Mexican Independence Day
September 13
Creciendo Unidos and Creating Alternatives, in collaboration with the North Tahoe Family Resource Center, invite you to the Third Annual Mexican Independence Street Fair Celebration, an event to promote family unity and healthy fun. Celebrate Mexican Independence Day with traditional Mexican food, music, dancing, games, a kid zone and a new Voter Registration Drive. This is a drug- and gang-free event. From 12 to 5 p.m. Brook Avenue, Kings Beach, emiliovaca@hotmail.com, 530-386-6253.
Five Lakes Hike
September 20
Carmen Carr shares her passion with the community by providing monthly, guided hikes and snowshoe trips of our beautiful backyard and its endless trail systems. Meet at 9 a.m. at the Five Lakes Trailhead. Take Highway 89 south from Interstate 80 toward Tahoe City. After 9.5 miles, turn right on Alpine Meadows Road. Drive 2.1 miles to the trailhead on the right (across from Deer Park Drive). carmencarr.com, 530-550-5192.
Truckee River Day
October 19
2008 marks the thirteenth year of Truckee River Day. Since 1996, hundreds of volunteers have participated in restoration projects throughout the Truckee River watershed. Several exciting restoration projects are planned for this year’s event, including work in the Davies/Merrill watershed, Martis Valley, Tahoe Donner, Coldstream Canyon, Negro Canyon, on the Truckee River Legacy Trail and other locations. There will be activities appropriate for the whole family. Pre-registration is required by October 12 to facilitate planning. The sponsoring organization, the Truckee River Watershed Council (TRWC), focuses on collaborative solutions for improving water quality and aquatic and riparian habitats. Don’t miss the River Day Fair at the end of the day. It will take place at Granite Flat Campground and will feature food and exhibits. Trout release at 4 p.m. Kids should bring a clean bucket if they want to participate. truckeeriverday.org, 530-550-8760.
Mountain Team Obama
The Time is Now
Become an active member of our democratic system. The Mountain Team for Obama has a place for you to experience the power of your voice and your ability to make a difference in shaping the future of our nation. All political parties, political virgins and skeptics welcome. barackobama.com. North Lake Tahoe residents call 530-546-7903. Truckee/Soda Springs residents call 530-587-8774.
eScrip
It’s just days into the school year and the Glenshire Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is already fundraising for student programs. An essential piece of their effort is eScrip, a proven resource in which participating businesses contribute a percentage of grocery loyalty card, credit card, and debit/ATM card purchases to an organization of choice. There is no merchandise to buy or sell and no awkward phone calls to make. Parents, teachers, friends and families are encouraged to register their grocery club cards and credit/debit cards as supporters. If you don’t have a student at Glenshire Elementary, they’d still love your support. Split your donation up to three ways to support other participating schools and non-profit organizations. In this age of shrinking budgets, community participation and outside sources of funding are a necessity for all schools. Thanks in part to Safeway and eScrip, Glenshire Elementary School PTO provides funding to meet needs such as field trips, teacher continuing education seminars, school assemblies, nutrition outreach programs, book fairs, family math and reading nights, cross country ski equipment, swimming lessons for all students, scholarships for enrichment classes, Arts for the Schools and more. View participating businesses and register at escrip.com.
Yard and Garden Summit
September 12
Join the Sierra Nevada Alliance for a day learning how to plant and maintain Sierra-friendly landscaping, one of the best ways to curb residential water use and reduce pollution in the Sierra. The Summit has two tracks: Track 1 is for homeowners interested in practical hands-on techniques for making their yard or garden more sustainable and functional; and Track 2 is for organizations (watershed groups, conservation organizations, agencies, RCDs, fire safe councils, Cooperative Extension/Master Gardeners) interested in Sierra-friendly yard and garden techniques and tools. Participants in both tracks will learn how to cut non-point source pollution, reduce residential water use, promote native vegetation, live in harmony with wildlife, maintain the integrity of native soils, and protect homes from wildfire. Each participant will leave the Summit with a copy of the Sierra Nevada Alliance’s new Sierra Nevada Yard and Garden Guide. $15 admission includes lunch. 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the North Tahoe Conference Center, 8318 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach. Register at sierranevadaalliance.org, 530-542-4546 x 301.
Music on the Porch
September 13
Bring your family and a picnic dinner and enjoy a relaxed evening of great music, a touch of history, and a few laughs. Coyote Hill will entertain and interpret early California history through stories and music from the front porch of the Bernhard Museum. This is a free Placer County Museums Community Education program. From 5 to 7 p.m., 291 Auburn-Folsom Road, Auburn, 530-889-6500.
Cygnus the Swan Crosses the Sky
September 24
Star gazers unite. Tahoe Adventure Company and Tony Berendsen present telescopic tours of the midnight sky, starting with a natural history guided sunset hikes. His large-aperture telescopes will take you into the mysterious world that blankets the Sierra Nevada. 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. And don’t miss ‘The Planet Uranus Meets Aquarius,’ on October 4, from 5 to 9 p.m. $65 per person. North Tahoe Regional Park, located one mile west of Highway 267 and one mile north of Highway 28 in Tahoe Vista. tahoeaventurecompany.com, 530-913-9212.
Defensible Space Debris
September 27 and 28
The Nevada County Fire Safe Council invites Truckee residents to participate in the last free yard debris collection event of the season. Accepted items include pine needles and cones, twigs, branches and brush, grass trimmings, woodchips, bark and weeds. No rocks, soil, construction debris or trash. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Glenshire Clubhouse and the Truckee Rodeo Grounds. truckeefire.org, 530-582-7853.
Wine a Bit, You’ll Feel Better
October 4
Stroll through historic Truckee and indulge in a day of wonderful wines, fabulous food, and shopping during the fifth annual Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk and Shop, a fundraising event produced by Switchback Public Relations and Marketing, Inc. This year’s event benefits the PTO Special Friends Program. Attendees receive a commemorative wine glass, program and map to 25 participating venues and five tickets for food tasting at any of the participating locations. $25 ($35 day of event) tickets are now on sale at TruckeeWineWalk.com or at The Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce, The Pour House and Florian’s Fine Wines and Specialty Foods. From 12 to 4 p.m. 530-550-2252.
Nevada Walk to Cure Diabetes
October 12
Unite with more than 5,000 thousand walkers from the community at the fifteenth annual Northern Nevada Walk to Cure Diabetes in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). This is the organization’s largest fund-raising event and opportunity to raise awareness for the more than 250,000 Nevada residents, including children, who have been diagnosed with diabetes. Last year more than 180 teams of families, friends and co-workers raised more than $550,000, of which 86 percent goes directly to support research and research-related education for type 1 diabetes. The Northern Nevada walk is approximately 5 miles looping twice around the University of Nevada‘s Reno campus. Registration begins at 8 a.m. with the walk starting at 9 a.m. from Morrill Hall. Register at JDRF.org/northernnevada or 775-786-1881.
