Barbecue

Many celebrations are scheduled throughout the Silver State in the month of August. These Nevada 150 events celebrate all things Nevada and help bring awareness to the 150th Anniversary of Statehood. The following events are held Aug. 15 through Aug. 31.

A outdoor feast with the main course arriving straight out of Lake Tahoe, plus an indoor muscle and fitness protein fest will be the ultimate flex and fry events of the summer on Aug. 23 at the South Shore.

The second annual Boil 'n Fry Day Festival at MontBleu Resort, Casino and Spa is Lake Tahoe's version of an old fashioned New Orleans crawdad feed, complete with live music at the resort's outdoor event center, carnival games, hot wings, barbecue, cold crafted beer and all the fried, boiled or barbecued fresh water crustaceans festival goers can eat.

Beer lovers don’t have to wait until fall to celebrate the region’s finest microbrews. MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa will roll out barrels from dozens of area brewmasters Saturday, Aug. 9 for the first Tahoe Craft BeerFest.

With more than 45 brewers on tap and plenty of barbecue, live music, games, and competition, the festival will be a summer celebration of frosty, sudsy, hoppy handcrafted brews made around California and Nevada.

Bark Whine and Dine to benefit the Carson Animal Services Initiative will be Sunday, July 27, at Fuji Park in Carson City.

The event will start at 1 p.m. and includes a barbecue lunch with food provided by Foodies Bystro and entertainment by Jake Houston. Proceeds from the event will help to build the new animal shelter in Carson City.

The event will start at 1 p.m. and includes a barbecue lunch with food provided by Foodies Bystro and entertainment by Jake Houston. Proceeds from the event will help to build the new animal shelter in Carson City.

Lots of shady trees, a nice gentle breeze and plenty of ice cold beer were enough to keep the heat down a notch Saturday at the High Sierra Regional Chili Cook-Off and Craft Fair in Carson City.

The two-day event at Glen Eagles Restaurant, which continues through Sunday, has brought dozens of the best chili cookers from around the region hoping for a chance to win prize money, bragging rights and a trip to Las Vegas for the World Chili Cook-off Championship. The public is invited to Sunday's event and sampling costs next to nothing, organizers said.

Hijinks on the Comstock with a twist comes to Carson City this summer with "Where is the Gold?" a Wild West melodrama and murder mystery dinner set aboard a vintage Virginia and Truckee Railroad steam engine train, July 18 and August 15.

"Where is the Gold?" produced by the Brewery Arts Center will entertain with plenty of Comstock legend and lore intertwined with spellbinding whodunit mystery. The audience will be invited to help the cast of characters solve the mystery of who stole the gold, and who is responsible for the death of Mr. Big.

With all the flavorings of the Old West, the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City will showcase several of its trains for the July 4 weekend.

It's living history on the rails when steam locomotives V&T No. 25 and the famous Inyo will operate along with the historic, self-propelled McKeen motor car Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Rides will be available behind the 25 and on the McKeen car every 45 minutes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It started out as one of those lazy days in Carson City, where it’s not too hot, but it’s not too cold!

It’s just right!

But, when the mercury begins to creep into the triple digits, I am glad I take advantage of the cooler temperatures early in the summer season, because I hate to cook on my patio when it is 100 degrees in the shade!

This is the reason I go straight to my favorite BBQ restaurant for my semi-annual feasting of pork ribs, with corn bread, cole slaw and beans, coupled with my favorite adult libation.

The Fourth of July holiday weekend is the busiest time in the Lake Tahoe Basin. For those visiting during the weekend and attending one of the firework displays over the lake, expect extremely crowded conditions and excess traffic.

Two Carson City residents working on a project for the 7th annual CASI Bark, Whine and Dine set for Sunday, July 27 at Fuji Park have gotten a rare gift donation from the Nevada Governor's Office.

Volunteers Adrianne S. Harris and George M. Allen asked Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval if he could provide a signed autograph on something that can be sold at the silent auction. The governor agreed and his secretary presented the volunteers a limited edition 12-inch by 14-inch print by Reno artist Roy Powers. The print is of the Governor's mansion.

The Firkin & Fox Carson City kicks off its summer concert series this Friday, June 6, with local rock n' roll favorite Baker Street beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Known for churning out the classics from the 1970s and 80's, Baker Street has developed a loyal Northern Nevada fan base, with its guitar-driven licks and crisp vocal stylings. There's no better way to celebrate summer than with music that rocks to it.

The Firkin Friday's outdoor concert is at 310 South Carson Street. There will be plenty of food, barbecue and drink specials going on inside.

Grab your clubs and spend a day hitting the links to raise money for cancer research. Behavioral Health Services will host the first Carson City Relay for Life Golf Tournament at Empire Ranch Golf Course on June 21, 2014. Entry fee is $65 and it gets you the round of golf, cart, barbecue lunch, awards ceremony. Prizes for closest to the pin and longest drives.

The tournament is scramble format, with 8 a.m. registration and 9 a.m. shotgun start. To enter call (775) 445-7352 or go to Behavior Health Services at 1080 Minnesota Street.

Elaine and I just returned from a three-day, two-night, mini vacation at Parchers Resort in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, west of Bishop, Calif.

The purpose of our visit was to enjoy the cozy cabin accommodations at Parchers, plus the late spring weather, spectacular scenery and the peace and quiet in that general area. Here's some miscellaneous info on our trip:

The Sierra Nevada Association of REALTORS® hosts the “Alyce McCracken Scramble for Scholarships,” Friday, June 27, at the Eagle Valley Golf Course in Carson City.

This annual golf tournament is played in honor of REALTOR® Alyce McCracken, a resident of Northern Nevada who had a passion for continuing education and training. Proceeds from the tournament benefit local high schools in the communities served by the Sierra Nevada Association of REALTORS® including the counties of Carson, Douglas, Churchill, and parts of Lyon.

Memorial Day weekend is nearly here, the weather is forecast to be gorgeous and for countless folks in this general area, it will be their first big outdoor adventure of 2014.

So where to go on that weekend? Well, be advised that no matter where you go (unless it is to some God forsaken location in the middle of nowhere), you can expect to encounter big crowds of people also wanting to enjoy an outdoor outing for the holiday.

The weather is warming up providing for another great season activities throughout Carson City and Northern Nevada. One of my favorite things about spring and summer is to share as many local events, food, music, the arts and entertainment with you. We have many festivities, activities and fundraisers being planned for the coming months.

Barbecue season has arrived and what better way to fire up the coals than with a new grill. The Sausage Factory in Carson City is giving away a free barbecue for those who come in and fill out a raffle ticket. No purchase is necessary. Anyone can enter once a day until a winner is picked on May 23.

This is an annual reminder of my all-time favorite fund raiser. The highly-popular and fun-filled, Carson Valley Chukar Club fundraiser will be held at the Douglas County Fairgrounds on Saturday, March 1. This year’s fund raiser will be its 28th version.

Chukar:
If you are brand-new to this area, about now you are probably wondering what in the world is something called a "Chukar?"

Fire safety, flaming barbecue burgers, face painting and face time with Smokey Bear were the orders of the day at the first Northern Nevada Fire Wives fundraiser barbeque at the Carson City Fire Department on Stewart Street Saturday.

The Northern Nevada Fire Wives will hold their first fund-raising barbeque from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 12, at the Carson City Fire Department at 777 South Stewart Street, to raise funds to support firefighters and their families when tragedy strikes them.

A 36-year-old woman was arrested at 3:20 p.m. Oct. 8, at the intersection of Reeves and South Edmonds in Carson City. She faces misdemeanor charges of failure to comply and domestic battery after allegedly hitting the victim with barbecue tongs causing him to bleed.

Northern Nevada Fire Wives, an organization comprised of firefighters' families in the community, will hold a barbecue this Saturday in Carson City.

The Northern Nevada Fire Wives BBQ is Saturday, Oct. 12 from 11-2pm at Carson City Fire Station 51 at 777 South Stewart Street in Carson City. The barbecue costs $5; raffle tickets are $1 each.

The barbecue will have a bounce house, face painting and other family-friendly activities, including a visit by Smokey Bear. All proceeds benefit the Northern Nevada Fire Wives organization.

Elaine and I just returned from a three-day, two-night, fun-filled visit to the Sierra Nevada mountains, just west of Bishop, Calif. The purpose of our return visit to the mountains was to do like we had done in 2012 at this same time of the year:

Fire restrictions will be lifted Tuesday for national forest land in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the U.S. Forest Service announced.

“The arrival of cooler, wetter weather brings safer conditions and has allowed us to lift restrictions on Forest Service managed lands,” said Forest Service fire chief Kit Bailey. “Even though restrictions will be lifted, we still need hikers and campers to use caution with campfires, stoves, barbecue grills and cigarette smoking.”

The annual Basque Festival at Fuji Park is evolving this year to become a multi-cultural celebration this Sunday, Sept. 15, that includes Basque, Italian, Mexican and Nevada barbecue cuisine.

Dubbed the “Fall Festival,” this family-friendly event offers a “Kid Zone” with 5 bounce houses, arts and crafts tables, a Home Depot build project, various games, kid karaoke, caricatures, face painting and a balloon artist. Adults can enjoy live music and dancing as well as Bingo in the Pavilion with various prize levels available.

Signups are underway for the 12th annual Stroke to Help Fight Breast Cancer golf tournament, Saturday, Sept. 28 at Eagle Valley Golf Course in Carson City.

Hosted by Soroptimist International of Carson City, ASCE, Carson Tahoe Hospital and Tahoe Carson Radiology, the tournament features raffle prizes, contests, games, 2 hole-in-one prizes, closest to the pin and lowest and highest score prizes.

The cost is $85 and includes golf and cart, a continental breakfast and barbecue.

Check-in begins at 8 a.m. with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.

Labor Day weekend, Friday Aug. 30 through Monday Sept. 2, is just around the corner and for many it will be the last big outdoor adventure of 2013. So, where to go on that weekend?

Well, be advised that no matter where you go (unless it is to some God forsaken location in the middle of nowhere), you can expect to encounter big crowds of people also wanting to enjoy an outdoor outing for the holiday.

The 2013 Edible Pedal is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 15

A guest post by Jill Stockton

Epic cars, chrome, and plenty of old school memories continue today at Mills Park in Carson City. The annual Silver Dollar Car Classic winds up but there's still a chance to see some of the great hot rods in all of their polished glory.

The annual car show features hundreds of vehicles on display, along with concessions, a barbecue lunch and an awards ceremony.