Tag: gardnerville

This weekend is Carson Valley Days, the Carson Valley's big yearly celebration. Why they always schedule this and the Carson City Rendezvous on the same weekend every year is a mystery I'll never be able to explain. But that's just the way it is.

Carson Valley Days this year is a big one, it's the 100th anniversary of the celebration.

A list of all the events follows, but make sure not to miss the carnival at Lampe Park or the parade down Hwy 395 Saturday morning. They're putting on a BBQ Friday night at 6:00, launching hot air balloons at 7am Saturday, and there's even going to be a fireworks show Friday night at 10:00! The schedule can be downloaded here.

Thursday, June 10
Golf Tournament (CV Golf Course): 7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Carnival (Buddy Day 2 for 1 wristbands): 5 p.m. - 11 pm.

Friday, June 11
Carnival: 3 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Music: 6 p.m.- 10 p.m.
Salute to the past BBQ: 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Firework Spectacular: 10 p.m.-10:20 p.m.

Saturday, June 12
Carson Valley Days Walk, Jog, Run Registration: 7 a.m.
Hot Air Balloon Launch: 7 a.m.
Carson Valley Days Walk, Jog, Run: 8 a.m.
Parade Registration: 7 a.m.
Carson Valley Days Parade: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Craft Show: 11 a.m. - Close
Carnival: 11 a.m. - Close
Music: 12 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Grease Pole: 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Arm Wrestling: 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Kids Water Balloon Toss: 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Tug-O-War: 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Kids watermelon eating contest: 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Horseshoe Tournament: 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Kids 3-Legged Race: 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Sunday, June 13
Volleyball Tournament: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Craft Show: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Carnival: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Music: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Grease Pole: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Glutton Bowl: 12 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Adult / Kids Tricycle Race: 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Carson Valley Days Raffle: 4 p.m.

There's a bit of a fluff erupting in the Record Courier comments about the Matley Ranch. This ranch is about 60 acres of grazing land south of Gardnerville, at the intersection of Hwy 395 and Pinenut Road, across the street from the 7-11. The owner, Peri Enterprises, had requested a change to the master plan that would convert the Matley Ranch from agricultural land to commercial, with the obvious intent of building on the site. The town board approved this change unanimously, and that's what got the commenters in an uproar. They've already been worked up by the news a few months ago that Wal-Mart is coming to Gardnerville, building on the Virginia Ranch just half a mile north. Their objections are that putting a Wal-Mart in the Carson Valley will ruin the rural character of life, as well as cannibalize business away from the local shops that line Hwy 395 through both Minden and Gardnerville. And now comes another announcement, just a short while later, of even more commercial development being planned for the same part of town. And all while the economy is in a slump and the commercial space we already have is sitting empty. So you can see why they're upset.

Although this is hardly the first time development has been proposed for the Matley Ranch. Nearly 10 years ago Peri Enterprises put forth plans for a big hotel-casino on this land, called the Villa Resort. The casino would have been patterned after a Mediterranean village, and featured a large lake fronting the highway. The casino was going to be built so that it appeared to be perched on several small islands in the lagoon, with sweeping stone arches connecting the different parts. There would also have been several acres of RV park located behind the casino. It was a striking plan, one that has stuck with me as being terribly inventive as well as terribly out-of-place in the Carson Valley. But the project fell though, just as so many hotel-casino projects planned for the Carson Valley have died.

Developers never quit, though, and now Peri Enterprises is back looking at "commercial" use for the Matley Ranch, most likely retail and office space. Maybe they'll stick with it this time, maybe it will fall apart like the Villa Resort, which never got off the ground, or the Minden Gateway, which never got above the ground. But I doubt that a few comments on the Record Courier's website will sway things much in one direction or another. Personally I don't have any particular problem with development on the Matley Ranch, since Gardnerville is going to keep growing and there's no use fighting it. That south stretch of highway is the best direction to grow in. But I don't think now is the best time for them to be developing a retail center, considering the failure of the Minden Gateway, the failure of the retail center across the street from Raley's to attract tenants, and the slump that all of Western Nevada is going through right now. It's good to bet on the future, but not too much. This project might be too much right now.

Press Release: Main Street Gardnerville's latest fund-raising project is to develop and publish a Gardnerville Heritage Cookbook. This book will be much more than just a cookbook. It will contain copies of photos and original documents as well as diary excerpts, store or business ledger pages, newspaper articles and many other items that will retell Gardnerville's past. If your family has owned a business or lived in Gardnerville for two or more generations, you can be a part of the retelling of Gardnerville's history.

Gardnerville Families Heritage Cookbook Criteria

• A family member must have owned a business in downtown Gardnerville or been a resident of Gardnerville for at least two or more generations (approximately 50 years.)
• Recipes, photos, and original documents (such as property deeds, diary excerpts, store or business ledger pages, bill of sale, newspaper articles, post cards, letters, family trees, household or business bills, hotel bill, menu from the family restaurant, etc.) must have been created and/or handed down by at least a second generation family member. They can be in the original hand of the cook, written in another family members hand or they can be in print. A history of how the recipe was developed or a fond memory associated with the recipe could be included.
• Photos can be of the family business, the family home, family members or an event.
• Other items of interest: hand written memos, stories about your family such as how they came to the area, how your parents met, a fond memory of your childhood.

The purpose of this book is to create a history of Gardnerville, of its residents and their families. We want a person to be able to get a feel for what is was like to live and work in Gardnerville many, many years ago.

Contact Paula Lochridge at plochridge@mainstreetgardnerville.org or (775) 782-8027 to make an appointment to bring your contributions into the office or to make other arrangements. Any material that is submitted will be copied or scanned into our files and returned. Feel free to call us with any ideas, comments or questions regarding this project. We look forward to being able to share our heritage cookbook with each other and with those that come to visit our town.

December is here, and that means it's time for all the Christmas kickoff events to happen all at once. There's quite a few, and if you're really quick you might be able to catch most of them.

* Carson City's Silver & Snowflakes Holiday Tree Lighting, Thursday the 3rd. That's tonight! This celebration takes place on the Capitol grounds as the state Christmas trees are lit, a choir performs, and Santa Claus makes an appearance. In past years Santa arrived on the back of a Model T, driven by a golden retriever named Beau. But since Both Beau and his trainer Bill Williamson passed away this year, Santa will arrive instead by horse-drawn carriage. After the lighting at the Capitol, everyone will walk over to the First Presbyterian Church to light the city Christmas tree.

* Minden Park Lighting, Friday the 4th. Santa arrives at 6pm at Minden Park to light the gazebo and the makeshift "christmas tree" they achieve by running lights up the flagpole.

* Genoa Tree Lighting, Friday the 4th. This one is simultaneous with Minden's, at 6pm, so you have to decide which town means more to you.

* South Lake Tahoe Community Tree Lighting, Friday the 4th. This will be held at the Visitors Center, 3066 Lake Tahoe Blvd, at 5pm. Santa Claus will be there, and sleigh and carriage rides will be available.

* Carson Valley Parade of Lights, Saturday the 5th. The parade leaves Lampe Park in Gardnerville at 5pm, and makes its way along Hwy 395 to downtown Minden. The parade units disperse after they reach Minden Park, but many of them hang out for a while so you can see them up close.

* The Virginia City Parade of Lights take place at the same time. Saturday the 5th, 5pm. This parade takes place on C Street through downtown Virginia City.

The Carson Valley Harvest Festival at Corley Ranch is taking place again this year. Every year the Corleys open up their ranch to the public with a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, corn maze, pig races, wagon rides, arts and craft, and entertainment.

The ranch is located just south of Gardnerville on Hwy 395. It is open every Saturday and Sunday in October from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and children 3 to 17, free for children 2 and younger. Pumpkins and rides cost extra.

The Record Courier this weekend has two articles about the Harvest Festival. One gives an overview of the festival and the different kinds of pumpkins available, and the other is a profile of John Howell, the plant breeder and seed scientist who grows all the pumpkins on the ranch.

You can also read my report from when I visited the ranch last year.

This has been in the rumor stages for a long time, but it sounds like things are becoming more firm for a Wal*Mart in Gardnerville. This Record Courier article outlines some of the plans, including a 152,495-square-foot store with a market, pharmacy, and tire and lube center. The location is down south of Gardnerville, just before the Carson Valley Medical Center. The map below shows the approximate site.

View in a larger map

I think this weights the shopping situation in the Carson Valley even further to the south. Right now the three big supermarkets in the valley are all clustered together in a three-block area in Gardnerville, which drives north valley residents to Carson City to shop because it's closer. This Wal*Mart will be even further south, but I suppose it makes sense. It's not that far for anyone who lives in Minden-Gardnerville, and the north county folks can just keep going to the North Douglas Wal*Mart like we always have.

But I know many times I've been down in Gardnerville and I wished there was a Wal*Mart down there so I wouldn't have to get gouged at Scolari's or RiteAid. If this goes through, I won't have to worry anymore.

Oh, this plan is coming around again. Every couple of years we hear a new plan for the Matley Ranch in south Gardnerville, in the area where Pinenut Road meets Hwy 395. In the past there was going to be a big hotel-casino on the site. Now the latest plan is for a huge commercial center, 1.5 million square feet with three large anchor stores and an attached business park. This is an ambitious plan, especially since the bankruptcy of the Minden Gateway Center, at the north end of Minden, is still smoldering. This proposed center is even larger and more ambitious, and probably runs up against the same risks. This project is a longshot for sure, but it dovetails in with the persistent rumors that Wal-Mart might be coming to Gardnerville one day. This location would probably be the perfect spot if they do come to town, and word is they've already been looking at it.

This site also sits at the intersection of Hwy 395 and the future Muller Parkway. This long-fabled bypass road is set to be finished in the next 20 to 30 years, giving large trucks and through traffic a way to avoid the downtown cores of Minden and Gardnerville. I think we're going to see the next big explosion in growth in the Carson Valley take place around this area, so one of these days one of these plans actually will come to fruition. So will this be the one, or is it still too soon?

The Record Courier brings us the full schedule for Carson Valley Days, which starts in earnest today.

Friday
9 a.m. - 8 p.m. — Art show at CVIC Hall. Reception 6-8 p.m.
3-11 p.m. — Carnival at Lampe Park
5-7 p.m. — Pasta feed at Douglas High School
7-10 p.m. — Music, Break Even at Lampe Park
8 p.m. - 1 a.m. — Music, Wildcard in the parking lot behind Buckaroo's and The French Bar.

Saturday
6 a.m. — Carson Valley Days Walk, Jog, Run registration
7-11 a.m. — Gardnerville volunteer firefighters pancake breakfast
7 a.m. — Parade registration
7 a.m. — Hot air balloon launch at Carson Valley Middle School
8 a.m. — Carson Valley Days Walk, Jog, Run
8 a.m. — Highway 395 closed
9 a.m. - noon — Carson Valley Days parade
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. — Art show at CVIC Hall
10 a.m. — Minden Ranch Rodeo slack performance at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
11 a.m.-close — Craft show at Lampe Park
11 a.m.-close — Carnival at Lampe Park
Noon — Tumbleweeds show at Lampe Park
12:30 p.m. — Cheerleading show at Lampe Park
noon - 5 p.m. Grease pole at Lampe Park
1 p.m. — Music, Kingtones at Lampe Park
1-2 p.m. — Arm wrestling at Lampe Park
1-2 p.m. — Kids wheelbarrow race at Lampe Park
2-3 p.m. — Tug-O-War at Lampe Park
2-3 p.m. — Kids potato sack race at Lampe Park
3-5 p.m. — Horseshoe tournament at Lampe Park
3-4 p.m. — Three-legged race at Lampe Park
4-5 p.m. — Kids balloon toss at Lampe Park
5 p.m. — Music, Barely Legal at Lampe Park
5 p.m. — Minden Ranch Rodeo at the Douglas County Fairgrounds
7 p.m. — Music, Superfreaks at Lampe Park

Sunday
9 a.m. - 3 p.m. — Art show at CVIC Hall
10 a.m. — Minden Ranch Rodeo at the Douglas County Fairgrounds
10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Craft show at Lampe Park
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. — Carnival at Lampe Park
Noon - 4 p.m. — Music, Macho Johnny
Noon - 4 p.m. — Grease pole at Lampe Park
Noon - 2 p.m. — Glutton bowl at Lampe Park
12:30 p.m. — Duck race at Lampe Park
2-3 p.m. — Adult, kids tricycle race at Lampe Park
4 p.m. — Carson Valley Days raffle at Lampe Park

Despite the rain this week, summer is unstoppably barreling down on us. And this means the area farmers' markets are starting up once again. The Nevada Appeal has a rundown on the local markets and when they start.

Carson City:
* Mills Park - Pony Express Pavilion: Every Wednesday, 3-7pm. Begins June 10
* Downtown - Third and Curry: Every Saturday, 9am-1pm. Begins June 27

Carson Valley:
* Gardnerville - Lampe Park: Every Wednesday, 8am-1pm. Begins June 3
* Minden - Downtown: Every Tuesday, 4-8pm. Begins June 2

The new DMV office in Gardnerville just opened last October. The office had been relocated from its old digs in Minden to give the facility more space and newer surroundings. But it didn't last very long; now that same office is scheduled to be closed as part of the state's budget cuts. The employees will be reassigned to the Carson City DMV office, but Douglas County motorists will have to drive to Carson to get any business done with the DMV.

The office is scheduled to be closed July 1.