Many people know exactly how their dream wedding will play out, right down to the flowers, music, weather and cake flavor. Are you among those who have fantasized about getting married in the sky?

The Great Reno Balloon Race is offering that once-in-a-lifetime experience this fall! On September 11, 2010 you can get married at The Great Reno Balloon Race! All eyes will be on you as the first bridal couple to wed at this internationally renowned hot-air balloon festival. Featured on the graceful rolling hills of Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, this dramatic event is the perfect backdrop to your dream wedding. Experience the beauty and excitement of a glorious morning wedding as a rainbow of hot-air balloons drift above your magical and romantic ceremony; this will be a spectacular wedding to remember! The Love is in the Air Wedding* will be awarded to the highest bidding couple. This exclusive destination wedding package will be provided to the lucky bride and groom by the Weddings of the West Association.

The All inclusive premier Wedding Package is valued at over $58,000+ and includes:

• Wedding and reception for 25 guests at The Great Reno Balloon Race
• Hot-air balloon ride directly following wedding***
• Wedding consultant
• Catering
• Decorating****
• Florists****
• Music/musicians****
• Tuxedos****
• Limousine service
• Bridal Suite & fine dining
• Choice of two unique honeymoons
• Hair & make-up for bride****
• Make-up for bridal party****
• Officiants
• Photographers****
• Videographer
• Wedding Invitations and collateral
• Wedding cake

The current bid is $9,600 and bidding closes TONIGHT at the stroke of midnight!

For more information please click here, call 775-826-1181 or email wedding@renoballoon.com. All proceeds from this wedding package go to The Great Reno Balloon Race, which is a non-profit community event.

Sure, you’re sopped in on Earth Day 2010, but it is after all HER day and Mother Earth can do as she pleases. Plus, you can let your sprinklers take a break and let her do all of the work.

People across the Reno Tahoe area are getting creative on ways to give back to the planet on the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day celebrations. Below you’ll find a list of events in Reno Tahoe starting tonight and lasting through your weekend. (We’re expecting some sunshine by Friday!)

Tonight, April 22, take your little ones on a kid-friendly sunset stroll guided by Galena naturalists from the Great Basin Institute. The evening walk through the forest at Galena Creek Regional Park is from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Enter the park through the north entrance and meet near the restrooms. The stroll is subject to weather conditions, so please call (775) 674-5475, ext. 4, on the day of the program to confirm and RSVP. All ages are welcome and the suggested donation is $2 per person. Galena Creek Regional Park is at 18350 Mt. Rose Highway.

The Siena in downtown Reno is saluting Earth Day on Thursday, April 22 with 99-cent green beer, mixers, live music, a special fashion show and unique Earth Day Spin to Win which could net players $500. The Siena will match every dollar won in free play with the purchase of Emission Reduction Credits.  The fashion show kicks off at 7 p.m. in the Loft, featuring styles from Night Kind Burner Gear, Prism Magic’s Lucious Ladies, Vicki Lowell McGuiness, Junkee Recycled Clothing, Kalifornia Jean Bar, Veronica Coleman and others.  A live D.J. will spin the tunes and drink specials. To learn more visit the Siena’s Web site.

Saturday, April 24 check out the Bourgeouis Gypsies as they perform at the Alpine Meadows Spring Music Series. Straight from Sierraville, the Bourgeouis Gypsies have wandered across the country sharing their “hillbilly” mix of country, blues, swamp ballads, and homespun hillbilly heartbreaks. This five-member band shows exactly how much heart they have through the depth of their music. For more information visit their Web site.

Learn how to raise your own poultry and other animals, including ducks, rabbit s and bees, in the garden on Saturday, April 24 at the River School in Reno. Visit their Web site for more information.

People of all ages are invited to attend the Tahoe Truckee Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 24 at Squaw Valley USA. Families can learn about recycling, composting, alternative energy, sustainability, watershed and forest health. The festival will feature numerous vendors, speakers and live music! Visit their Web site for more information.

Sunday, April 25 take the whole gang (minus your pet – sorry, City of Reno policy) down to Idlewild Park for Reno’s 21^st Annual Earth Day celebration. (The forecasted high that day is 71°!) The day will feature music on a biofuel-powered stage, sustainability workshops, children’s activities, a sustainable farmers’ market, free recycling for stuff like cell phones, booths with earth-friendly food, goods, and services. Over 200 vendors will be there and you’ll enjoy a variety of live entertainment all day.

Earth Day is organized by Nevada EcoNet. Activities will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is free. Free parking and a free shuttle service to Idlewild Park will be available at nearby Reno High School, 395 Booth Street. If you ride a bike, roller blades, or skateboard, free valet service at Idlewild Park will be offered by the Reno Bike Project. For more information, call Nevada EcoNet at (775) 323-3433.

Happy Chinese New Year!  The year of the Tiger will be celebrated in several locations throughout Reno Tahoe.

Join the Reno Pops Orchestra, Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7:00 PM, in a celebration of the Chinese New Year in UNR’s Nightingale Concert Hall. Follow Marco Polo along the Silk Road to China through music, and end with a Chinese New Year celebration. They will feature two young local soloists from the Huang family on a variety of Chinese folk instruments, as well as other performers. The Orchestra program includes “On the Steppes of Central Asia”, “Procession of the Sardar”, themes from “Mulan”, and some unique pieces for Chinese orchestra arranged for western orchestral instrumentation. The concert is Free, but they are always happy to receive donations to help cover the cost of the concert.

Come see a special Chinese Concert featuring Michael Tse, Jordan Chan and Alice Lau on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at the Reno Events Center.
Jordan originally entered the entertainment business as a backup dancer, before switching to a successful career as a comedian. In 1994 he released his debut Cantonese-language album and established his unique position in Hong Kong pop music for over a decade now.
Alice Lau is well known for her acting; people generally know her from her performance in “I have a date with Spring.” She is also known for her Cantonese-language music.
Michael Tse graduated from TVB’s Dance Training Class and worked with TVB as a dancer for 5 years. He then left TVB and formed a boy band called Wind Fire Sea with Jordan Chan and Jason Chu. Tse participated Hong Kong’s first modern musical Snow Wolf Lake in 1997.

The Silver Legacy will be ringing in the year of the Tiger with an authentic Lion/Dragon dance in celebration of Chinese New Year!
The lion and dragon dance symbolizes good luck and prosperity for the year to come and is an important ritual of Chinese culture. The Chinese consider Lions as guardians and are used to exorcise evil spirits and summon luck and fortune. Dragons are considered to be friendly and helpful creatures associated with strength, good fortune, wisdom and longevity.
The ceremonial lion and dragon dance will happen Feb 13-15 and 19-21,  Click here for all times. The Lion/Dragon will make its way through the mezzanine level of Silver Legacy Casino and the Mezzanine, spreading its good luck where ever it goes. The colorful spectacle will feature a parade of dancers and musicians dressed in elaborate costumes playing authentic music.

恭喜發財,利是逗來

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

Have you ever attended “Burning Man,” the wildly original annual art event that attracts more than 50,000 people to a remote area of northern Nevada on the Black Rock Desert?

Described as an “experiment in community, radical self-expression and radical self-reliance,” it’s really out there, both artistically and geographically.

Many friends make the annual trek to this destination. After getting to Reno, it requires a three car ride through ascetically beautiful desert and small but not forgotten towns.

Now, thanks to the wonders of technology, you can get a sense of the place without leaving home.

All you have to do is watch the live stream from “Burning Man,” which gets its name from the ritualized, Saturday night burning of the colossal male timber figure.

The Great Reno Balloon Race is a beloved event, which has decorated the Reno sky for 28 years. The early hours are all worth it once 100 balloons ascend into the early morning sky for a spectacular show of bright colors and fun shapes.

To make this year’s event an easy and worry free experience, follow some of these simple tips provided by the event organizers:

Stay in your pajamas on Saturday, Sept. 12 for The World’s Largest Pajama Party, sponsored by momslikeme.com and Farmers Insurance! Hang out in the pajama party tent and get your photo taken by the Pajamarazzi. Come in your best (or worst) bed-head to enter in the Bed-Head competition. Register at www.renoballoon.com.

• September mornings tend to be a little chilly and the weather can be unpredictable, so be sure to dress in layers.
• Please leave your pets at home. Large of crowds of people, strange surroundings and weird noises may scare them and make them act out of character.
• Smoking is prohibited on the launch field. Dry grass, propane and sparks do not mix.
• Bring a camera with you so you can capture every moment of this incredible event.
• Admission is free, but make sure you bring money for tethered rides, souvenirs or food and drink from a variety of vendors.
• Parking is limited at the event so make sure to arrive early. You can also use RTC RIDE, which will have both pick-up and drop-off at three different locations: CITICENTER in Downtown Reno, Reed High School and Meadowood Mall. Also, many local hotel sponsors provide transportation, so be sure to ask when you check in.

For more information about this year’s Great Reno Balloon Race and a complete schedule of events, visit www.renoballoon.com.

- Provided by the Great Reno Balloon Race

The Great Reno Balloon Race returns for its 28th year Sept. 11, 12 and 13 to Rancho San Rafael Regional Park in northwest Reno, showcasing more than 100 hot-air balloons from all over the world. This year’s event will include the World’s Largest Pajama Party on Saturday, Sept. 12. So stay in your PJs and don’t be afraid to show off that bed-head in the hilarious Bed- Head Competition.

Crowd favorites return this year with the Wells Fargo-sponsored bumble bees and stagecoach- shaped balloon. The Energizer Bunny keeps going and going as it makes yet another appearance this year, with ears as tall as the presidents’ faces on Mount Rushmore! Smokey the Bear returns to the Balloon Race thanks to Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators. The Mayflower balloon will make its third event appearance this year thanks to Sierra Moving Systems.

A new shape will make its debut at the Balloon Race this year thanks to the Wilbur D. May Foundation.  Pandy the Panda Bear, standing at 100-feet tall, will provide tethered rides to children after Mass Ascension each day. Lastly, Tony the Tiger will appear, standing nearly nine stories tall!

It’s worth the wake to see these gentle giants ascend into the early morning sky for a spectacular show of bright colors and fun shapes. For a full event schedule, travel resources and parking information, visit www.renoballoon.com or call (775) 826-1181.

Artown, one of the premier arts festivals in the west, is on its way to a banner year with great opening acts at the beginning of July, with more than 300 performances, many of them free, planned throughout the month.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band brought the flavor of New Orleans to Wingfield Park on July 2 with a free concert that had the crowd dancing, clapping and be-bopping along. The smoky skies cleared out just long enough to let the Northern Nevada sun shine down on the venue, while the band played some new stuff along with the jazz standards for which Preservation Hall is famous.

Every day for the duration of the Artown festival, there are options for every taste, from dance and art, to music and theater. Check online to see a full schedule of events, and if you haven’t experienced Reno during Artown, come and find out what you have been missing.