This Summer in Tahoe: Music, Wine, and Shakespeare
May 10th, 2012
Forward: Heidi Pesterfield, author of Traditional Lead Climbing: Surviving the Learning Years (2007) , has agreed to give Nor Cal Beat readers an update from time to time on what is happening in the Tahoe area. Heidi was Editor In Chief, and I was Editorial Page Editor for our high school newspaper the Enterprise Hornets Nest. More of Heidi's musings can be read at her blog site: http:www.averageclimber.com
As the remaining open resorts close their slopes to snow sports, Lake Tahoe communities are riding their “shoulder season” through May and part of June while gearing up for summer. If you want to avoid the crowds, May and early June are great months to visit, but ambiguous weather possibilities makes it a tad risky. On any given day, it could either be 75 degrees without a cloud in the sky, or it could be dumping snow. Those willing to roll the dice are privy to reduced lodging rates, two-for-one specials at local fine dining establishments (find coupons in the North Tahoe Weekly), a refreshing lack of traffic, and friendly locals that haven’t been jaded by the intense crowds of summer.
Upcoming Notable Summer Events
For those who aren’t into gambling, mid-summer events and festivities presently in the works are looking sweeter and sweeter this year. Some of the more enticing events that might help in planning summer visits to the Lake include a wine walk in Tahoe City on the weekend of the summer solstice, Tahoe City’s free Concerts at Commons Beach series, and the fortieth anniversary of Sand Harbor’s Shakespeare on the Lake.
· The Concerts at Commons Beach lineup for this summer is the best it’s ever been. If you haven’t experienced this North Tahoe rite of passage, don’t miss out. The events are free, the quality of the bands impressive, and the view always astounding. Recommended are the Brazilian rhythms of Sambada, the bluegrass licks of Hot Buttered Rum and Tahoe’s own Dead Winter Carpenters, and the positive vibrations of the ever-popular Mumbo Gumbo. Every Sunday afternoon at Commons Beach in Tahoe City June 24–Sept. 9, free. For more information visit: http://www.visittahoecity.org/category/concertsatcommonsbeach/
· As part of its Heart and Solstice Fesitval, Tahoe City hosts an annual Wine Walk featuring regional wines from vineyards of the western slope of the Sierra including Rancho Roble Vineyards’ “Syrah Noir,” the luscious Zinfandels of Storybook Mountain Vineyards, and Cielo Estate’s Rhone and Italian varietals. Noon–4pm, Sunday, June 23. For more information visit: http://www.visittahoecity.org/2012/04/12/tahoe-city-wine-walk-june-23-2012/
· Celebrate 40 years of Shakespeare on the lake at Sand Harbor Sate Park on Tahoe’s glorious east shore with a performance of Two Men From Verona, July 13–August 26. Experience the Bard in a setting like none other. For more information visit: http://www.laketahoeshakespeare.com/
California Deer Zones (Google Maps Layer)
Whiskeytown Lake 8/2/2011
Sundial Bridge 7/16/2011
