the roof of a rancher’s wash house, demolishing a new electric clothes washer. His wife threatened divorce. Animals were accidental targets, too. A Flying Boxcar was assigned to help sheepherder Tony Perez, who was isolated with his flock east of Eureka on Pancake Flats. Perez had been fighting the snow for weeks and his sheep were starving. As the pilot descended over Perez’s flock, the pusher shoved several bales of hay overboard. The compact bales, each weighing 100 pounds, rocketed to the ground. Unfortunately, one of Perez’s burros happened to be standing directly under the lethal bomb of dried feed. His burro, which for several years had patiently packed equipment for the sheepherder, never knew what hit him and died instantly. Then the deadly bale bounced another 12 feet, mortally wounding Perez’s other burro. After witnessing two mules killed with one bale of hay, a stunned observer remarked, “That’s one for Ripley’s.” Airport personnel, ranchers and ranch hands, as well as state transportation, Air Force and Army officials worked together as the rescue effort kicked into high gear. Other emergency activities were performed by members of the Nevada and California National Guard units and also by the Army’s ground-transportation support units. These truckers, many of whom were African American, fought icy roads and life-threatening weather conditions to haul hay throughout the region. As Opera-

hundreds of tons of hay and feed would be loaded on the giant transport planes in Fallon and Minden and flown to operation headquarters in Ely. received only 1 inch of snow, but 70-mph winds generated blizzard conditions. Virtually every road in northern Nevada was soon blocked by drifts. Haylift operations were suspended due to impossible flying conditions. In Ely, George Swallow told

reporters, “The situation is desperate. Right now, we’re in the worst condition we’ve been in since the emergency began.” Over the course of 25 days, the pilots and crewmen of the Flying Boxcars flew 270,000 miles and dropped 2,000 tons of baled hay in their effort to save Nevada’s livestock. Amazingly not one accident or injury occurred to any pilot, crew member or plane. The epic winter of 1948-49 is still the coldest ever recorded in the Silver State and snowfall was almost double normal. The extreme cold wave even reached southern California where it snowed on Catalina Island and snowball fights broke out in Pasadena. Ely ranchers estimated that 300,000 head of livestock, mostly sheep, had been fed from the sky. In late April, stockmen confirmed that 35 percent of the cattle and 25 percent of the sheep in eastern Nevada had succumbed to the deadly weather. Roughly 25,000 cattle were thought dead along with 7,000 sheep. The loss was substantial, but there was no doubt among Nevada ranchers that Operation Haylift had prevented economic disaster. The airlift was later immortalized in the movie Operation Haylift, released in 1950. n Tahoe historian Mark McLaughlin is a nationally published author and professional speaker. His award-winning books are available at local stores or at thestormking.com. You may reach him at mark@ thestormking.com. Check out his blog at tahoenuggets.com or read more at TheTahoeWeekly.com. Click on History under the Explore Tahoe tab.

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FEATURE

TheTahoeWeekly.com

A DREAM LAND BEYOND

HUCKLEBERRY GATES PHOTOS & STORY BY SEAN MCALINDIN

Some tricky navigation through heavy crud underneath wind-sculpted trees soon opens onto a steep, untouched powder face followed by a flawless field of snow pillows fit for a giant.

Feb. 14-20, 2019

t was a cool, crisp January morning as we pulled into the Sierra-at-Tahoe parking lot on Echo Pass. After 7 feet of snow in seven days, the ski patrol finally opened Huckleberry Gates backcountry zone. “Every single day they assess it,” says resort spokesperson Sarah Sherman. “If there’s a hard layer in the morning, they might wait until afternoon to open it. If it’s sloughing in the afternoon, they might shut it down early. It usually closes by 2:30 p.m. each day to allow for a full sweep.” The extra hour and a half of sweep time makes sense when you consider the scale of the 320-acre zone, which covers several distinct drainage systems and subpeaks. It’s definitely not somewhere you would ever want to ski alone. We board Grandview Express and a short ride later we stand atop panoramic views spanning Lake Tahoe, the Crystal Range, Carson Pass and the Mokelumne Wilderness. A jaunt down Wagon Trail leads to Gate 5 and access to the outer reaches of 8,852-foot Huckleberry Mountain. We alternately boot pack and skate ski for about 20 minutes until we reach the east end of the ridge. Looking back down the half-mile-long continuous cliff band, it’s easy to see why extreme big-mountain, freeskiing competitions are sometimes held here. We wrap around the far end of the precipice through evenly spaced glades until arriving at the base of the north-facing crags. It’s still morning so the snow in the shade is crusty and variable, but on emerging from shadows into sunshine, Sierra cement softens into a perfectly carveable, 6-inch layer of midwinter corn. Below us extends vast wide-open meadows of snow dotted with Charlie Brown Christmas trees set on gentle rollers. We spray snow and catch air as we descend the valley into the dark forests below. The lower sections of Gate 5 consist of steep, dense, old-growth interspersed with polished granite boulders and sudden

OPPOSITE: Looking out across

the back-country zone from Huckleberry Peak toward the summit of the ski area.

pillow drops. I pop some rocks and make hot turns through the trees and onto the groomed cat track below with snow steaming from my free heels. From here, it’s a solid 30-minute hike along the snowmobile path to the gratifying moment when you can reliably keep your boards on for the rest of the ride down the fast, curvy trail through the woods along the northern ski-area boundary and back home. For back-country skiers heading deep into Gate 5, a light pair of skins is probably worth the effort; but for splitboarders, the transition time between hiking and riding probably outweighs any time or effort you might save. Although beacons, shovels and probes are not required in Huckleberry Gates, they are highly recommended as is skiing with a reliable partner or two. For round two, we enter at Gate 3, just off the summit of the resort. Some tricky navigation through heavy crud underneath wind-sculpted trees soon opens onto a steep, untouched powder face followed by a flawless field of snow pillows fit for a giant. We sculpt the supple slope without regard to gravity, slashing at faces and bounding over colossal snow-covered boulders. A swift, meandering trail at the bottom takes us around the northwest-facing cliffs through a frozen arena of obstacles and options. “Don’t get greedy, right,” advises a local snowboarder. “And if there aren’t tracks there, don’t go there. You haven’t discovered anything new.” After dropping a few more steep faces laden with virgin snow, we end up back on the cat track most of the way up from Gate 5’s faraway finish. This calls for lunch at 360 Smokehouse BBQ with its sweeping views and Doc Watson bluegrass radio before we set out to explore the rest of an oft-forgotten Sierra Nevada gem. In addition to Huckleberry Gates back country, Sierra-at-Tahoe is known for its steep, old-growth, glade skiing, its silky smooth groomers and its varied freestyle terrain parks. We cruise down Sweet ‘n’ Spicy, a 2.5-mile trail for all levels, before cutting onto the swerving backside boardercross

course of blue square Smokey. A quick ride up Short Stuff leads us to the top of The Alley freestyle terrain park where we take a couple laps on the mammoth kickers that fortunately tolerate forgiving side-hip jumps as you build progression toward clearing the 30-foot tabletops. Beneath us, a crew of locals rages down together, launching slow-motion helicopters and iron-cross backflips in synchronization as if they do it every day. A super-fast, tear-jerking ripper down Beaver leads us to the bottom of West Bowl from where we make our way back

FEATURE

to base camp. By the time we reach the top of our third and final run beyond Huckleberry, the steep upper bowls of Gate 4 have been closed, so we explore the lower Gates 1 and 2, succeeding somehow in coming out just about where we don’t have to do any hiking at all. There are so many mini-zones out here, you could get lost forever exploring the infinite possibilities. A few more powder turns and rock drops later, it’s the perfect ending to a day that leaves me slightly sore and pining for the next adventure to come. | sierraattahoe.com n

TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: 1 Sarah Sherman sends it into the valley on untouched snow; 2 Entering Huckleberry Gate No. 5 and the beginning of the ridge hike; 3 Michael Maher is all smiles after a dream ride through Neverland.

THE ARTS

TheTahoeWeekly.com

Arts

& CULTURE

CREATIVE AWARENESS

Mt. Rose’s makers

Logo design contest open Entries are being accepted for Auburn Ski Club’s Junior Nationals Logo Contest to celebrate the 2020 U.S. Ski and Snowboard XC Junior Nationals being held at ASC from March 7 to 14, 2020. The contest is open to everyone and entries are being accepted until March 1. All rights of the winning logo usage will transfer to ASC with the artist getting design credit, $100 and a free ASC XC season pass for the 2019-20 season. A final decision by the committee will be announced by April 1. Details online. | auburnskiclub.com

S T O R Y B Y K AY L A A N D E R S O N

any ski resort employees spend their days on the slopes and their spare time finding ways to augment their salaries with side hustles, such as making homegrown salsa, functional glass art and custom metal structures — as these three current Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe employees have. Ski patroller Shelbie Ebert, marketing specialist Amory Harris and bartender Kristin Inman have figured out how to have daytime jobs with a ski resort and side businesses that go hand in hand.

Astro-Poetry contest

ABOVE: Armory Harris of Snø cät; LEFT: Creations

by Kristin Iman of Kizmit Concepts

“I’ve been making them for as long as I can remember. I hate wearing stuff around my face that’s tight; buffs drive me crazy. But I wanted something warm that would stand on its own to be able to layer with other articles of clothing,” she says. Harris has also been fostering kittens for 10 years through the Nevada Humane Society, which is where the name Snø cät came from. She regularly donates a portion of her neck warmer sales to various animal nonprofit organizations. | snocatcozy.com

Tahoe Star Tours announces the call for poems for the 2019 Astro-Poetry Contest. Poems can be submitted anytime until April 14 from students in elementary to high school. Poems must have an astronomy theme and be 20 lines or less. Poems will be judged by a panel in three divisions: Kindergarten through Grade 2, Grade 3 through 6, and Grades 7 through 12. Entrants need not be from the Tahoe region. Winners will be contacted by e-mail and announced on April 22; an awards ceremony will be on April 27 at The Discovery in Reno, Nev. First prize is a Celestron Telescope, second prize is binoculars and third prize is tickets to the Cosmoarium at Northstar California. Details are available online. | Tahoe Star Tours on Facebook

KIZMIT CONCEPTS

TOP: Shelbie Ebert riding the Chutes. Her beanie

is under her helmet. | Courtesy Shelbie Ebert; ABOVE: Jane Patterson and Jessie LaPonzina in

LahLah Designs beanies. | Courtesy Shelbie Ebert

LAHLAH DESIGNS Shelbie Ebert may be scouting out The Chutes on her snowboard as a patroller by day, but she also makes and wears her own LahLah Designs hand-knit beanies that come with a twist. Ebert wore a knit beanie with built-in headphones that she made while working as a lift operator at a ski resort in Colorado. She wore it every day, all winter long and people started to ask about them. Thus, LahLah Designs was born. “It’s great to have a little music, so I started looking at sound systems and found Acoustic Sheep,” she says. Working during the day and making beanies by hand at night, Ebert made about 30 to 40 knit beanies with sound systems per year when a friend suggested outsourcing the production to a group of women in Nepal. The women could knit in their spare time and get paid fair wages helping LahLah Designs produce three times as much per year. 16

“They’re way better quality than what I can make,” says Ebert. “I’m passionate about the product; I wear them snowboarding, shoveling, going on walks, doing anything really.” | lahlahdesigns.com

SNØ CÄT If you visit Amory Harris’ Web site, you will immediately get a sense of where her passions lie. As the daughter of an outdoor clothing designer, Harris has been sewing her whole life and as she got older, she started making cozy fleece-lined neck warmers for herself, friends and family. Last winter, when she was hired at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe, she made a bunch and sold them at the employee craft fair. She can be outdoors during the day and sew neck warmers at night. Along with people finding out about them via word of mouth in the Tahoe community, people also find her Web site through her large social-media presence.

Kristin Inman has been bartending at Mt. Rose for years, but she has also always tapped into her creative side. Whenever you see her slinging drinks at the Timbers Bar, it’s likely that she’ll have on a pair of earrings or jewelry she made herself that are unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Inman has recently taken her artwork to new heights, integrating alcohol inks into her designs. She took a graphic design class at Truckee Meadows Community College but was instead drawn to alcohol inks. She started experimenting with more abstract styles and watched a ton of YouTube videos, learning how the inks react with each other and the Yupo paper she paints on. Inman began making drink coasters and wall art; two years ago, Revision Brewing Company in Sparks used her art on three of its beer cans. She has been making jewelry since she was a child, stringing hemp and glass beads together or using guitar picks in her craft. Inman got into making Christmasornament earrings during the holidays and started applying the alcohol-ink technique to them to give them a marbled look. She sells a lot of them through work, Instagram and Wyld Market events in Reno. Along with perfecting her technique, Inman teaches alcohol-ink classes in the Reno-Tahoe community and hosts art parties at people’s homes. | Kizmit Concepts on Facebook n

After Audubon: Art, Observations and Natural Science Nevada Museum of Art Reno | Feb. 14-April 21

Contemporary artists such as Penelope Gottlieb, Kara Maria and Donald Farnsworth pick up from where John James Audubon left off in new, celebratory and sometimes critical ways. | (775) 329-3333, nevadaart.org

Beating the Odds, One Dog at a Time Artists Co-Op Gallery of Reno Reno | Feb. 14-28

The Artists Co-Op Gallery of Reno holds its art show fundraiser benefiting the Canine Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary. The show runs until Feb. 28. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. | (775) 322-8896

Bethany Laranda Wood: The West at Hand Nevada Museum of Art Reno | Feb. 14-March 3

While working in the field with the Land Arts Program of the American West, Bethany Wood collected images and impressions of major land features, such as Spiral Jetty and the Bingham Copper Pit. Her works take some of the largest land interventions in the West and transforms them into small intricate sculptures. | (775) 329-3333, nevadaart.org

Feb. 14-20, 2019

Arts

THE

Empty Bowls/Open Studio Ogres-Holm Pottery Carson City | Feb. 19-April 2

Create a bowl to donate to charity. Instruction will be offered to create and paint a bowl or create something on our own during open studio session. 6-8:30 p.m. | visitcarsoncity.com

THE ANCIENT ART OF

Knitting Group

BASKETRY

Atelier | Truckee | Feb. 19-Dec. 31

The group is open to all knitters, crocheters, loom artists every Tuesday. whatever your thread, you are welcome. This is a not a class. 4-6 p.m. | (530) 386-2700, ateliertruckee.com

Local artist Karey Dodge shares her passion for the ancient art of basketry in a Pine Needle Basket Weaving workshop on Feb. 21 at North Tahoe Arts. Students will learn simple stitches and techniques to create a basket that they will then embellish with gemstones, feathers and beads. Baskets will be finished and ready to take home at the end of the day. No experience is necessary, and materials are included in the price; the workshop from noon to 4 p.m. is $55 for NTA members and $65 for nonmenbers. Teens are welcome to attend. | northtahoearts.com

Call To College Artists North Tahoe Arts | Tahoe City | Feb. 14-15

Call to college artists. North Tahoe Arts will be holding an exhibit in Corison Gallery featuring college-level artists (undergrad and graduate) from the Tahoe/Reno/Carson area. Applicants must be currently enrolled in an arts program at an area college. | (530) 5812787, northtahoearts.com

THE ARTS

Gathering of Artists North Tahoe Arts | Tahoe City | Feb. 20-April 15 This free program offers artists the opportunity to meet other artists and work together in a shared studio space. | (530) 581-2787, northtahoearts.com

International Film Weekend Carson City Community Center | Feb. 21-23

This special weekend consists of free afternoon and evening film viewings followed by informal discussion. 3-8 p.m. | visitcarsoncity.com

Oscar Shorts Film Festival Joe Crowley Student Union, UNR Reno | Feb. 21-24

Untitled Karey Dodge | North Tahoe Arts Center “Home Means Nevada”

Ann Johnston: Quilts of the Sierra Nevada

Nevada Legislature Senate Carson City | Feb. 14-July 25

Nevada Museum of Art | Reno | Feb. 16-May 19

“Home Means Nevada” will start its journey in the hallways of the Nevada Legislature during the 2019 session. The exhibition features the works of 15 contemporary photographers. The exhibit highlights treasures found on federally managed lands across the state. | travelnevada.com

Johnston’s quilts make creative use of patterns and textures to create literal, abstract, and sometimes completely imaginative representations of the area. | (775) 329-3333, nevadaart.org

Showing the 2019 Oscar-Nominated Short Films for documentary films. 7-9:30 p.m. | brownpapertickets.com

Visit the Event Calendar at TheTahoeWeekly.com for a complete list of events.

The Lost World of Dragons Celebration of the Reno Philharmonic Nevada Historical Society Carson City | Feb. 14-March 2

Celebrating 50 years of “The Biggest Little Orchestra in the World: the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra.” The Reno Philharmonic Orchestra positively impacts quality of life in Northern Nevada. The orchestra promotes understanding of other cultures and provides educational outreach to children across Northern Nevada. | (775) 687-0646, nvculture.org

Colors of Lake Tahoe Sierra Nevada College | Incline Village | Feb. 14 Artist Deborah Lawrence Shafer’s “Colors of Lake Tahoe” is on exhibit in the Prim Library featuring artworks from a collaboration between scientists at UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center and the artist. Reception on Feb.14 5 to 7 p.m. | (775) 8311314, sierranevada.edu

Fab N Funky North Tahoe Arts | Tahoe City | Feb. 14-24

North Tahoe Arts’ annual art exhibit and sale. Stop by our ARTisan Shop for great deals on handmade art by local artisans. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. | (530) 581-2787, northtahoearts.com

Gig Depio and Eugene Rolfe: “Korea ‘76” Carson City Community Center Carson City | Feb. 14-28

The Capital City Arts Initiative presents its exhibition “Korea ’76” with work by artists Eugene Rolfe and Gig Depio in the Community Center’s Sierra Room. The images reflect both artists’ interest in the interweaving of Asian and American cultures, and America’s strong impact on other countries. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. | nevadahumanities.org

Wilbur D. May Museum at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park | Reno | Feb. 14-May 12

Discover the stories and mythology of dragons throughout history and around the world. Get a thrill from larger-than-life animatronic dragons, try out a virtual reality experience that lets you ride a flying dragon, sit on a throne and sneak through a dragon’s lair, and more. 10 a.m. | (775) 785-5961, facebook.com

Nevadan Basques, Portraits by Zoe Bray Reno City Hall Metro Gallery Reno | Feb. 14-March 1

Her portraits differ from the traditional portrayal of Basque people. Instead of focusing on external markers of identity, Bray addresses the individuality of her models and how they “choose to be Basque and American.” | (775) 334-6264, reno.gov

Spend the day by Lake Tahoe at NORTH LAKE TAHOE’S ONLY ALL-INCLUSIVE WINTER RECREATION FACILITY

Paul Valadez: Selections from the Great Mexican-American Songbook Nevada Museum of Art | Reno | Feb. 14-April 21 Using vintage sheet music of the “Great American Song Book” as his backdrop, Paul Valadez re-envisions the idea of the songbook, integrating nostalgic images with Spanglish text, resulting in a dichotomy of oblique visual ideas that are equal parts humor and social commentary. 10 a.m. | (775) 329-3333, nevadaart.org

“Tahoe Art League Presents” Lake Tahoe Community College South Lake Tahoe | Feb. 14-March 23

The annual “Tahoe Art League Presents” art show is running concurrently with a show in the Foyer Gallery by Catherine Lockner and a show of artist printmakers in the Halden Gallery. | talart.org

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MUSIC SCENE

Music SCENE TheTahoeWeekly.com

LIVE MUSIC, SHOWS & NIGHTLIFE

T H E WAY FA R I N G S O U L O F

Marty O’Reilly STORY BY SEAN McALINDIN

Feb. 16 | 9 p.m. | Crystal Bay Casino | Crystal Bay, Nev.

arty O’Reilly wandered through Camden Market in London at the end of a seven-day tour of England. “It’s a fun neighborhood to walk around in at night,” said the Sonoma songwriter, describing how he strolled amid trolley horns and cockney hollers with his fiancé, Caroline Dollar, by his side. O’Reilly opened the tour in Sheffield at a hole-in-the-wall place called Café #9. Then there was the Old Cinema Launderette in Durham. “It’s a laundry place with a bar that turns into a venue,” he said “They’ll wash your laundry for you while you play. Too bad that was only my second stop. I didn’t have much washing to do yet.” Next came Norwich, Coggeshall and Brighton; the couple that plans to marry June 15 at Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma made their way along the North Sea toward the English Channel. “They were all small venues of 100 to 200 people, but they were totally full,” he said. In Southampton, at a venue called Piecaramba, a specially made Marty O’Pielly pot pie of beef, carrots and potatoes slowed cooked in chili ale was prepared just for his performance. The tour closed at The Water Rats in the Kings Cross section of London. “They have funny names for venues here,” said O’Reilly. “Once I played a placed called The Slaughtered Lamb.” After visiting snowy Copenhagen for a few days, O’Reilly and Dollar went as tourists to sunny Rome. They stayed at an Airbnb within the windy, narrow alleyways and small streets of Trastevere. One afternoon, O’Reilly lazily strummed his guitar on the apartment rooftop during our interview. “Music was a big part of the family household,” he said of growing up in Chicago. “Van Morrison was the Irish staple in the house.” While that sort of ancient melodic freedom has always been a part of O’Reilly’s charm, his own approach to music has consistently evolved over the course of three albums with The Old Soul Orchestra. “Sometimes I feel like I’m experimenting with different methods and figuring out what works best for me,” he said. The first two albums, “Pray for Rain” and “Preach ‘Em Now!” were influenced by Tom Waits’ lyricism and sparsity. “For a lot of those songs, I’d find something interesting I’d want to write about, read about it on Wikipedia, make up fictional characters and create stories,” he says. The 2018 “Stereoscope” album presents O’Reilly’s mystical intonations with the self-affected indie bliss of otherworldly artists such as Grizzly Bear, Radiohead and Andrew Bird. 18

“ The lyrics aren’t written in such a way that people could read them and be like, ‘This song is about this.’ It’s more about expressing a feeling and letting people assign that to anything that seems relevant in their own lives.” “It’s more about my own emotional experiences and the emotional experiences of people around me that I care about who would share them with me,” he says. “It’s very impressionistic. The lyrics aren’t written in such a way that people could read them and be like, ‘This song is about this.’ It’s more about expressing a feeling and letting people assign that to anything that seems relevant in their own lives.” Take, for example, the album opener “Firmament.” “I’ve always loved gospel music, but I’m not a religious person,” O’Reilly explained. “I think of myself as pretty agnostic. At that time in my life, I felt this sort of joy and appreciation and sense of wonder with the world around me. I thought, ‘Well, what if I wrote my own interpretation of a gospel song?’ ” “Ghost” concerns the phenomenon of sleep paralysis. “It’s when you wake up, but your body doesn’t wake up,” says O’Reilly. “I started reading about it and it’s really very common. When you are in a state of sleep paralysis you may have a hallucination of a person or figure standing over you. You

–Marty O’Reilly

are at the mercy of this thing and you have this feeling of utter helplessness. It’s both terrifying and psychedelic at the same time. That particular song is a weird marriage of that and observing the relationships people have with things that help them sleep.” O’Reilly will round out his world tour with an open-mic performance at the Ruby Room in the Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo before visiting the Japanese countryside with Dollar. The theme of the night is David Bowie and he only gets 15 minutes. “I’m probably going to sit down and think about that tomorrow,” said the poet/ musician with a wink and a nod to the enchanted road ahead. Marty O’Reilly and The Old Soul Orchestra will perform with The Sam Chase and Willie Tea Taylor on Feb. 16 in the Crown Room at Crystal Bay Casino as part of the Winter Snow-down, a loose gathering of folks who hold the Lost Sierra Hoedown on the mountainside above Johnsville every September. | crystalbaycasino.com n

E N T E RTA I N M E N T

CALENDAR

FEB. 14-21, 2019

FEBRUARY 14 | THURSDAY Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 11 a.m. Luke Stevenson Lone Eagle Grille, Incline Village, 6-10 p.m. Tuck Wilson Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Ambrosia Boomtown Casino, Verdi, 6-9 p.m. Live Music Glen Eagles Restaurant & Lounge, Carson City, 6:30-9 p.m. Live Music Cottonwood Hilltop Restaurant, Truckee, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Thirsty Thursday with DJ Trivia MidTown Wine Bar, Reno, 7-9 p.m. The Swon Brothers The Rack, Reno, 7-11:30 p.m. “Sirens” Restless Artists Theatre Company, Sparks, 7:30 p.m. Shakespeare in Love Good Luck Macbeth Theatre Company, Reno, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tim Gaither Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, 7:30 p.m. Reverend Horton Heat, Big Sandy, Voodoo Glow Skulls, the Delta Bombers Cargo at Whitney Peak Hotel, Reno, 8 p.m. Live Music McP’s Irish Pub, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Chance Hayden The Loving Cup, Reno, 8:30-11:30 p.m. Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m. Live Music Bar of America, Truckee, 9:30-11:55 p.m. Reckless Envy Carson Valley Inn, Minden Karaoke Rojo’s Tavern, South Lake Tahoe Keuning The Saint, Reno

FEBRUARY 15 | FRIDAY Afroman & Mr.Mixx from 2 Live Crew Whiskey Dick’s, South Lake Tahoe, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 11 a.m. Drum Circle and Open Mic Night Art Truckee, Truckee, 6-7:30 p.m. Luke Stevenson Lone Eagle Grille, Incline Village, 6-10 p.m. Tuck Wilson Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Jeff Jones Band Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge, Tahoe City, 6 p.m. Live Music Glen Eagles Restaurant & Lounge, Carson City, 6:30-9 p.m. Geechy Guy Lex Nightclub, Reno, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Conor McAlindin Band Cottonwood Restaurant, Truckee, 6:30-10 p.m. Live Music Sands Regency Casino Hotel, Reno, 7-11 p.m.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

Feb. 14-20, 2019

MUSIC SCENE

John Medeski

H E AT S U P A M A D S K I L L E T STORY BY SEAN McALINDIN

Marc Pagani

Feb. 20 | 9 p.m. | Crystal Bay Casino | Crystal Bay, Nev.

JAZZ

he late 1980s/early 1990s was a curious time in the music business. The bizarre commercial experiments of one decade bled into a thriving DIY music culture that redefined a generation of sounds to come. “When I first moved [to downtown Manhattan], I was checking out different scenes,” John Medeski says of his days in the avant-garde scene. “I was feeling out the jazz scene a little that at the time was odd for me. When I went and played at jazz sessions in the city, it was sort of a turn-off. It was horn players lined up, spewing on top of the rhythm section. The downtown scene seemed more truly creative with improvisation and interaction, not just regurgitation. It was people melding different types of music together. So, I gravitated to the downtown New York scene.” The virtuoso keyboardist gigged with The Lounge Lizards before making his premiere with the seminal Medeski, Martin and Wood trio at Village Gate during a time when fabled Manhattan venues such as CBGBs and The Knitting Factory still put on shows every night. “When I was there, everyone lived on the Lower East Side,” says Medeski. “The musicians moved to less expensive areas of Manhattan back then. When people went out to Brooklyn, that spread things out. The music is still great and happening, but the scene has changed.” Medeski now resides in the Hudson Valley, a couple hours north of the metro area. “I think our approach has stayed the same,” he says of the trio that has averaged more than one album per year in their 27 years as a band. “We try to be open. We are dealing with sound and rhythm, shaping it into music from a real basic level. Using certain spirits of jazz, we deal with whatever comes up and just make music. But I would never call what we do jazz.” The trio released their latest collaboration with 19-piece orchestra Alarm Will Sound this past September, a seven-piece opus called “Omnisphere.” “In this case, different people did different things,” he says. “Their conductor is not a dictator; he leads them. You’re trying things out and collectively deciding. We

each add our own personality or parts. We improvise, we listen to it, say, ‘What does it need?’ Go on to the next section. The democratic process takes a little longer.” Throughout his career, Medeski has been known for his many collaborations with musicians ranging from Phish and North Mississippi Allstars to John Scofield and Béla Fleck. When he arrives in Lake Tahoe on Feb. 20, he’ll be performing with his latest project: John Medeski’s Mad Skillet. “Like all good things, it’s sort of evolved organically out of the music,” he says. In 1999, Medeski produced the album, “Buck Jump” for The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. He was impressed by the loose energy of a rhythm section made by sousaphone player Kirk Joseph and drummer Terrence Higgins. Then came a series of annual late-night shows at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival with Bay Area guitarist Will Bernard. “I saw how great he is live,” Medeski says. “He is a very versatile guitar player from jazz to gypsy to funk rock.” They recorded Mad Skillet’s album at The Living Room, a studio built in a Depression-era church across the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans. For Medeski, it has and always will be about the group experience. “The stuff I like is when it makes sense, when the band has a magic chemistry,” he says. “At the end of the day for me, it has to come out of the music.” He talks about his popular project in 2000 with Robert Randolph and the Dickenson Brothers known as The Word. “We talked and we didn’t talk about anything,” says Medeski. “When we are all ourselves together, we find a common ground and that’s what makes a band with a vibe that is unique, a band that has personality. Everyone is free to be themselves in this band.” In 2019, Medeski will be cooking up a new record with Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule, as well as a duo project of Sun Ra material with cornetist Kirk Knuffke. According to Medeski, 2019 will bring more collaborations: “I’m sure other things will come up. It definitely keeps you growing.” | crystalbaycasino.com n

MUSIC SCENE

TheTahoeWeekly.com

“SOMETHING

ROTTEN”

PIONEER CENTER

Feb. 15 | 8 p.m. Feb. 16 | 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. Feb. 17 | 1 p.m. & 7 p.m. THE NEW BROADWAY comedy “Something Rotten” tells the story of brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom, playwrights stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star Will Shakespeare. When a soothsayer foretells that the next big thing in theater will involve singing, dancing and acting, the Bottom brothers set out to write the world’s first musical. | pioneercenter.com

OAK RIDGE BOYS

MUSICAL

FEB. 15 | FRIDAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

COUNTRY GOSPEL

Feb. 15 | 8 p.m. Silver Legacy Resort | Reno, Nev. WITH 50 YEARS of tradition behind them, The Oak Ridge Boys have developed one of the most distinctive and recognizable sounds in the music industry, not to mention outstandingly silvery beards. | silverlegacyreno.com

CONOR

MCALINDIN

BAND

AMERICANA

Feb. 15 | 6:30 p.m. Cottonwood Restaurant | Truckee LOCAL MUSICIAN Conor McAlindin and friends play an original brand of Americana and rock ‘n’ roll in the intimate fireplace room on the hill. | cottonwoodrestaurant.com 20

Sierra Sweethears: CD Release Party Brewery Arts Center, Carson City, 7-10 p.m. Jazz with Bayberry Jake’s On The Lake, Tahoe City, 7 p.m. Gator Nation Band CVIC Hall, Minden, 7-9:30 p.m. “Sirens” Restless Artists Theatre Company, Sparks, 7:30 p.m. Shakespeare in Love Good Luck Macbeth Theatre Company, Reno, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tim Gaither Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, 7:30 p.m. Live comedy Carson Nugget, Carson City, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Chris Costa Tahoe Biltmore Lodge & Casino, Crystal Bay, 8 p.m. Live Music Moody’s Bistro, Bar & Beats, Truckee, 8-11:55 p.m. The Utility Players Harrah’s, Reno, 8 p.m. Big Heart Valentines-Presidents Day weekend Show Red Dog Saloon, Virginia City, 8 p.m. The Oak Ridge Boys Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, 8-10:30 p.m. “Something Rotten!” Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, Reno, 8 p.m. Live Music with Adrenaline MidTown Wine Bar, Reno, 8:30-11:30 p.m. Afroman Whiskey Dicks, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m. Under the Radar Bar of America, Truckee, 9-10 p.m. Live Music McP’s Irish Pub, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m. Ebony not Quite Ivory Boomtown Casino, Verdi, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Tim Gaither Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, 9:30 p.m. Soul - Funk - Disco Party The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 10 p.m.-12 a.m. Cripple Creek Band Eldorado Resort Casino, Reno, 10 p.m.

The Dowdy Bros. Crystal Bay Casino, Crystal Bay, 10 p.m. Open Mic Night Art Truckee, Truckee Reckless Envy Carson Valley Inn, Minden Karaoke Rojo’s Tavern, South Lake Tahoe Live Music at Plaza Bar Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Olympic Valley

FEBRUARY 16 | SATURDAY Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 11 a.m. Live DJ Homewood Mountain Resort, Homewood, 12-3 p.m. Groove Foundry Northstar California Resort, Truckee, 2-5 p.m. Live music Alpine Bar, Tahoe City, 2 p.m. “Something Rotten!” Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, Reno, 2 p.m. Live music Squaw Valley, Truckee, 2:30-5:30 p.m. Live DJ Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 3-6 p.m. Violin Concerto w/Elizabeth Pitcairn Carson Valley United Methodist Church, Gardnerville, 4-6 p.m. Dinner & Dance Sierra Valley Grange Hall, Loyalton, 5:30-10:30 p.m. Pin-Ups on Tour: Foresthill, CA American Legion Post 587, Foresthill, 6-9 p.m. Luke Stevenson Lone Eagle Grille, Incline Village, 6-10 p.m. Tuck Wilson Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Mike Badinger Cedar House Pub, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Jeff Jones Band Tavern 6330’, Truckee, 6 p.m. Live Music Glen Eagles Restaurant & Lounge, Carson City, 6:30-9 p.m. Live Music Sands Regency Casino Hotel, Reno, 7-11 p.m.

Dierks Bentley Reno Events Center, Reno, 7 p.m. Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7-8:15 p.m. Come in from the Cold Bartley Ranch Regional Park, Reno, 7 p.m. Afroman, Mr. Mixx of 2 Live Crew Jub Jub’s Thirst Parlor, Reno, 7:30 p.m. “Sirens” Restless Artists Theatre Company, Sparks, 7:30 p.m. Reno Chamber Orchestra with Michael Morgan Nightingale Concert Hall, Reno, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Shakespeare in Love Good Luck Macbeth Theatre Company, Reno, 7:30-9:30 p.m. T Sisters at Mountain Music Parlor Mountain Music Parlor, Reno, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tim Gaither Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, 7:30 p.m. Live comedy Carson Nugget, Carson City, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Chris Costa Tahoe Biltmore Lodge & Casino, Crystal Bay, 8 p.m. The Utility Players Harrah’s, Reno, 8 p.m. “Something Rotten!” Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, Reno, 8 p.m. Hearthrob The Library Taphouse and Hookah Lounge, Reno, 8:30-11:30 p.m. Winter Hoedown Crystal Bay Casino, Crystal Bay, 9 p.m. Under the Radar Bar of America, Truckee, 9-10 p.m. Live Music McP’s Irish Pub, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Keith Shannon Ceol Irish Pub, Reno, 9 p.m. Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m. Ebony not Quite Ivory Boomtown Casino, Verdi, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Ignite Harveys Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 10 p.m. Cripple Creek Band Eldorado Resort Casino, Reno, 10 p.m.

Feb. 14-20, 2019

DARK STAR

Jeremih Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, 10 p.m. Celtic Music Series Brewery Arts Center, Carson City Reckless Envy Carson Valley Inn, Minden Karaoke Rojo’s Tavern, South Lake Tahoe

ORCHESTRA Feb. 17 | 7:30 p.m. Harrah’s Lake Tahoe | Stateline, Nev. ULTIMATE COVER BAND Dark Star Orchestra is known for recreating complete Grateful Dead shows. If you close your eyes, it’s almost like your right back there with Jerry and company in 1977. | caesars.com/harrahs-tahoe.com

FEBRUARY 17 | SUNDAY Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 11 a.m. Roland Haas Performs Sierra, Twin Bridges, 1-5 p.m. “Something Rotten!” Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, Reno, 1 p.m. “Sirens” Restless Artists Theatre Company, Sparks, 2 p.m. Reno Chamber Orchestra with Michael Morgan Nightingale Concert Hall, Reno, 2-4 p.m. Live Music McP’s Irish Pub, South Lake Tahoe, 2-5 p.m. Shakespeare in Love Good Luck Macbeth Theatre Company, Reno, 2-4 p.m. Live music Alpine Bar, Tahoe City, 2 p.m. Live DJ Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 3-6 p.m. Violin Concerto Featuring Elizabeth Pitcairn, St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Reno, 4-6 p.m. Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 4:30-5:45 p.m. Bob Gardner Boomtown Casino, Verdi, 5-9 p.m. Tuck Wilson Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Pin-Ups on Tour Sassafras Eclectic Food Joint, Carson City, 6-9 p.m. Lifehouse MontBleu Resort, Stateline, 7 p.m. Dark Star Orchestra Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 7:30 p.m. Tim Gaither Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, 7:30 p.m. The Collective Reno Little Theater, Reno, 7:30 p.m. Hacken Lee Reno Events Center, Reno, 8 p.m. “Something Rotten!” Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, Reno, 8 p.m. Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m. Deep House Lounge The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 10 p.m.-12 a.m.

MUSIC SCENE

THE

BAYBERRY CAST JAM

Karaoke Rojo’s Tavern, South Lake Tahoe

FEBRUARY 18 | MONDAY Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 11 a.m. Educational Sunset Snowshoe Alpenglow Sports, Tahoe City, 4-6 p.m. West Coast Swing Dance Carson Lanes Family Fun Center, Carson City, 5:30-10 p.m. Bluegrass Open Jam Session Alibi Ale Works - Truckee Public House, Truckee, 6-9 p.m. Tuck Wilson Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Karaoke Polo Lounge, Reno, 7-11 p.m. Branded Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, 9 p.m. Motown on Monday The Loving Cup, Reno, 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m. SAYMYNAME The BlueBird Nightclub, Reno, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.

Tuck Wilson Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Bingo Tuesday’s with T~n~Keys MidTown Wine Bar, Reno, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7-8:15 p.m. Daniel Romano The Holland Project, Reno, 7-10 p.m. Open-Mic Night Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village, 7:30-10:30 p.m. CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

JAZZ

Feb. 15 | 7 p.m. Jake’s on the Lake | Kings Beach THE EXCEPTIONALLY talented Darcy Kathleen and Lucas Arizu are two local lovers. The Bayberry Cast crooners with a penchant for classic jazz, Latin and crossover arrangements. | jakestahoe.com

SKI OR RIDE FOR FREE

FEBRUARY 19 | TUESDAY Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 11 a.m. Kip Yager Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m.

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O rd e r b o o k s d i re c t a t

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(530) 546-5612 · TheStormKing.com 21

MUSIC SCENE

TheTahoeWeekly.com

UNDER THE RADAR Feb. 15-16 | 9 p.m. Bar of America | Truckee

WINTER JAM SESSIONS at a boathouse on the shores of Lake Tahoe led to the formation of funk, rock and blues group, Under the Radar, whose music is influenced by classic artists such as Herbie Hancock, Santana, Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis. | barofamerica.com

EVERYDAY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

FEB. 19 | TUESDAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

John Caponera Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, 7:30 p.m. Swing Dance night Alibi Ale Works - Truckee Public House, Truckee, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Live Music McP’s Irish Pub, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m. Karaoke Rojo’s Tavern, South Lake Tahoe

FEBRUARY 20 | WEDNESDAY

OUTLAW COUNTRY

Feb. 16 | 8 p.m. Alibi Ale Works | Truckee SPLIT ROCK Music Co. owner Jake Zender leads an authentic Tahoe country outfit , Everyday Outlaw, complete with Telecaster, pedal steel and heartbreaking vocals. | alibialeworks.com

Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 11 a.m. Wild Winter Wednesdays River Ranch Lodge, Tahoe City, 2-10:30 p.m. Luke Stevenson Lone Eagle Grille, Incline Village, 6-10 p.m. Tuck Wilson Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Spoken Views Poetry Open Mic + Poetry Slam The Holland Project, Reno, 6-11 p.m. Keith Alan Boomtown Casino, Verdi, 6-10 p.m. Kip Yager Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Live Music Glen Eagles Restaurant & Lounge, Carson City, 6:30-9 p.m. Open Mic with Greg Lynn Red Dog Saloon, Virginia City, 7 p.m. Magic Fusion Starring Robert Hall The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7-8:15 p.m.

Major Motion Pictures · Independent Films Live Music · Dance Performances

Alita: Battle Angel Feb. 14-28 The Mountains Are Pretty folk opera with Tahoe Flow Arts March 2-3 Haus BeerFest SnowFest Event March 2 Evolution of Organic with Tahoe Food Hub & director Q&A March 7 Visit TahoeArtHausCinema.com for showtimes, schedule, events + tkts

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John Caponera Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, 7:30 p.m. Live Music McP’s Irish Pub, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.-12 a.m. John Medeski’s Mad Skillet Crystal Bay Casino, Crystal Bay, 9 p.m. Open Mic Anything Goes Jimmy Bs, Reno, 9-11:30 p.m. Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m. Karaoke Reno Pizza Baron, Reno, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

FEBRUARY 21 | THURSDAY Galileo ‑ Stars In His Eyes Bruka Theatre, Reno, 11 a.m. Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 11 a.m. Luke Stevenson Lone Eagle Grille, Incline Village, 6-10 p.m. Tuck Wilson Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Brother Dan Boomtown Casino, Verdi, 6-10 p.m. Kip Yager Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, 6-9 p.m. Live Music Glen Eagles Restaurant & Lounge, Carson City, 6:30-9 p.m. Live Music Cottonwood Hilltop Restaurant, Truckee, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7-8:15 p.m. String Cheese Incident MontBleu Resort, Stateline, 7 p.m. Thirsty Thursday with DJ Trivia MidTown Wine Bar, Reno, 7-9 p.m. “Sirens” Restless Artists Theatre Company, Sparks, 7:30 p.m. John Caponera Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, 7:30 p.m. Shakespeare in Love Good Luck Macbeth Theatre Company, Reno, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Live Music McP’s Irish Pub, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Live Music Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m. Live Music Bar of America, Truckee, 9:30-11:55 p.m. KawtNKandy 1up, Reno, 10 p.m.-1 a.m. Scott Pemberton Band MontBleu Resort, Stateline, 11 p.m. Karaoke Rojo’s Tavern, South Lake Tahoe

LUKE BRYAN

OUTLAW

Luke Bryan, Dave Matthews come to Tahoe

The 2019 summer lineup at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena is shaping up. Country music great Luke Bryan is scheduled for Aug. 25 with singer/songwriter Jon Langston as the opening act, as first reported at TheTahoeWeekly.com. Tickets are on sale now. The Grammy-Award-winning Dave Matthews Band will return as part of its 2019 North American tour on Sept. 6. Tickets will go on sale on Feb. 22. | caesars.com/harveys-tahoe

Toby Keith to open new venue

Country superstar Toby Keith will perform on June 15 as the first act in the new amphitheater being built by the Nugget in Sparks., Nev., as first reported at TheTahoeWeekly.com. Also booked for the inaugural season are Hank Williams Jr. on Aug. 3 and Lady Antebellum on Aug. 17. The new event center will feature seating for more than 8,500 guests. Tickets and more dates will be announced soon. | nuggetcasinoresort.com

Local

FOOD & WINE, RECIPES, FEATURES & MORE

Bill Stevenson | Reno Riverwalk District

Wine along the Truckee Stroll along the Truckee River in the Riverwalk District for a wine tasting at the Reno Wine Walk, held every third Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. in downtown Reno, Nev. The next dates are Feb. 16 and March 16. Tickets are $20. | renoriver.org

Tahoe Food Hub Tahoe City | Feb. 14, 21

Shop for yourself and taste the difference that local makes. Choose from seasonal fruits and veggies, as well as a variety of local specialty food products and pastureraised meet, eggs and dairy. 12-6 p.m. | tahoefoodhub.org

Chocolate and Wine Tasting Art Truckee | Truckee | Feb. 15

Enjoy Dorinda’s Chocolates, Life Wine and live music. 7-10 p.m. | facebook.com

Reno Wine Walk Riverwalk District | Reno | Feb. 16

Stroll along the Truckee River in the Riverwalk District for a wine tasting. Strollers and pets are not advised because of large crowds. 2-5 p.m. $20 | renoriver.org

Mixology Craft Cocktails Six Peaks Grille Olympic Valley | Feb. 16

Learn how to make three delicious craft cocktails with Six Peaks Grille master mixologist. You will use fresh, seasonal ingredients straight from the resort’s garden (when available). Small bites will be provided. Price is $60 per person. Reservations required through Concierge. 3-4 p.m. | facebook.com

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

LOCAL FLAVOR

flavor

Chef Alex Tolger

TA S T Y TIDBITS

Farm Shop

Feb. 14-20, 2019

HONES HIS CULINARY CHOPS S T O R Y B Y P R I YA H U T N E R

lex Tolger has created an innovative and unique niche in Truckee’s culinary world. This friendly, effervescent soul with a waxed mustache and the sparkle of passion for food in his eyes, draws you in to partake in his excitement. He is the founder of the Kitchen Collab, a community kitchen space in Truckee that opened last May. He also drives around in his 1973 Unimog, a food truck called MOGROG Rotisserie. What is a Unimog? Enthusiasts refer to the Mercedes Benz versatile vehicle as a Mog, which has many utilitarian uses both on and off road: industrial, agricultural or transport uses; heavy-duty equipment uses and as food trucks.

“ We don’t necessarily focus on food as medicine, but it is. How food interacts in our body, the method of cooking it, how we use food, all depends on what we do with it. –Alex Tolger In 2010, Tolger moved to Tahoe from Portland and had a hard time finding work in the education field so he fell back into the food industry. The classically Frenchtrained chef found himself working at Drunken Monkey Sushi and remembered how much he loved the industry and playing with food. He realized he wanted to do something on his own. In Portland, the food truck scene was big; here in Tahoe it was relatively small. “I came up with the idea of a fourwheel-drive, winter capable, mountain food truck that could drive in the snow. And a grog is a hearty stew with alcohol that warms that spirit,” Tolger says. He had spent time as a child visiting Europe and recalls the Unimogs being used as NATO transport and civil-service vehicles. “As I did research to start the food truck, I found there was another missing component, a commissary kitchen. I had to open a kitchen to start a food truck,” he says. In his quest to have a food truck, he designed a state-of-the-art kitchen for other chefs and small businessowners in the food industry to use: Kitchen Collab. For Tolger, food is a direct connection to culture. He loves the influences of different countries and the way cultures of food and flavors cross over and blend into neighboring areas. From MOGROG Rotisserie, he serves cuisine with central European and crossover influences of the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Germany, Scandinavia and France. His truck is set up with two rotisserie spits and serves street food typically found throughout Europe. Turkish immigrant laborers in Germany shared their influences, which can be found in MOGROG’s menus. His Dönner Kabob, which is a play on the European Doner Kebab, pronounced

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: MOGROG Rotisserie. | Jonathan Herre Photography; The Dönner Kabob. | Courtesy Kitchen Collab; Chef Alex Tolger | Jocelyn Noel

“dough-ner,” is marinated, sliced rotisserie meat wrapped or served with a flatbread. There are many cultural iterations of this type of food: think gyro, taco, pita or lavish. Tolger uses pita for both the Dönner Kabob prepared with a roasted red pepper and fennel-stuffed pork shoulder and the Aleppo Chicken Kabob made with chili-yogurt-marinated chicken thighs. Both kabob dishes are served in a pita with a kraut slaw and choice of a Cacik sauce — the Turkish version of Greek Tzatziki sauce — or mojo sauce, prepared with roasted peppers and preserved lemon sauce, and served with house-pickled cucumbers and pickled red onions. The Kasha Bowl is another specialty of Tolger’s. “[Kasha] is better for you than quinoa. It has the 23 required amino acids and is a complete protein and gluten free,” he says. He roasts the buckwheat, flavors it with apple-cider vinegar and serves it with mustard vinaigrette and a choice of shredded chicken or roasted veggies and housemade pickles. Tolger also serves breakfast kabobs and breakfast bowls. The bowls are served with braised apple and red cabbage, housemade hot sauce, roast pork,

potatoes, mojo sauce and a special green spice topped with a fried egg. In addition, the MOGROG team serves family-style whole-bird rotisserie chicken to take home. Tolger lights up when asked about spices and flavors. He loves blending North African and Middle Eastern spices in his cuisine using clove, nutmeg, dried ginger, cinnamon and cardamom in savory dishes and maybe a touch of coriander, celery seed and cumin. “We don’t necessarily focus on food as medicine, but it is. How food interacts in our body, the method of cooking it, how we use food, all depends on what we do with it, like fermenting, aging and the process of preparing it. All the flavors I use come from my childhood and eating a broad spectrum of foods,” he says. “The Kitchen Collab mission is simply to elevate and strengthen the Sierra Nevada food scene by supporting its food entrepreneurs. We are looking to legitimize catering and private food service in the Tahoe area. We want chefs to come out of the dark,” says Togler of the member-based collaborative kitchen. Kitchen Collab also partners with local nonprofits to help with fundraisers. MOGROG Rotisserie can be found parked in front of Mountain Hardware and Sports in Truckee every Wednesday and Friday from noon to 6 p.m. this winter and spring. | kitchencollab.co, mogrog.com n 23

LOCAL FLAVOR

TheTahoeWeekly.com

TA S T Y T I D B I T S Snowshoe Chalet Dinner Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Olympic Valley | Feb. 16, 17

When the mountain has closed for the evening and a winter moon has risen, experience a snowshoe tour to the midmountain Chalet at Alpine Meadows. Enjoy an intimate seated dinner where you’ll be served an Alps-inspired menu with dishes like potato cheese soup, spinach spaetzle, and apple strudel. 5:30 p.m. | (800) 403-0206, squawalpine.com

Art of Mixology The Ritz-Carlton | Truckee | Feb. 17

This entertaining, educational experience will feature freshly cut herbs, classic ingredients such as bitters and infused liquors to create three unique cocktails paired with appetizers. 4-5 p.m. $60 | ritzcarlton.com

Cooking Matters series

Snowshoe-to-dinner tour When the mountain has closed for the evening and a winter moon has risen, participants are invited to experience a snowshoe tour to the mid-mountain Chalet at Alpine Meadows. An intimate seated dinner with an Alps-inspired menu will be served with dishes such as potato cheese soup, spinach spaetzle and apple strudel. This opportunity is available on Feb. 16 and 17, March 9 and April 12. There are three seating times to choose from: 5:30, 6:45 and 7:45 p.m. Guests should wear layers for a cold, winter hike; it is one-quarter-mile uphill from the lodge to the Chalet. The snowshoe rental is included in the ticket price, which is $79 for all ages. | squawalpine.com

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Sierra Village Apartments office Truckee | Feb. 19

Class series includes how to easily prepare and shop for delicious and nutritious foods on a budget, free recipes and meals plans, how to stretch ingredients and food dollars, and hands-on food preparation and sampling. Class is offered in English and Spanish. 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Free | (530) 5873769, tfhd.com

Third Thursday Tasting The Pour House | Truckee | Feb. 21

Enjoy a wine tasting each month. 5-7 p.m. | thepourhousetruckee.com

S’morey Time Village at Northstar | Truckee | Feb. 21

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

Snowshoe Cocktail Races

Gather ‘round the fire pit and listen to the story of how Tahoe came to be while roasting s’mores and enjoying warm beverages. Fun for the whole family. 6 p.m. | northstarcalifornia.com

Camp Richardson South Lake Tahoe | Feb. 16

Think you have what it takes to run with a full cocktail tray in hand through obstacles up and down the beach while wearing snowshoes? We have great prizes for the fastest (and cleanest) at the obstacle course finish line. 5 p.m. | camprichardson.com

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ine does flow from volcanos and this is the first of a series of articles on the where, what and why of these vinous wonders. This journey will take us around the globe. From a historical perspective, there is no better place to start than the still active Mount Vesuvius, which not only buried Pompeii, but has erupted as recently as 1944. Mount Vesuvius and supervolcano Campi Flegrei in Campania bookend Naples and constitute a terroir that has unique soils and climate, which provide the conditions that are the perfect storm for wine grapes that excel only here.

Mount Etna Vineyards | Courtesy Vinitaly

carry some weight on the body and combine tree-fruit notes with a touch of herb. Based on the efforts of the Mustilli family, a new white star has risen from the Falanghina grape. This family operation, now run by sisters Anna Chiara and Paola, have shined a light in this cultivar and made a version full of flowers, Mandarin orange

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volcano Campi Flegrei in Campania bookend Naples

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and constitute a terroir that has unique soils and climate. Anna Chiara Mustilli and her wine art. | Lou Phillips

Mount Vesuvius Vineyards | Courtesy Vinitaly

The most famous being Aglianico, a stout, tannic black grape that the artisans here craft into robust and distinct wines. Think black cherries, dry licorice, dusty herbs and mineral streaks that marry so well with a rabbit dish and root vegetables dressed in olive oil and wild herbs. Fuedi di San Gregorio and Mastroberardino are two seminal producers. In the spirit of a public service announcement, I implore you to decant your Aglianico con gusto so as not to miss all that is magical about these vinos. Campania’s second red is Piedirosso, which refers to the red feet of dogs that romp in the volcanic soils of the vineyards. This grape makes for lighter-bodied reds with high notes of pepper, raspberry and wildflowers. Like a quality Pinot Noir, Piedirosso can dance with everything from red and white meat, to seafood to strongly spiced appetizers. This mountainous terroir is also prime ground for distinct white wines. Until recently the most popular have been Fiano and Greco di Tufo, crisp wines that also

and sweet chive. All of these are wonderful aperitifs, but also make for wonderful course mates for Campania’s amazing fresh seafood and vegetables. Another Southern Italian volcano that provides exceptional vineyard lands is Mount Etna in Sicily. This island is most known for Nero D’Avola wines, which make lovely quaffs with chocolate-coveredcherry palates. The mountain vineyards here are best known for reds made from Nerello Mascalese, which bring more complexity with their signature mineral backbones that complement refreshing acid, dusky spice and intense dark fruit flavors. As with their Campanian cousins, Nerello Mascaleses love to mingle with Mediterranean food. I hope this has whet your appetite for wines that flow from volcanos along our wine journey. n Lou Phillips is a Level 3 Advanced Sommelier in Tahoe and his consulting business wineprowest. com assists in the selling, buying and managing wine collections. He may be reached at (775) 5443435 or wineguru123@gmail.com. Visit TheTahoeWeekly.com for more wine columns. Click on Wine Column under the Local Flavor tab.

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hen you read a menu, you normally look at the entrées first, not the side dishes. A lot of times, the sides aren’t even written on the menu and the waitperson has to tell you what they are. The thing is, side dishes are, or at least should be, as important to the dinner as the entrée. Take a nice Roast Leg of Lamb, which alone can be pretty good, and add a Pecan-Mint Pesto and caramelized Sweet Onion Relish with a little lamb au jus, and you’re talking a combination of flavors that will rock your taste buds into a different galaxy. But wait, don’t stop there. That’s not the only thing that is going to come on the plate. There also will be some starch and vegetable in most cases. If they taste like something you would leave in a bowl for Fido, then it doesn’t matter how good the lamb was, you probably won’t be going back there until someone else takes you and pays the bill. You want to take the time needed to compliment the entrée with stellar side dishes. Most of the time, it really doesn’t take much more time and only a little more effort to get the side dishes to the same level as your entrée. A lot of the time, it is a simple matter of taking the time to season and cook them properly as opposed to concentrating all your efforts on the entrée and then just cruising through the sides. There are a ton of different ways to cook Potatoes au Gratin and like anything, there are some recipes I like better than others. Most recipes call for the potatoes

to be sliced and then just tossed in the pan in no particular way for the cooking like a casserole. Although few people will actually notice, the problem is that some of the potatoes will be cooked more than others, because they won’t be evenly spaced or evenly cut.

Side dishes are, or at least should be, as important to the dinner as the entrée. This recipe calls for the potatoes to be laid out in a row similar to fallen dominos. They cook even, are easy to serve and make a nice presentation. So, the next time you are looking for a potato side dish, give this a try and enjoy. n E X C L U S I V E C O N T E N T AT

TheTahoeWeekly.com Try Smitty’s Roast Leg of Lamb

Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is known for his creative use of fresh ingredients. Contact him at tmmsmitty@gmail.com or (530) 412-3598. To read archived copies of Smitty’s column, visit chefsmitty.com or TheTahoeWeekly.com. Click on Chef’s Recipe under the Local Flavor tab.

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POTATOES AU GRATIN

From the kitchen of: Chef David “Smitty” Smith For an 8-inch-by-8-inch pan

6 red potatoes, peeled & sliced into 1/4-inch slices 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock 1 pint heavy cream 1 C fresh parmesan cheese, grated 1 t nutmeg Salt & pepper Foil & plastic wrap

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Lay the potatoes out like fallen dominos in rows in the pan. Cover the potatoes with the stock and season with a little salt and pepper. Cover with the plastic wrap and then a piece a foil and bake at 350 degrees until a knife can pass through the potato. Pour the liquid into a bowl, using a wooden spoon or something to hold the potatoes in place. (You can save the liquid to make a soup.) Pour cream into the pan to the top of the potatoes; sprinkle in the nutmeg. Season with a salt and pepper; generously cover with cheese. Put the plastic and foil wrap back on and bake 5 minutes to allow the cream to get hot. Remove the covering. Bake until the cheese is melted and the top is nice and golden.

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