Tag: gardnerville

The Record Courier has information about this year's Carson Valley Days celebration. The big event is the Carson Valley Days Parade, taking place Saturday morning, June 14th, with a carnival at Lampe Park being put on June 12, 13, 14 and 15.

The Carson Valley farmer's markets are coming back this summer. Dates have been announced.

Minden Farmers Market opening day May 20

The Minden Farmers Market opens May 20 and will be open every Tuesday from 4-8 p.m. through summer on Esmeralda Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets. Information, Roxanne Stangle, 782-2444.

Farmers Market at Lampe Park opens May 21

The Lampe Park Farmers Market offers an abundance of seriously fresh produce and a variety of food, farm, and dirt-oriented items. The market features flowers, perennial plants, fresh bakery items, outdoor décor and gifts. The farmers’ market will be open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays at Lampe Park in Gardnerville. Information at the Douglas County Recreation Division, 782-9828.

These two markets open two full weeks before the Carson City Farmers Market, which this year begins on June 4th.

With all the issues going on in the world with rising food prices and rising oil prices, the "local foods" movement is starting to gather a lot more steam and attention.There have been special articles about it in the Nevada Appeal and Record Courier lately, and even celebrity chefs are starting to speak out. And we're lucky because here in the Carson area we're firmly located in the breadbasket of Nevada. Most of the rest of the state is miles and miles of unforgiving desert, but here were have rivers that bring some life to the land, the Carson River, Walker River, and Truckee River. A lot of agriculture is focused around these rivers, in Fallon, in Fernley, in the Mason and Smith Valleys. In the Carson Valley much of the green land is given over to grazing cattle, but there are scattered plots that are dedicated to growing crops. And the best place to go to get all of this local produce is to the farmer's markets.

There is another option, though, if you're not in the mood to hunt through the market to find the best produce. It's called Community Supported Agriculture, and here in Northern Nevada we've had it for a couple of years at least. In essence, by signing up with a CSA you get a "subscription" to a produce delivery service. You pay one flat fee up front at the beginning of each season - spring, summer, and fall, and then each week a basket full of produce is delivered with your name on it. This produce is all grown on local farms, and the contents of the basket change throughout the year as different fruits and vegetables fall in and out of season. So in May you'd start getting a variety of spinach and lettuce, then in June peas and carrots start coming into season so those start showing up in your basket. And it continues all the way through December when you're getting potatoes and squash. And because it's all locally grown, your money is staying in Northern Nevada and helping out our farmers here.

The big CSA in our area is Great Basin Basket, which can be found at www.greatbasinbasket.com. There you can sign up for your shipments (the spring subscriptions are already sold out, so the earliest you can sign up for is Summer). I also found an article in the RGJ about Great Basin Basket, as well as the option to start a garden of your own. And, I just discovered a new-to-me blog, Local Food Northern Nevada, which is all about seeking out local food in our area. And of course they're subscribers to Great Basin Basket.

So if you're looking to have a summer full of real food, check out some of these options for eating food that's been grown in Nevada.

Gardnerville

I have to give a big public shoutout and thanks to Mark Englebretson. Mark is a postcard and casino memorabilia collector who lives in Wyoming. But he's fascinated with the history of Nevada casinos, and he runs the site nevadacasinoashtrays.org. There he displays his large collection of, yes, casino ashtrays, but also reveals photos and history tidbits for the casinos the ashtrays came from.

Fallon

Some time ago I noticed that there were a lot of good postcard photos of Carson City floating around, and I was seeing Mark's name next to them. So I got it in my head to contact Mark, see if he'd be willing to contribute a few of his postcards to the WNHPC and help build the collection.

Eureka

Mark's response was pretty enthusiastic, and in fact instead of singling out his Carson City photos he said that he would just send his whole "Nevada file," just to make things easier for him. I thought that sounded like a good idea. Because I'd get a whole lot of Vegas postcards that I could never use in the WNHPC, but they'd be fun to look at anyway.

Ely

So anyway his disc arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago, and I popped it in the computer to look at the pictures. It turned out that there were over 1,500 postcards on this disc, an absolute treasure trove of historic photos of Nevada casinos, bars, and downtowns. Yes there are a lot of photos of Vegas (around 500), but there are also entries for just about every little town in the state, great stuff that I've never seen before. All of the photos accompanying this post are part of what he gave me.

Battle Mountain

So now I have all these pictures, and it's kind of a daunting task to organize them and add them to the WNHPC. But they'll all get there eventually. This stuff is too good to keep secret. And the rest might end up on Flickr or somewhere.

And above all, a big thanks to Mark for sharing in the first place!

I know it hardly feels like winter has even started around here, given that we haven't had any snow since September. But now that Thanksgiving is in our rear-view mirror, it's time to start looking forward to Christmas. Already decorations are popping up on houses around the area, and a whole host of civic Christmas events are planned for the next week. Here's what's coming up:

Carson City

Silver & Snowflakes Holiday Tree Lighting will be on Thursday December 6, 2007 from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Festivities begin on the Capitol grounds. The State trees will be lit, Santa will give out candy canes, and the 300 voices of the Carson City 5th Grade Music Students Singing Ensemble will contribute the music. A warm feeling envelops the Capitol as families gather to hear children sing and to watch the tree and all of Carson Street spring to light. The young and young at heart all squeal with delight as Santa and his helper arrive in a decorated 1926 Model T, driven by Beau the dog. Sixteen creative willow "reindeer" made the week of the event by local school children and Boy Scouts, under the guidance of "Willow" Bill, will be placed on the Capitol lawn and above the Capitol portico and lit with white lights.

5:30 PM Carson City 5th Grade Music Students Singing Ensemble starts to sing. Carson Middle School Red Hot Bell Peppers handbell choir will accompany them.
5:30 PM Santa Arrives in a 1926 Model T Ford. He will give out candy canes.
5:40 PM Remarks by Gov. Jim and Mrs. Dawn Gibbons
5:45 PM Tree Lighting; all of Carson Street is lit up.
5:55 PM Remarks by Carson City Mayor Marv Teixiera
6:00 PM Candlelight Procession to City Tree at Musser & Nevada Streets (First Presbyterian Church). Songs by the BAC In Time Carolers.
6:15 PM City Tree Lighting by Mayor Teixeira.
6:30-7:00 PM City Hall Open House. Art Contest winners announced and prizes given by the Mayor. BAC In Time Carolers will sing. Refreshments will be served.

Minden

Minden's annual Weihnachts Strasse Fest, German Christmas Market, opens noon, Nov. 30 in the old C.O.D. Garage. Toys, handicrafts, candles, ceramics and woodwork will be featured in about 30 booths. Many traditional German specialties such as stollen, gingerbread, pretzels, sausages and gluewein (hot spiced wine) as well as Chinese food will be available. Hot cider and cookies will be served by the Carson Valley Inn. Hours of the market are noon to 8 p.m. Nov. 30, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 1 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 2.

The lights of the Minden gazebo will be turned on 6 p.m. Friday night, Nov. 30, with the help of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. Children get one free picture with Santa on Friday night at Santa's house in the Christmas market.

The 12th annual Parade of Lights begins 5 p.m. Dec. 1 at Lampe Park in Gardnerville, traveling on Highway 395 and ending in Minden Park around 6 p.m. This year's theme is Holiday Traditions from Around the World.

Live music at the Christmas Market Saturday night and a live Christmas play on Sunday afternoon.

Gardnerville

The Town of Gardnerville presents the third Carson Valley Christmas Season Kick Off, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28 at the Heritage Park pavilion. The family-oriented event features the Sierra Ringers from Carson Valley United Methodist Church, a quartet singing holiday music and Carson Valley Community Theater's presentation of Santa's Little Helper Part 3, "Which Way is North?" The park pavilion will be lit and Santa Claus will be on hand to welcome children young and old to the 2007 Christmas season. Also on the program is the dedication of the Zelda Shaw Memorial.

Come and join us for hot chocolate, hot apple cider, provided by Red's 395 Grill, popcorn courtesy of Gardnerville Water Co. and a holiday treat provided by the Town of Gardnerville. Carriage rides around the park will also be available.

Virginia City

The Parade of Lights, Virginia City's traditional Christmas Parade will start at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec 1. Prizes will be awarded for the best entries. Call the visitors center at 847-4FUN (4386) or visit the Visitor Center for more information and an entry form.

Ghost Stories of the Old Gym from the Record Courier.

The Haunted Weekend is coming up in just a few days here. This is the second year that Carson City, Gardnerville and Genoa have joined forces to offer one unified weekend of their various Ghost Walks. Here's what going on this weekend, from the Record Courier.

-- The Haunted Gardnerville Ghost Walk guided walking tours depart from the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville at 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. Oct. 19. Cost is $5 per person. Hot cider provided by the Douglas County Historical Society.

-- Carson City's Something Wicked This Way Comes Ghost Walk is Oct. 20. Ticket holders take tours along the Kit Carson Trail with stops at some of the oldest buildings and homes. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for ages 6-12. Tours are 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Telegraph Square, on the corner of Telegraph and Curry streets.

-- The Douglas County Historical Society's 12th annual cemetery tour is at the Mottsville Cemetery where some of Nevada's earliest pioneers are buried. Guided tours are about every 15 minutes from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Cost is $5 per person.

-- The Haunted Genoa Ghost Walk departs at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Oct. 21 from the Genoa Court House Museum on Main Street in Genoa. Tickets are $5 per person.

For more information, go to visitcarsonvalley.org. Call 782-2555 or (800)727-7677.

The R-C also has details on what you can expect to see on the Gardnerville Ghost Walk. And the Nevada Appeal has details on Carson's Ghost Walk.

I found this on Flickr, from photographer rundixie.

I found it because it was submitted to the Around Carson photo group at Flickr. If you're a member of Flickr and you take pictures anywhere in Northern Nevada, you're welcome to join the group and submit your own pictures.

If you're going to be in the Minden/Gardnerville area tonight, try to catch the Carson Valley Parade of Lights. This parade travels down Hwy 395 from Lampe Park to Minden Park, and is made up of dozens of floats and vehicles decorated with Christmas lights. Rumor has it that Santa Claus might even show up. It's going to be damn cold tonight, so put on a few extra layers and get some egg nog in you before you go down there. If you do you'll be rewarded with one of the few nighttime parades in the area. It starts around 5:00.

One of the other nighttime parades in the area is also happening tonight, the Virginia City Parade of Lights. That's taking place on C Street in downtown V.C. I don't know why they have to both be on the same night, but that's the way it is.

Tomorrow night in Genoa they're lighting their town Christmas tree at 5:30 pm. Santa Claus is supposed to be there, too. Busy fellow.

Carson City is avoiding all the scheduling mess by having their Christmas tree lighting next weekend, December 9th. So that gives you a little room to breathe.

After the Carson Valley Parade in Minden tonight, there are a few things going on in downtown Minden. There's a German Christmas Market inside the C.O.D. Garage, and a miniature Minden village inside the CVIC Hall. Those same miniatures were on display there in July, too.

You can see everything that's happening in the valley this weekend here. And if any of you attend any of these events, I expect a full report!

Halloween is becoming a bigger deal every year in Carson City. The Ghost Walk itself has become a huge event over the last few years, and now the Visitor's Bureau is taking steps to make it even bigger by teaming up with their neighbor to the south, Douglas County. This year seems to be the inaugural year of the "Haunted Weekend", taking place October 20, 21 and 22.

For one price ($30), you can take part in four different ghostly events around the Carson and Eagle Valleys:

• October 20: Meet the ghosts of Gardnerville on the guided Haunted Ghost Walk. Meet at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center. Tours depart hourly between 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• October 21 Day: The popular Carson City Kit Carson Trail Ghost Walk begins at 9 a.m. and departs every half-hour until 3 p.m. from Third & Carson Streets. This year's theme is Grave Concerns. Guided walking tours offer ghostly glimpses into the residents who made history here. There are two tours:
  • The Resurrection Tour features spirits appearing in: Brewery Arts Center, Esser Home, United Methodist Church, Brougher Bath House and Rinckel Mansion.
  • The Remembrance Tour features spirits appearing in: Stewart Nye Home, Edwards House, The Bliss Bungalow, and Bliss Mansion.
• October 21 Evening: Cemeteries hold special fascinations for many and make one wonder about those buried beneath. Wonder no more about these "past lives" as the ghosts of the historic Genoa Cemetery come to life between 6:30-8 p.m. Meet at the cemetery.
• October 22: Learn even more about Genoa's haunted sites on the Genoa Ghost Walk between 10:30-11:30 a.m. Meet at Genoa Courthouse Museum.

This seems to be a pretty excellent promotion, and a good demonstration of the two counties coming together to attract visitors. Of course you can buy tickets to each of these events separately as well. The Carson City Ghost Walk is $15, and each of the others is $5 apiece.

You can make reservations by calling (775)987-7410, or download the PDF form (80kb) and fax it in.