Nevada Day theme celebrates the Silver State's 'Great Outdoors'

By The Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau
It only takes four days to celebrate statehood in Nevada. The Silver State knows how to party! The annual Carson City Nevada Day events will observe the 147th year since joining the union, with the theme, “Nevada's Great Outdoors,” Oct. 27-30, 2011.

A four-day celebration of the Silver State's admission to the Union in 1864 will be celebrated the last weekend in October in Nevada's state capitol of Carson City.

From Lake Tahoe to Great Basin National Park, Red Rock Canyon, the Valley of Fire, to Virginia City and the great silver mines and railroads that dot the landscape, Nevada is known world-wide for its rich Wild West spirit and its outdoor history and adventure.

With diversity that runs north to south and all places in between, where cowboys and miners mix it up with card sharks and climbers it’s one of the most enthusiastic celebrations of statehood of its kind in the United States. Nevadans turn their attention to Carson City each October to celebrate life in the Silver State, with a parade that runs three hours long and stretches four miles. Eclectic activities highlight Nevada's character and those who have brought the state to larger-than-life proportions.

At any given moment on parade day along Carson Street, visitors will see the best of the state's high school marching bands intermingled with hundreds of horses, led by boot-clad men with Old West chaps, flowing beards and a turn-of-the-century spirit. The ladies of the Wild West are clad in garb that range from Victorian conservative to saloon risqué. Food fare around Carson City is authentically cowboy, with cast-iron pots brimming with bean, bacon, chili and stew concoctions, cornbread and plenty of brews and sarsaparillas to wash it all down.

Pulling out all the stops, Nevada Day organizers make sure there's plenty to do during before, during and after the parade, including free music and arts shows, a carnival packed with thrill-seeking rides, a flap-jack pancake breakfast, walk, trot and running events, a World Championship Rock Drilling Contest, a must-see beard and whisker contest and a chili feed that would make even the most staid politician sweat.

The 73rd Annual Nevada Day Parade features magnificent floats, high-stepping equestrian units, and spirited marching bands from throughout the state on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The traditional 10 a.m. flyover of F-18 Hornets, F-16 Falcon, from the Fallon Naval Air Station and C-130 Hercules from the Nevada Air Guard will kick-off the parade.

Thursday, Oct. 27 — Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011

RSVP Carnival will provide carnival rides for adults and children at Mills Park in Carson City. The RSVP Carnival will open at 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Oct. 27-28, and noon to midnight on Oct. 29 – Oct. 30.

Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011

22st Annual Carson Nugget Nevada Day Classic Run/Walk will feature hundreds of runners and walkers in Carson City’s historical downtown district. The event includes an 8K run, two-mile walk and two-mile fun run.

Got whiskers? Check out the annual Nevada Day Beard Contest at the Capitol Amphitheater immediately following the parade. Winners awarded in the following categories: longest; fullest; reddest; whitest; blackest; best salt and pepper; best groomed; scruffiest; and most bearded community – which has been a Virginia City claim to fame the past six years.

What's a Silver State celebration without a mining and drilling competition? The 34th Annual World Championship Single Jack Drilling Contest will be at the Carson Nugget parking lot. Contestants competing for a $2,000 grand prize have 10 minutes to drill holes in Sierra White Granite using pound hammers and bits of graduated steel. The contest celebrates the heritage of the Comstock mining days when blast holes for dynamite were punched into ore bodies by hand. The world record was set in 1993 at 16.34 inches deep by Scott Havens of Elko, Nev.

An Old West flap-jack breakfast hosted by the Carson City Republican Women’s Club at the Governor’s Mansion. Chew the fat with those who dare say they're politicians and those who aren't. Proceeds benefit scholarships to Carson High School and Dayton High School students.

RE/MAX Realty affiliates will host with the Nevada Day Balloon Launch on Carson. Starting with a mass launch, Team RE/MAX will fly its signature hot air balloon along with 15-20 other hot air balloons, to help commemorate the day in 1864 when Nevada became the 36th state in the union.

Nevada Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki will host the 29th Annual Chili Feed at the Carson Nugget’s Banquet Center. This event is an opportunity to meet and mingle with state and local leaders.

From turn of the century to present day, Nevada has a rich pugilist history. The Annual Silver State Rumble features live amateur boxing hosted by Bruno’s Boxing Club.

The Nevada State Railroad Museum is commemorating the last run of its historic McKeen Motor Car, No. 22 on the V&T line, Nevada Day, 1945. This transport will take any rider back to the days where rails ruled and the squeaky wheels were those made of steel and iron that turned on the miles of track. The historic car resembles a yacht on tracks with round porthole windows for viewing, mahogany interior and rich elegant exterior.

Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011

The Capital City Community Band will open its 33rd concert season with a free "old-fashioned band concert" at the Nevada State Railroad Museum.

For more information on all Nevada Day events, log onto www.nevadaday.com or call the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-NEVADA-1