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.

Cinematography is the medium. Action sports and adventure is the subject. Well known as a breeding ground for elite athletes and year-round adventurers, Lake Tahoe is the stage for the 7th Annual Tahoe Adventure Film Festival to be held Dec. 12 at Montbleu Resort Casino & Spa in South Lake Tahoe.

Designed to capture the intensity and passion of adventure, the Tahoe Adventure Film Festival (TAFF) showcases 10-minute clips from the best action sports films of the year in one evening. TAFF organizers spend months pouring over footage from every corner of the globe to narrow down the film submissions to the top 10. Films cover the full spectrum of adventure by the action sports world’s best talent, featuring sports like skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, rock climbing, surfing, skating, mountain biking, BASE jumping and other heart-pounding sports. The high-energy films are amplified by live acts including special guest speakers, action sports photography by Aurora Photos, go-go dancers, DJs, and always a few special surprises to keep the audience entertained.

“The festival’s fast pace and action-packed films keep us on edge; that fine line that defines world-class athletes and fuels our passion for adventure at any level,” says Todd Offenbacher, TAFF founder and event host. “We put together a line-up of the best films of the year and showcase them in one night of energy, excitement and fun that appeal to all audiences.”

A highlight of the festival is the Golden Camalot Award which recognizes one athlete or filmmaker for their athletic prowess, achievements and leadership role in action and adventure sports. Past TAFF Camalot recipients include snowboard pioneer Jeremy Jones, 86-year-old mountaineer Fred Beckey, extreme skier Glen Plake, world-class rock climber Tommy Caldwell, and legendary climber/kayaker Royal Robbins.

This year TAFF has partnered with the Sierra Avalanche Center to host the biggest raffle in the festival’s history. Prizes include Lake Tahoe resort season passes, a trip with Points North Heli Adventures, an afternoon with Pacific Crest Snowcats, and enough gear and swag to stock any adventure enthusiast’s garage.

The festival starts at 6:30 p.m. with an action sports photography display from award-winning Aurora Photos followed by the main event at 7:30pm. For festival details, visit www.LakeTahoeFilmFestival.com. Tickets are available at the Montbleu Resort box office or www.ticketmaster.com.

Each year the floats come out … along with the horses, the Shriners in their little cars, kids and high school bands from miles around during the Nevada Day Parade.

Nevada has the distinction of being the state with the largest formal celebration honoring its admittance into statehood. This year, it will commemorate 145 years of statehood during the annual Nevada Day Celebration, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in Carson City.

The highlight of the celebration is the Nevada Day Parade on Oct. 31 with the theme for our 2009 parade “A Salute to President Lincoln.”
Come see the Silver State shine on the streets of Carson City.

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.

Italy comes to Downtown Reno on Oct. 10-11, with the Eldorado Great Italian Festival, a celebration of the region’s connection to the old country – many Italian immigrant families call Northern Nevada home – and a fun, family friendly atmosphere.

The festival, now in its 28th year, has come a long way from its hometown roots. Highlights include free live Italian entertainment on three stages, a spaghetti sauce cook-off, traditional Italian fare from dozens of vendors – and f course the famous grape-stomping contest.

There is also a Bocce ball tournament, kids’ gelato eating contest, endless shopping opportunities and culinary delights from the likes of the Garlic Growers Association of Gilroy and the Castroville Artichoke Growers.

The weekend music schedule takes over two stages downtown, with some of the biggest names in traditional Italian music, like Ray Massa’s Eurorhythms, Roma Accordion and Deidre Contino to name a few.

• What: Eldorado Great Italian Festival
• When: October 10-11
• Where: Downtown Reno
• Web: Eldorado Hotel Casino

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.

The rumble of motorcycles has officially filled Reno Tahoe as 25,000 of the region’s friends on two wheels pour in for Street Vibrations, the area’s annual celebration of bikes, bikers and the people who love them. Throughout the weekend, there will be events, contests, cruises and tons of food and live music (events calendar), but the highlight may come Saturday evening at Grand Sierra Resort when daredevil rider Ryan Capes attempts to smash the world record for a ramp-to-ramp jump.

Capes, who was recently featured on the ESPN FMX blog in preview of the jump, said the jump harkens back to the glory days of motorcycling.

“Well, about three years ago at Evel Knievel Days, I went for the ramp-to-ramp world record and I jumped 246 feet — seven feet short of the record,” he told ESPN’s Ryan Leyba. “I would’ve broken it back then, but I didn’t due to the fact that the wind was whipping badly and I had to shut it down — so I’m coming back to Reno and I’m going for the record again. I’m on a bigger takeoff ramp and a bigger landing ramp, and I plan on being the first guy to jump 300 feet ramp-to-ramp. The record right now is 253 feet, set by Jason Rennie, and I will beat that.”

The attempt is no joke. Construction shows a take off ramp that stretchs more than 20 feet off the ground, and a huge landing ramp — the largest ever built according to Capes — that rises approximately 30 feet. The event is all part of the grand opening celebration of the Xtreme Sportsbar + Lounge at the hotel-casino. The evening will also feature a performance by MiniKiss, a Kiss tribute band headlined by the most rockin-est little people this side of the Rockies.

When: Saturday, Sept. 26

• 6 p.m. Livfast freestyle demos and record-breaking attempt by rider Ryan Capes.
• 8:30 – 9 p.m. Performance by MiniKiss in the Grand Sierra parking lot.
• 10 p.m. Afterparty in Xtreme Sports Bar + Lounge with a special grand opening performance by Mini Kiss.

Where: Grand Sierra Resort parking lot, and inside the casino

Video: Capes’ previous world-record jump:

Street Vibrations, one of the nation’s largest motorcycle events, Sept. 23-27, brings together enthusiasts of every stripe, taking over Reno Tahoe with rides, competitions, food, music and fun.

You don’t have to be a motorcycle nut to enjoy Street Vibrations, but it helps. Thousands of bikers mix with casual riders, builders and spectators to check out each others’ rides, listen to some rock n’ roll, and share the company of friends on a sunny afternoon.

For more information and a schedule of events, visit the event Web site.



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It’ like Nascar racing, but a lot more dangerous …. and a lot faster.

Daredevil pilots take to the sky during the Reno National Championship Air Races this week (Sept. 16-20), bringing the world’ best pilots together to compete for prize money and bragging rights at Stead Field north of Reno, Nev.

The annual event enters its 64th year, offering spectators a jaw-dropping spectacle of speed – racers reach up to 500 mph, the fastest-moving machines in motorsports – as they jockey around pylons placed throughout the field. The view from the grandstands is up close and personal, and the action is non-stop. Several different classes of aircraft compete throughout the week, and between races a procession of aviation-related events, from acrobatic performances to static aircraft shows – including a performance by the Blue Angels – keeps the entertainment going. Come out and celebrate one of the best shows in the sky.

Schedule:

Sept. 16

• Qualifying begins at 8 a.m., with race heats throughout the day and into the late afternoon, including: Biplane, F-1 Stage, Jets, T-6 and Sport. The Blue Angels perform circling maneuvers at 1:15.

Sept. 17

• Races start at 8 a.m., with the Biplane heat kicking off the action. Following morning racing, performer David Martin takes to the sky at 9:50 a.m., with racing and performances throughout the day, including: Patty Wagstaff, Smoke and Thunder (Red Eagles) and the Blue Angels.

Sept. 18

• Races in all classes are held all day, 8:25 a.m.-4:10 p.m. Special performances include: The Red Eagles, Patty Wagstaff, Smoke and Thunder, Blue Angels, David Martin and a military demo.

Sept. 19

• Racing from 8:25 a.m.-4 p.m. in all classes, with performances by David Martin, Patty Wagstaff, another military demo, Smoke and Thunder, the Blue Angels and the Red Eagles.

Sept. 20

• Final day of white-knuckle racing in all classes, and more acrobatic performances and military demonstrations. The final race, the Unlimited Gold Race, will be held at 4:05 p.m.

For complete information on the Reno National Championship Air Races, log on to www.AirRace.org.

It was nearing our scheduled 7 a.m. launch time, and pilot David Wakefield was busy with last-minute details: checking rigging, test-firing the burners, tethering the balloon to the bumper of the chase vehicle. And he was doing it all with a grin stretching from ear to ear.

Such is the life of a balloon pilot during the Great Reno Balloon Race. Safety is first, but fun runs a close second. And Wakefield was obviously having fun.

“When you love something this much, it never gets old,” he said. He ran from one side of the balloon to the other, all the while trading jokes with our fellow passengers and doing the “work” of preparing for our ascent in the Harrah’s-sponsored balloon.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Thursday’s media day event was a scaled down version of what visitors to Reno’s Rancho San Rafael Park (map) can expect this weekend (Sept. 11-13). About two-dozen balloons were set out in the park’s green pastures, propane burners blasting hot air as the colorful nylon bloomed all around us. My first ride in a balloon offered perfect conditions, as the sun peaked over the Virginia Range to the east. It was majestic.

Our route took us in a box formation about 1,500 feet up where we mingled with other balloons and traded positions with fellow fliers. The silence is the striking thing – interrupted only by the occasional burner blast that would give us our lift. From our vantage point, we could see all of the Truckee Meadows, with the cities of Reno and Sparks laid out before us. We floated east, then south above the University of Nevada campus. With predictable wind, and luck of the draw, a draft brought us back almost directly to where we started.

With a master’s touch, Wakefield set us down about 100 feet from our original launch site. And with my first flight under my belt, I stepped out of the basket, grinning from ear to ear. This would never get old.

The Great Reno Balloon Race 2009

• When: Sept. 11-13
• Where: Rancho San Rafael Park, Reno
• Cost: FREE!
• Time: Events starting at dawn
• On the Web: www.RenoBalloon.com