Downtown Carson City

Delicious, nourishing soup for the soul served steaming hot for the price of a handmade artisan bowl was the early warm-up Friday favorite at the second annual Empty Bowls Project held at Telegraph Square in downtown Carson City. The feast kicked off the annual Silver and Snowflake Festival of Lights at the Nevada State Capitol.

The following road closures are scheduled to occur today, Friday, Dec. 5, from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for the Silver and Snowflake Festival of Lights in downtown Carson City:

Tonight Bobby Parks Band, with special opening guest Stig and Nick, kicks off a month of giving with a free weekday concert at The Blue Bull, located at 107 East Telegraph Street in downtown Carson City. The show kicks off at 6:00 p.m. and ends at 9:00 p.m., enough time to party, sleep, and get to work in the morning.

Here is the Carson City area road report for the week of Dec. 1-7, 2014. There will be work primarily in the shoulder E. Fifth Street from Roop Street to Saliman Road from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Monday through Friday. Elaine Street will remain closed to through traffic from Monday through Sunday. Please follow marked detour.

The national business movement Independent We Stand this week announced Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery in Carson City among the quarter finalists for the 2014 Independent We Stand Small Business of the Year Award.

The Carson City Visitors Bureau is hosting a Social Media Symposium for rural marketing and tourism organizations in the state.

“It’s an opportunity for the marketing community to come together,” said Kyle Horvath, social media director for the visitors bureau. “It’s a place people can feel comfortable to bounce ideas off each other and learn from others’ mistakes.”

The symposium will begin at 9 a.m. Dec. 5 and 6 at the Adams Hub for Innovation, 111 W. Proctor St.

Black Friday may be reserved for football games, leftovers and after Thanksgiving holiday shopping but in downtown Carson City, blades, hot chocolate and holiday music were the orders of the day for teens and families at the opening day of Arlington Square Skating Rink in Carson City.

Seventy-five budding artists from kindergarten through grade 12 entered their art work into an annual contest recently as part of Carson City's annual Silver and Snowflake Festival of Lights.

Each year, the teen board of the Carson City Library chooses a theme to coincide with the Christmas holidays. This year’s theme was “A Novel Christmas,” asking children to draw what Christmas would look like in their favorite novels.

Whether it’s interacting with storeowners and customers or finding a one-of-a kind gift, there are many reasons to do your shopping in Carson City.

Jason Brown spent a recent afternoon shopping at Rocking and Rolling in downtown Carson City. He bought an old-spoon necklace and some blue-lace agate and smoky quartz for his children’s rock collection. “She has all the cool ones, and she polishes them herself,” he said.

Bob McFadden Plaza is expected to grace downtown Carson City due to action Thursday by the Board of Supervisors.

Only 660 tickets remain for the family favorite trip to the North Pole aboard the 2014 Polar Express train, Nov. 20 to Dec. 22, 2014. Select coach seats aboard the all-ages holiday train into a winter wonderland and the world of imagination.

Because of the demand, more trips and passenger cars were added to the month-long event, which has consistently sold out since debuting four years ago and is expected to draw record numbers again this holiday season. Last year more than 16,000 passengers rode the train.

The Annual Silver and Snowflakes Festival of Lights and Official Tree Lighting tonight, Friday, Dec. 5. is more than just flipping on the holiday lights in downtown Carson City; Santa, carolers, soup, hot chocolate, and ice skating all play a part in the fun.

The Itinerary for the festival is as follows:

If you are looking for something different to do this Saturday night, why not try digging some dirt? I'm talking about Red Dirt Country music, that is. If you love new style country music, 90s alternative rock, and funk, Red Dirt style tunes will be music to your ears and Bobby Parks will be performing it live in the heart of downtown Carson City, Saturday, Nov. 15 at 8:30 p.m. at Caterpillar's Hookah Lounge on South Carson Street.

The popular Sassafras restaurant, which was forced out of its downtown Carson City location earlier this year, will re-open soon at Carson Hot Springs Resort, according to the restaurant's owners.

The witching season is upon us, and I love Carson City has come up with a comprehensive list of all the fun to be had in the Carson City area.

Less than two months from departure, tickets aboard the 2014 Polar Express train are on the fast track countdown, with 60 percent of the coach seats and 91 percent of the VIP Parlor Car seats sold. Even with the addition of more trips and passenger cars, the month-long event has consistently sold out since debuting four years ago and is expected to draw record numbers again this holiday season.

On Oct. 25, the Sierra-Tahoe Unit-137 of the Ladies Auxiliary - Fleet Reserve Association will be collecting basic kitchen and bath items for homeless veterans recently placed in housing who have few, if any, possessions or the financial means to equip themselves with these basic, daily necessities.

Donors can “drive by” between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and pull up curbside at the Veterans Memorial Hall at 2nd and Curry streets in downtown Carson City where the Auxiliary’s “car-hop” members will be on hand to receive the donated items directly from the donor’s car.

The Carson City Greenhouse Project at Carson High School is one of 14 projects in Nevada to receive specialty crop block grant money designed for organizations that promote and enhance speciality crops through education, research, marketing and production, the Nevada Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday.

The $21,577 in grant money earmarked for the Greenhouse Project will help fund the Growing America’s Future Farmer program, said JoAnne Skelly, extension educator with the University of Nevada and grant writer for the Greenhouse Project.

Carson City Library and Nevada Humanities Scholar Patricia Cooper-Smith will host a book discussion on the 2014 Nevada Reads selected book by Sarah E. Olds (1875-1963), titled “Twenty Miles From A Match: Homesteading in Western Nevada”, on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m. at the BRIC (Business Resource Innovation Center) located at 108 E Proctor Street in downtown Carson City.

Costco General Manager Bob Tote generously donated 900 1-gallon multi-color mum plants to beautify the downtown and create a splash of color to the medians and other areas that could use a bit of color. Carson City Parks and Recreation was the recipient of this kind donation and will be planting the flowers this week for residents and visitors to enjoy.

In the first photo, Parks and Rec employee Steve Crawford stands among the 900 flower pots donated by Costco to beautify the city.

Wake up this morning with your clocks out of sync? No, it wasn’t a dream through the cosmic space-time continuum warp and it wasn’t that you missed Daylight Saving Time — you didn’t. It is still a month out yet. It was a power outage.

Carson City Transportation Manager Patrick Pittenger said the downtown Carson Street makeover isn’t reinventing the wheel and will gain acceptance once finished.

With a packed house and lots of questions, Carson City residents had a chance Tuesday to see what enhanced downtown landscaping, street and sidewalk improvements would look like in a planned redesign of downtown.

The Carson Street improvement project is part of an overall plan to revitalize the commercial corridors throughout Carson City. The improvements, made public during two workshops at the Carson City Community Center, will be funded through sales tax revenues, one-eighth of a cent, approved earlier this by the Carson City Board of Supervisors.

Steve and Wendy Kaplan, owners of the Carson City Square professional building talk about the improvements they have made to the building.

Remember when You were Young
Remember when You had Hopes and Dreams
Remember when You were Optimistic and People were Friendly
Remember when We were a downtown community with 2 lanes, Parking and Shopping

The Young need the Elders for their Wisdom and Guidance, so they can learn from our mistakes.
The Elders need the Young for their Optimism, Hope, and Enthusiasm, to keep them young at heart.
I am a third-generation Carsonite. I remember this city in the 60’s and 70’s. Recently, a gentleman told me this is a senior community, a thought shared by many.

On your “Must Not Miss” list, is the popular Downtown Carson City Wine Walk held the first Saturday of every month from 1- 5 p.m.
Today's wine walk is going to be the best yet with Rice Street on the north end of downtown offering a shop local street faire. Vendors, Crafters, and artisans will be set up in the streets.

The Brewery Arts Center will be having street performers throughout the wine walk, and many of the shops will be having end of summer clearances. Make sure to get your tickets and bring a friend.

Carson City will present concepts for improvements to downtown Carson Street at a public open house on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at noon and 5:30 p.m. in the Community Center Sierra Room.

The concepts will be available for public review and staff will be available to answer questions and take public comments from 12 to 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Plans for downtown include wider sidewalks and enhanced landscaping. The plans will implement the vision for downtown that was adopted with the City’s Master Plan in 2006.

Tickets for the 2014 season of the Polar Express aboard the historic Virginia and Truckee Railroad are now on sale. The perennial holiday favorite all-ages train ride from the frosty Northern Nevada landscape to the North Pole, will run from Nov. 20 to Dec. 22. The hour long V&T diesel train ride includes a keepsake silver bell, hot chocolate and cookies, entertainment and a reading of The Polar Express.

Work on a critical construction phase of the Carson City Freeway Project has finished, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.

Completion of the 2B-2 roadway project is considered a milestone, NDOT officials say. The project included roadway grading, utility relocation, extensive drainage facilities to channel storm water runoff and construction of an overpass bringing Snyder Avenue over the future freeway.

It's the first Saturday of the month and that means the return of the Carson City Downtown Wine Walk, today from 1 to 5 p.m. through Carson City.

For $10 participants will receive a commemorative wine glass and endless reasons to stroll through Downtown Carson City sipping and tasting the afternoon away. Bring your wine walk glass with the Carson City Logo on it and pay only $8.