LAKE TAHOE — The “South Shore Summer Series” launches the season with a weekend of live music, culinary delights, sternwheeler race, concerts and competitions stretching across the shore from Camp Richardson Resort on the west to Zephyr Cove on the east. Recognized for its combination of scenic beauty and outdoor recreation with value-added vacations, entertainment and dining options, Lake Tahoe dives into summer as the recently designated No. 2 Destination and No. 8 place in the U.S. for Outdoors & Adventure by TripAdvisor’s Traveler Choice Awards 2010.

Guy Fieri, Food Network superstar and host of NBC’s “Minute To Win It”, brings his “Rock ‘n’ Roll Culinary Tour” to Harrah’s Lake Tahoe’s South Shore Room, June 11. Fieri describes his show as “cooking, music and all the things I can’t say or do on TV.”

Blue Öyster Cult, listed in VH1's countdown as one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time and cited as a major influence by other acts such as Metallica, will perform in Harrah’s South Shore Room, June 12. Blue Öyster Cult occupies a unique place in rock history as one of very few hard rock/heavy metal bands to earn both genuine mainstream acclaim as well as commercial success.

The 50th anniversary of the opening of the original Playboy Club is June 10. To celebrate, Playboy has invited 50 venues in 50 cities to party with them simultaneously on the exact date the first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960 – and VEX Nightclub at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe is among the chosen elite. The search for the 50/50 Playboy Bunny title will conclude Thursday, June 10, at VEX. Tickets are $10 in advance or $20 for men and $10 for women at the door.

Multi-talented World Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao will perform with his band and “friends” at Harrah’s Special Events Center, Saturday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $49.50 to $199.50, available at Harrah’s or online at www.SouthShoreRoom.com.

The first stop of the X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival is June 10-12 and features the top international films on wakeboarding, surfing, mountain biking, skateboarding, snowboarding and skiing at Tahoe’s MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa. 968 Park Hotel will host the VIP Opening Night Party, to meet and greet the athletes, filmmakers and the ‘Godfather’ of action sports, Warren Miller.

Mark Twain's Wild West Weekend at Zephyr Cove Resort springs into action with, frog jumping, poetry reading, interactive stories from Mark Twain, and a mini-triathlon for kids June 12-13. Inspired by Twain’s life and work, festivities include a Pie Eating Competition where contestants have 20 minutes to finish as many cherry pies as possible; a Chili Cook-off showcasing the best of Tahoe’s amateur chefs; and Mark Twain’s Wild West Bold-Faced Liars Contest.

The event’s highlight is a Mark Twain Lecture Dinner that Saturday and includes a four-course meal with guest speakers Robert Stewart, author of “Aurora, Nevada’s Ghost City of Dawn,” and Robert Hirst, general editor and official curator of the Mark Twain Project and Papers. Stewart will address Twain’s route through Lake Tahoe and the designation of Clemens Cove. Hirst will discuss the release of Mark Twain’s autobiography that has been withheld for the past 100 years. Tickets are $100. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the preservation of Mark Twain’s history.

The Great Lake Tahoe Sternwheeler Race, churns the waters June 13 as the annual battle between Nevada’s M.S. Dixie II and California’s Tahoe Queen continues. The M.S. Dixie II leads the series 8-5, so who will it be this summer? www.zephyrcove.com

The fifth annual South Shore Lake Tahoe Geocaching High Tech Treasure Hunt is June 12-13, with nearly 50 prizes stashed throughout the area waiting to be stalked by an anticipated 350-500 ambitious GPS-wielding trackers. Prizes will reflect the unique nature of the area including certificates to popular Tahoe restaurants, overnight accommodations, ski resort lift tickets and various local activities. Geocaching is an affordable family-friendly activity – it’s just $20 to rent the GPS for the weekend. For footage from previous year: YouTube.com.

The Valhalla Renaissance Faire, June 5-6 and 12-13, at Camp Richardson Resort brings to life the authentic pleasures and pageantry of an Elizabethan country fair. Costumed players perform at Camp Richardson’s Resort in the shady lanes and byways, and hawk their wares from market stalls filled with fine handmade crafts. Jousters vie for the pleasure of the Royal Court twice daily in the tournament. It’s Renaissance Europe with jousting, singing, dancing, storytelling, comedy acts, feasts, merchants and re-creations of sword fighting and battles.

The inaugural Great Lake Tahoe Chili Cook-off is sanctioned by the International Chili Society, along with live music and Craft Faire complement the weekend festivities held at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa. Winners of this event are eligible to compete in next fall’s ICS World Championship Cook-off.

Take a step back through time and relive the adventures and rigors of the early pioneers as they forged their way west with the Annual Hwy 50 Wagon Train. The historical re-enactment of the “Great Western Migration” is June 5-13, ending in Placerville.

In celebration of its 150th Anniversary, the National Pony Express Association will conduct a re-ride of the Pony Express Trail, June 6-13. The 1,966 mile route follows the Pony Express National Historic Trail through California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri.

The Tahoe Derby Dames, Lake Tahoe's only flat track roller derby league, play a demo bout at Bijou Park for the Roller Derby, Saturday, June 12.

The 46th annual DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relay race, Saturday, June 12, consists of 72 mile, 7 person running relay around Lake Tahoe. Each member runs 8-12 miles. This is a non-profit event and proceeds benefit the local High School Running Programs.

This is the first of several summer activities around South Shore. Upcoming events include:

— Lights on the Lake - Fourth of July Fireworks
— 21st Annual American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, July 8-13
— Hot August Nights, July 30- August 1
— 21st Annual Lake Tahoe Air Fest, Saturday, Aug. 28
— Labor Day Fireworks, Sunday Sept. 5

For real time updates on events, promotions, conditions and all that’s happening in South Lake Tahoe, The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SouthShoreTahoe and on Facebook. For information about Lake Tahoe South Shore, call 1-800-AT-TAHOE (1-800-288-2463) or visit www.TahoeSouth.com.