Reno-Tahoe

Short of delivering presents the world over, it’s the most fun you’ll have in a Santa suit.

The annual Reno Reindeer Games returns the weekend of Dec. 11-13 with an expanded slate of events highlighted, of course, by the Reno Santa Pub Crawl, where visitors flock to the watering holes of downtown Reno for a night of holiday revelry.

This year, the charity event gets even bigger with a holiday pajama party, discount skiing at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe and discounts for attendees who book a hotel room. In 2008, event organizers estimate as many as 3,000 Santas crawled Reno’s pubs, and 2009 is expected to be even bigger. There is NO EXCUSE to miss a party this fun.

Reno Reindeer Games Events:

• Santa Crawl Pajama Ball, Dec. 11

Bowling + Pajamas = Fun. The party starts Friday evening at the “Taj Mahal of Tenpins,” the National Bowling Stadium, with the Santa Crawl Pajama Ball. The mammoth facility usually plays best to 100 lanes of world-class bowling, usually aired on ESPN – Not tonight. Festivities include pictures with Santa, raffle prizes, holiday drink specials and a best dressed in holiday pajamas contest. The cover charge for party revelers dressed in pajamas or holiday flare is $15, which covers bowling and a donation to the Reindeer Charities. For those not dressed in pajamas or holiday flare the cover charge is $20.

• Santa Crawl Skiing Extravaganza, Dec. 12

Dress festively & get a $39 all-day lift ticket at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe with $5 dollars going to Support the Claus during the Santa Crawl Skiing Extravaganza! Join other Reindeer Game revelers for holiday drink specials and the best-dressed contest. Added bonus: watching hundreds of Santas shredding pow. That’s worth the price of admission.

• Reno Santa Pub Crawl, Dec. 12

The magical anticipation of St. Nick dropping down the chimney on Christmas Eve may be long gone, but that doesn’t mean the adults can’t have fun. The highlight of the Reno Reindeer games, the Reno Santa Pub Crawl, brings the whole event home. Basically, several thousand Santa crawlers hit the streets and more than two-dozen participating watering holes of downtown Reno, showing off their best Santa-inspired costumes – the party reaches a crescendo when revelers meet under the legendary Reno Arch.

• Hotel deal

Event organizers have teamed up with the Silver Legacy Resort Casino to create a killer package: Rooms start at $59 and include a $35 coupon book, $5 food voucher, 2-for-1 drinks at Aura Ultra Lounge, health spa admission, 20 percent Silver Legacy Shopping Discount, $4 off ticket to Catch a Rising Star comedy club and one free ace-in-the-hole.

Attention zombies, ghouls and ghosts. Check out the calendar of Halloween events and parties in Reno, Sparks and Lake Tahoe.

• Halloween Warm-up with Enzyme Dynamite, Black Rock City Allstars
  Vixens – 906 Victorian Ave. – Sparks
  October 23 @ 9 p.m.
  Party the week before Halloween with a costume contest, giveaways and performances by Enzyme Dynamite of the Bayliens, DJ True Justice, XienHow, Black Rock City Allstars, Wordplay and live art by Stk One.
• Reno Beer Crawl – Halloween Homecoming Edition
  Amendment 21 Grill & Sports Bar – 425 S. Virginia St. – Reno
  Every 4th Saturday of the month (starting October 24)
  Monthly crawl serves specialty beers downtown. Dress up for this one and take part in some special UNR homecoming stops.
• Nowloween – Dance of the Dead
  Reno-Sparks Convention Center – 4590 S. Virginia St. – Reno
  October 24 @ 7 p.m.
  An early Halloween costume party featuring several electronica artists and DJs in several rooms. They include Frankie Bones, DJ ESP, Bryan Cox, DJ Flave, Danny the Wildchild, Tom Foolery, and Ripple. Full bar for those over 21. Benefits local food banks.
• Skin, Sin and Ink Tattoo Competition
  Diamond Dolls – 310 Spokane St. – Reno
  October 29 @ 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. (Finals)
  The Skin, Sin and Ink Competition is back for a third year, so join Chris Payne and KRZQ every Thursday at Diamond Dolls for a different tattoo parlor’s show every week and tattoo contest where one lucky person will win a custom-designed tattoo worth $600. And at the end, on Oct. 29, the finals will pit the best designs against each other. Every night enjoy $2 Jager shots and $2 Coors and Coors Lights. The event has gotten so big, it’s even being featured in Skin Ink tattoo magazine. Schedule: July 23: Deep Ink Tattoo July 30: Aces Tattoo Aug. 6: Lucky 7 Tattoo Aug. 13: Stain Tattoo Aug. 20: Body Graphics Tattoo Aug. 27: Reno Tattoo Sept. 3: Battle Born Tattoo Sept. 10: Distinct Ink Sept. 17: Neighborhood Ink Sept. 24: Nightmare Studios Oct. 1: Absolute Tattoo Oct. 8: Stingray Tattoo Oct. 15: Under Your Skin Tattoo Oct. 22: Evolution Tattoo Oct. 29: Tattoo Competition Finals
• Reno Zombie Halloween Bar Crawl
  Amendment 21 Grill & Sports Bar – 425 S. Virginia St. – Reno
  October 30 @ 8 p.m.
  Last year, more than 300 people came out for the Reno Zombie Crawl, shuffling from stop to stop in downtown Reno. The event returns with a vengeance, promising more brains, gore and, probably most important, beer. The goal is $2 drink specials at all the participating bars.
• Fantasies in Chocolate Vampire’s Ball
  Grand Sierra Resort and Casino – 2500 E. Second St. – Reno
  October 30 @ 7 p.m.
  Fantasies in Chocolate is a black-tie benefit party for the Reno Gazette-Journal Foundation and, even more important, overflows with chocolate and drinks. This year, it’s taking advantage of the proximity to Halloween and just going all out. More than 65 vendors serve chocolate and champagne and all kinds of other treats and drinks. Feel free to dress up or go with classic formal attire, but $1,000 goes to the best-dressed vampire and vampiress. Liquid Blue has taken over organizing duties and are bringing in new vendors and adding new twists to the annual event, now in its 25th year. Win a pair of tickets from us!
• Wild Erotic Ball – Blood Lust
  Grande Exposition Hall at the Silver Legacy – 407 N. Virginia St. – Reno
  October 30 @ 9 p.m.
  Wild 102.9’s annual Halloween party has caught vampire fever, and you can feel the Blood Lust at this year’s Wild Erotic Ball, a night of drinks, dancing and costumes. There’s a contest, of course, and live DJ.
• Day of the Dead Live Art Show & Masquerade Ball
  The Tree House Lounge – 555 E. Fourth St. (behind The Underground) – Reno
  October 30 @ 7 p.m.
  Reno Erotico Diablo presents a benefit for breast cancer research. The second annual party features a ball and live art for sale with half the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Performers and other entertainment include Black Rock City Allstars, Bohemian Burlesque, body painting, and costume contest.
• Punk Skalloween
  The Underground – 555 E. Fourth St., Suite B – Reno
  October 30 @ 9 p.m.
  A Halloween concert with some ska and a lot of punk. Keyser Soze headlines with Del Mar and the Humans. DJ D. Bruce also spins.
• Halloween Cover Band Show
  Rainshadow Community Charter High School – 121 Vesta St. – Reno
  October 30 @ 7 p.m.
  Halloween party show with tributes to The Clash, Sam Cooke, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Bangles, Blondie, Violent Femmes and more. Sponsored by the Holland Project.
• Halloween weekend at Eldorado
  Eldorado Hotel Casino – 345 N. Virginia St. – Reno
  October 30 @ 8 p.m.
  The Eldorado’s many nightspots host Halloween activities, kicking off Oct. 30 with a coffin crawl at 8 p.m. to places like Brew Brothers and Cin Cin for drinks and prizes before reaching the Wild Erotic Ball at the Silver Legacy. On Oct. 30 and 31, Brew Brothers hosts a party at 10 p.m. with $5,000 in prizes for the costume contest. DJ Spook and dancing go down at Cin Cin starting at 9 p.m. on Oct. 31.
• AC/DShe
  Crystal Bay Club-Casino – 14 Nevada 28 – Crystal Bay
  October 30 @ 9 p.m.
  The all-female AC/DC tribute band plays for a Devil’s Night Party in the Crown Room followed by The Marones playing an after party Red Room show.
• Skin & Scare Ball
  EDGE at the Peppermill – 2707 S. Virginia St. – Reno
  October 31 @ 10 p.m.
  The Peppermill’s fourth annual Skin Scare Ball takes place at Edge, with just the normal $20 cover. $5,000 in prizes will be awarded in the costume contest, with winners for scariest, sexiest, silliest and more.
• Halloween $500 Beer Pong Tournament
  Club Cal Neva Hotel Casino – 1 E. First St. – Reno
  October 31 @ 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
  Since this beer pong tournament is every Saturday, it’s also on Halloween. But the holiday event is earlier than usual, at 6 p.m., so players will still have time for other Halloween events. Aside from the usual $500 in prize money, prizes will also be awarded for best and scariest costume.
• Freakers Ball 12
  Bruka Theatre – 99 N. Virginia St. – Reno
  October 31 @ 9 p.m.
  The annual Bruka Halloween event includes music, magic, masquerade, mayhem and much more.
• Hollywood Undead Halloween Party
  Jungle Vino – 248 W. First St. – Reno
  October 31 @ 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.
  Haunting both Jungle Vino and Java Jungle, this Halloween party has a Hollywood theme, with guests encouraged to dress as their favorite movie character, bit player or rock star for the costume contest.
• Rocky Horror Picture Show
  Red Martini – 214 West Commercial Row – Reno
  October 31 @ 11:55 p.m.
  Celebrate Halloween in style with a full-fledged Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with all of the props, costumes and other types of adult fun. All costumes welcome, so drop by in between or after other Halloween festivities.Donations of peanut butter, jelly or loafs of bread for the local charity Spread Peace Reno, which serves the area’s homeless, are appreciated.
• Helloween Metal Fest 2009
  The Underground – 555 E. Fourth St., Suite B – Reno
  October 31 @ 11 p.m.
  Seven bands play for a Halloween concert, with Zend, Deplete, Fire to Reason, Sinister Scene, Dominion NV, Dead Wreckoning and Determined. The costume contest has $150 in cash prizes and $5 shots get you a free PBR. Buy advance tickets from any of the bands. After 11 p.m, the event is 21 and over only.
• Halloween with Ashlee Stone
  Biggest Little City Club – 188 California Ave. – Reno
  October 31 @ 9 p.m.
  Join Ashlee Stone, DJ Sean Murray and the BLCC Crew for Halloween fun, including costume contests (such as rhinestone cowboy) with $200 cash prize. VIP table service is available (e-mail for details).
• Halloween Party and Shames CD release
  Chapel Tavern – 1495 S. Virginia St. – Reno
  October 31 @ 10 p.m.
  Halloween concert with the Shames (celebrating their CD release), the Humans, and Pinky Polanski, with prizes for best male and female costume.
• Halloween party at Strega
  Strega Bar – 310 S Arlington Ave. – Reno
  October 31 @ 9 p.m.
  Halloween at Strega features a costume contest and scary specials including $4 TUACA Hot Cider and $4 Peppermint Patties.
• Glam-Rock Gala with the Reagan Years
  Tonic Lounge - 231 W. Second St. – Reno
  October 31 @ 10 p.m.
  The Reagan Years host this retro bash, with all costumes encouraged but special discount for those rocking ’70s and ’80s glam-rock outfits. $100 costume contest and prize giveaways. Courtesy Call opens. Drink specials include $2 pumpkin beer.
• Hellaween with Evergreen Terrace
  Vixens – 906 Victorian Ave. – Sparks
  October 30 @ 7:30 p.m.
  Touring band Evergreen Terrace performs with For the Fallen Dreams, Asking Alexandria, Unholy, and Barcadia. For those who like their candy-oriented holidays loud.
• Beck’s House of Horrors
  Beck’s Brew House - 3611 Kings Row – Reno
  October 31 @ 7 p.m.
  The mayhem starts at 7 p.m. with drink specials and a potent witches brew. The costume contest is at 10 p.m. with prizes for best costume, best couple and most disturbing.
• Nigels’ 14th Annual Halloween Bash
  3rd Street – 125 W. Third St. – Reno
  October 31 @ 8 p.m.
  The annual party features the band Hardrive and a contest for best costume at midnight.
• Halloween open bar at Amendment 21
  Amendment 21 Grill & Sports Bar – 425 S. Virginia St. – Reno
  October 31 @ 10 p.m. – 12 a.m.
  On Halloween from 10 p.m. to midnight, enjoy $5 mugs and $20 for free refills on all well and draft drinks.
• Halloween parties at Bonanza
  Bonanza Casino - 4720 N. Virginia St. – Reno
  October 30 @ 7 p.m.
  On Oct. 30, there is a DJ debuting the bar’s new dance floor. On Oct. 31, the Bonanza hosts a costume contest at 9 p.m. with $500 in prizes. Registration is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Fort Reno Booth, and then there’s dancing all night.
• Creeper’s Ball Costume Party – Tainted Love
  Crystal Bay Club-Casino – 14 Nevada 28 – Crystal Bay
  October 31 @ 9 p.m.
  Annual costume party featuring the ’80s tribute band.
• Le Chamois Halloween Party
  The Village at Squaw Valley – 1750 Village East Road – Olympic Valley
  October 31 @ 8 p.m
  DJ Blue 42 will be spinning dance tunes at 9 p.m. at the Le Chamois bar. Costumes are strongly encouraged.
• Virginia City All Hallow’s Eve
  Silver Queen Hotel – 28 N. C St. – Virginia City
  October 31 @ 5 p.m. – 1 a.m.
  Presented by Bats in the Belfry. Spend a chilling Halloween night with the spirits of Virginia City. Includes a buffet style dinner, discussion panel on paranormal investigating presented by Ghost Posse Inc. and four hours of ghost hunting in some of the most haunted places in Virginia City. Advance ticket sales only. Event goes from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.
• Halloween Party Dinner and Dance
  Gold Hill Hotel – 1540 Main St. – Gold Hill
  October 31 @ 5 p.m.
  Fine dining from 5-9 p.m. followed by music for dancing from 9 till midnight. Costumes are encouraged with awards for best costume. Call to reserve.

It may be fall, but the fun isn’t slowing down in Reno Tahoe. Among the highlights for today and tomorrow are The Chieftans, the International Outhouses Races in Virginia City and the Reno Celtic Celebration.

October 2

• Nevada Opera Bizet’s Carmen
  Bizet’s final masterpiece set in 1830’s Seville, Spain, Carmen is a tragic tale of obsessive passion and jealousy. Loved by the unpredictable gypsy heroine, a young officer must choose between following his military career or following Carmen. Read More

• The Chieftains
  The legendary Chieftains have served as the benchmark for Irish traditional music for the past four decades. The six-time Grammy winners, credited for bringing traditional Irish music to the world’s attention, uncover the wealth of traditional Irish music that has accumulated over the centuries making the music their own with a style that is as exhilarating as it is definitive. Read More

• Nevada Repertory Company presents Ubu the King
  Nevada Repertory Company presents “Ubu the King”* by Alfred Jarry and directed by Rob Gander. One of the most extraordinary events of the late 19th century in Paris happened Dec. 11, 1895, at the Theatre de l’Oeuvre where the audience was scandalized by Alfred Jarry’s revolutionary satire, Ubu Roi. Read More

• Argenta presents Circa 1809
  Join university music faculty members Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, violin; and James Winn, piano, as they welcome their new cellist and music faculty member, Dmitri Atapine, to Argenta. As a winner of the Carlos Prieto and Llanes International Cello Competition (Mexico), Mr. Atapine has since been recognized as an exciting cellist and accomplished chamber musician. Read More

October 2-3

• Super Diamond
  Since 1993, Super Diamond has made it their mission to spread the “good word of Neil” to all, bridging the gap between young and old, rich and poor, great and small. They recently performed on the Late Show with David Letterman. Read More

October 3

• International Outhouse Races
  Take an adventure back in time during historic Virginia City’s World Championship Outhouse Races. This hilarious Comstock tradition pits teams of costumed outhouse racers against each oth­er as one person rides and the remaining team members manage to push, pull or drag the outhouse quickly down the track. The always-outrageous outhouse parade on Saturday features Virginia City’s famous “Plungerettes.” Read More

October 3-4

• Reno Celtic Celebration
  Pipe Bands, Celtic Musicians, Highland Games, Scottish and Irish Dancers, Celtic Vendors and More … Make plans to join the 19th Annual Celebration. Read More

For complete Reno Tahoe entertainment listings, visit our calendar online.

Buckbean Brewing Company, Nevada’s largest production microbrewery, is challenging beer snobs to think outside the bottle.

The brewery is sponsoring the first ever CANFEST – Reno International Canned Beer Festival, the first international beer judging and tasting for canned beer, to take place at the Grand Sierra Resort, Oct. 23.

Buckbean is a homegrown Northern Nevada favorite beer, and packages its beers exclusively in 16-ounce cans. It turns out microbrewers who opt for the can over the bottle is an elite fraternity, and Buckbean wants to help expose this burgeoning segment to the world, while crushing the myths about beer in a can.

Along with Buckbean Brewing Company, Big Sky Brewing Company, Oskar Blues, Ukiah Brewing Company, Maui Brewing Company, Surly Brewing Company, New Belgium Brewing Company, Uncommon Brewers, and Rochester Mills Brewing Company are a few that have confirmed they will attend the event.

The competition takes place at the Grand Sierra Theater, from 6:30-10:30 p.m. Judging will take place prior to the public tasting. Celebrities from the beer world will judge the beers individually, based on categories still to be decided. Beer seminars, beer and food pairings and a forum of brewers that can beer are planned.

Ticket prices are $35 per person and room packages will be available.

Do you love cars and the movies that feature them? Then Movie Night at the National Automobile Museum might get your motor running.

This hot-pink custom Honda S2000 with a Veilside bodykit is a big hit in the Masterpiece Exhibit of Movie Cars: Cinematic Stars on Wheels at the museum in downtown Reno. See the car and the film “2 Fast 2 Furious,” in which it’s featured during Movie Night at the Museum, Thursday, Sept. 24 at 5:30 p.m.

Admission is $10 and includes all exhibits and the film which starts at 7 p.m. The film is the second in the series of adrenaline-fueled thrill ride movies packed with car races. Parking is free in the museum lot on the corner of Mill and Lake streets (map).

For more information visit www.automuseum.org or call 775-333-9300.

Xtreme Sports Bar + Lounge inside Grand Sierra Resort and Livfast, a nationally recognized freestyle motocross team, present All In, a motocross event featuring riders from around the globe, and a daredevil attempt at a record-breaking jump.

Grand Sierra Resort sets the stage for a heart-pounding, action packed evening to celebrate the grand opening party of Xtreme and caps the night off with a record-breaking jump by nationally recognized rider Ryan Capes.

Capes, the newest addition to the Livfast team, will attempt a 300-foot ramp-to-ramp jump to smash the current record of 252 feet set in 1999. The jump from metal, man-constructed ramps pays homage to pioneers of the sport, such as Evil Knievel, and is considered more dangerous than jumps from traditional dirt ramps.

The party continues on with a grand opening celebration in Xtreme with a performance by MiniKiss, the hottest, littlest Kiss tribute band. The group hits the stage for a dynamic live performance of the renowned band’s legendary anthems.  It’s sure to be an unforgettable night as the mini tribute band brings “Crazy, Crazy Nights” to the hottest new bar scene in Reno.

When: Saturday, Sept. 26

La Tomatina en Reno brought America’s Biggest Food Fight to Reno on Saturday at the Reno City Plaza. Nearly 5,000 participants threw 50,000 pounds of tomatoes in the inaugaral event, raising thousands for cancer research. Check out these photos and be sure to catch next year’s event:



Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Videos of the event have also been popping up:

Every year, the shore of Sand Harbor in Incline Village transforms into a playground for the arts, as the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival takes center stage with beautiful Lake Tahoe and perfect “Mid-summer night” sunsets to make it all the more magical.

We had occasion on July 29 to take in a performance of “Much Ado About Nothing,” a Shakespearian love story with all of the twists, turns and bumbling characters typical of the Bard’s work. In addition to unique portrayals, including modern references and musical interludes, the troupe nailed their timing and didn’t hesitate to bring the audience into the production on occasion.

Although the atmosphere is casual – a laid-back amphitheatre setting with concessions – there is no sacrifice made for quality. Theater buffs will be pleasantly surprised as characters like Beatrice and Benedick, Don Pedro and Claudio, and of course the lovely Hero, come to life. Borachio and Conrade provide frequent comic relief as clumsy Mafiosos.

This year’s Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival runs through Aug. 23, with performances of “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Measure for Measure,” as well as the Urban Village Music Series on Monday nights. Tickets are reasonable, guests are encouraged to bring picnics … and where else can you put your toes in the sand while watching Shakespeare?

For more information, log on to the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival Web site. Don’t miss one of Reno Tahoe’s great annual events.

It’s the one night when superheroes and villains get along just fine – if you missed the Superhero Pub Crawl in downtown Reno, check out the photos below. And don’t miss the Hawaiian-Style Reno Beer Crawl July 25.

Check out the photoset on Flickr.

Celebrate the vibrant cultures of the Pacific Rim during the 11th Annual Pacific Island Festival of Reno, July 24-26. Opening Ceremonies kick off Friday, July 24 at 3 p.m. and the festival continues Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. All festivities will be on the Downtown Plaza on 4th and Virginia Street and inside the Reno Ballroom.

Part of Reno’s Artown Celebration, this free event is presented by Pacific Exchange Productions and Silver Legacy Resort Casino. The Opening Ceremony features the blowing of the conch shell and a performance by Tahitian dance ensemble ‘Ote’a ‘Api to the roaring sounds of Toere and Pahu, Tahitian drums. Entertainment, dancing, contests and great food will be served all weekend long.

For more information about the Pacific Island Festival of Reno, call 1-800-687-8733 or visit online at www.silverlegacy.com.