Tahoe Cultural Events

Light up your holiday season with the Town Tree Lighting!

It’s that time of year again. Fresh snow, a cup of hot cocoa, letters to Santa, and festive lights to warm your hearts. Kick off the holiday season this December with the Tahoe City Holly-Days Jubilee!

The Weekend Lowdown

Town Tree Lighting and Community Caroling

• Friday, December 2, 2011
• 5pm-7pm

Bundle up, bring your camera, and come see Santa light the tree!

Family Winter Wonderland and Photos with Santa Claus

• Saturday, December 3, 2011
• 11am-2pm

Want a great photo to share in your holiday cards this year? Then grab the whole family and get your picture taken with Santa!

All events are held in the center of town at the Heritage Plaza: 550 North Lake Blvd, Tahoe City, CA.

If your years of trick-or-treating are over, but you still hanker to celebrate Halloween in style, then be sure to get your tickets now for the 33rd Annual Cadillac Ball! Hosted every year by The Rotary Club of Truckee, this year’s ball will be held at The Resort at Squaw Creek on October 29, 2011.

This isn’t your typical Monster Mash. In fact, it’s a classy affair featuring a gourmet dinner, a silent and live auction, live music by Five Point O, and an astounding raffle worth $23,000 in cash prizes! Now that’s no trick – what a treat! And don’t forget to dress in your finest “Elegantly Spooky” costume, as indicated by this year’s theme.

For more information visit www.CadillacBall.com or contact Rick McConn, Cadillac Ball Chair (530)582-4663; or Ed Windham, Ticket Sales (530) 412-1550 at The Rotary Club of Truckee.

Lucille Ball stomped with the best of them! You can too.

Get your feet wet at harvest time and stomp out hunger on September 30th from 4-7pm! Sierra Senior Services and Truckee River Winery join forces in conjunction with the 8th Annual Truckee Wine, Walk and Shop for an autumn-inspired event to benefit local Meals on Wheels and Senior Nutrition programs. Join others at Truckee River Winery and experience one of the oldest traditions in wine making: grape stomping! They’re holding a competition that pits teams of four against each other, but you can still enjoy this event without having to take off your socks and shoes. For only $15 as a spectator you can enjoy tastings, appetizers and live music!

The participation fee for each teams of four is $150. Not only does it benefit the cause of local hunger, each team will receive complimentary wine tastings, a glass of wine, visits to the food buffet and a chance to compete for prizes. The teams will compete for 2 minutes at a time and the winner will be based on the most liquid.  Additional prizes will be awarded for stain and style.

For more event information and to register your team visit Truckee River Winery. Be sure to submit your form to Sierra Senior Services before the 16 team limit fills up!

“The Wright Brothers created the single greatest cultural force since the invention of writing. The airplane became the first World Wide Web, bringing people, languages, ideas, and values together.”

-Bill Gates, CEO, Microsoft Corporation

If you have an appreciation for aviation, and how these machines changed the world then head out to The National Championship Air Races September 14th-18th to witness some serious racing skills. This is a competition, a motor sport, like no other. With speeds exceeding 500mph, you are sure to feel the exhilaration of aircraft whizzing through the sky.

There are six classes of aircraft, navigated by legendary champions. If you are looking for a thrilling event the whole family is sure to enjoy, then purchase your general admission ticket or box seat and be sure to peruse the vendor booths and aircraft on display.

Purchase your tickets here!

Onthesnow.com

As summer passes away, the colors of the Aspen leaves transform and we reign in fall with the 10th Annual Oktoberfest at Squaw Valley on October 1st! The key phrase you need at Oktoberfest (or anytime you’re in Germany):

“Ein Bier, bitte.” Meaning, “One Beer, please.”

Known by locals as one of the best events of the year at Squaw Valley, Oktoberfest is a flurry of traditional Bavarian music, folk dancers, brats and kraut and of course, brews. Proceeds from the Benefit Bier Garten assist the Tahoe Truckee Lacrosse Association. The following line up of live entertainment is complimentary:

• Joe Smiell & His 20 Piece Bavarian Band
• Almenrausch Schuhplattler Folk Dancers
• Alpentazer Schuhplattler Dance Troop

To top off the liveliness of the weekend, be sure to participate in Oktoberfest Games:

• 3pm – Keg Race
• 4pm – Brat Toss
• 5pm – Stein Holding Contest

Hosted by the Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce, the Donner Party Hike returns for its 19th year on October 8th for a two day event – sure to be just as successful as the last. The goal is to highlight the area’s beauty, recreational sights and emigrant history.

If you are unfamiliar with the history of the Donner Party, here is a quick historic recap to bring you up to speed. On April 16, 1846 several families, in nine covered wagons, left Springfield, Illinois heading west to California. After a tragic, twisting series of events the Donner Party made their way to California and split into two camps for the winter of 1846-47. One group made it to the eastern end of Donner Lake, and another was unable to proceed beyond camp at Alder Creek. Unfortunately, they were one day shy of crossing Donner Summit to due to snow, and resorted to waiting the winter out at Donner; where grisly cannibalism occurred for survival. Although 46 members of the Donner Party survived, two-thirds were women, and the majority of men in the original group of families had perished.

Following are the hikes available for the choosing of event goers on Saturday:
• Dutch Flat Donner Lake Wagon Road 1913 Corridor Lincoln Highway: Pass petroglyphs, roadside billboards and the China Wall. Find out where and why these roads were built.
• Roller Pass: Hike up the Pacific Crest Trail and back to see views of Donner Pass, Coldstream Pass and Roller Pass where emigrants were forced to winch their wagons up a 35-degree granite slope.
• Roller Pass / Judah Loop: Enjoy the Roller Pass hike with an additional mile at the top to go around the Judah Loop and on to Donner Peak.
• Coldstream Pass: Hike over one of the most heavily traveled emigrant routes. The hike is strenuous, rising and descending over a minimum of 1800 vertical feet.
• High Sierra Lakes: Incredible vistas seen by emigrants as they passed through the High Sierra years ago. Discover hidden alpine lakes while exploring Donner Summit.
• Railroad Snowsheds: View the China Wall and go through several railroad tunnels with views of Donner Lake.

For further information and admission fees, contact Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce.

The annual Lake Tahoe Air Show is dubbed the “biggest and best air show in the High Sierra.”  This festival has been a yearly event for nearly two decades and includes some of the nation’s best aerobatic performers like Bill Cornick and Jon Melby. Grab the whole family and come out to the South Lake Tahoe Airport for Warbird fly-by’s and a chance to see military aircraft in action! And if you’re a history buff, it’s a chance to see the legendary p-51 Mustang – the #1 fighter plane of WWII.

For further information, check out Lake in the Sky Airshow.