Living History

Chautauqua performer Kim Copél will portray Genoa Candy Dance creator Lillian Virgin Finnegan in a free presentation at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Sunday, June 28, at 10:00 am.

Locally known as the woman who started the Genoa Candy Dance in 1919, Lillian Virgin Finnegan is presented in 1914 after women gained the right to vote in Nevada. She was a suffragette and worked closely with Governor Emmett Boyle during his terms in office.

Bundle up, Carson City. We aren’t afraid of a little wind, are we? The Dangberg Home Historic Ranch is celebrating our infamous Washoe Zephyr this weekend with kite making, demonstrations, and more. The Friends of the Silver Saddle Ranch would love to see you at their open house on Saturday; if you’re an early riser, join them on a 7 a.m. bird walk. The Carson City Sheriff’s Office is hosting their annual Cops and Kids Open House, so head to the courthouse for some fun.

SATURDAY:

• Bird Walk at the Silver Saddle Ranch: Carson River Road (7am)
• EAA Sierra Chapter #403 Pancake Breakfast at the Chapter Building: 2500 E. College Pkwy (8am; $5; Everyone Welcome)

The 2015 operating season begins this weekend at Nevada State Railroad Museum. Come on down and take a ride on the Edwards Motorcar Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides are $4 for Adults; $2 for Children ages 4-11 and museum members; and FREE for Children ages 3 and under. The first Sunday of the month always sees a pancake breakfast at the Elk’s Club; let them take care of the cooking and clean-up!

SUNDAY:

• First Sunday Breakfast at the Elks Club: 515 N Nevada (bar opens 7am; 8:30-11am, $7)

Have you picked your pony yet? The Kentucky Derby is today, but that is far from the only thing running today. Chili on the Comstock is hosting their inaugural Fun with the Runs 5K Saturday at 10 a.m. The 1926 Edwards Motor Car is running, too, and ready for rides at the Nevada Railroad Museum. The wine walk is always a good time, and with Mother’s Day next weekend, it can’t hurt to peruse the shops before you run out of time to pick the perfect gift.

SATURDAY: Kentucky Derby Day:

The Genoa Cowboy Festival is just starting, and I suspect that’s where Calamity Jane would be spending her birthday. If not there, than maybe up in Virginia City: today marks the first ‘Flashback Friday’ of the year, when all of the museums have free admission. Tonight she could catch some laughs at Carson Comedy in the Nugget or at the Brewery Art Center for First Friday Improv. Saturday she'd likely trade in her six-shooter for a wine glass, because it is Wine Walk Weekend.
FRIDAY:

• ’Drink One for Dane’ Muscular Dystrophy Association Fundraiser at Dutch Bros Coffee
• Genoa Cowboy Festival: A variety of daytime events are FREE at the Cowboy Festival including: Chautauquas, Living History Tours, Musical Performances, Cowboy Poetry, Melodramas, and Historical Reenactments

The sixth annual Genoa Cowboy Festival will be held April 30 to May 2 in the Town of Genoa, Nev. Previous Cowboy Festivals have attracted thousands of visitors to the picturesque community located in the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

Genoa, widely recognized as Nevada’s oldest town, is a short 45-minute drive south from Reno and in close proximity to South Lake Tahoe.

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.

Dayton residents were treated Saturday to a day-long celebration of the town, circa 1864, with “Discover Gold in Dayton, Again,” a living-history event presented by The Historical Society of Dayton Valley to commemorate the town’s many firsts in Nevada’s history: as the location of the first gold discovery which took place in 1849; as the first permanent settlement, founded in 1851; as the site of Lyon County’s first courthouse, opened in 1864; and also as the site of Nevada’s first marriage and first divorce.

The Historical Society of Dayton Valley hosts “Discover Gold in Dayton, Again,” as part of the Nevada 150th celebration, Saturday, May 17 in Old Town Dayton. Everyone is invited to come celebrate the community’s “firsts."

It is the location of Nevada’s first gold discovery which took place in 1849. It was the Silver State’s first permanent settlement, founded in 1851 and is the site of Lyon County’s first courthouse, opened in 1864. It is also the site of Nevada’s first marriage and ironically, the first divorce, as well, Docent Lauri Emerich, said. “We have a lot to celebrate.”

Nevada Day festivities continue in Carson City through Sunday, today, with the RSVP Carnival and the Battle Born Celebration at Mills Park, a free symphony concert at the Legislative Mall and Halloween festivities.
The salute to America's military "past, present and future" is the theme of this year's statehood events. Featured at the park is the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall, living history re-enactments, tributes and military honors and static displays. Go here for more information.

After 21 years serving as executive director of the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, Executive Director Candy Duncan has announced her retirement.
She will officially retire on Jan. 1, she told the board in a letter. During her tenure, Duncan oversaw the transformation of Carson City as a travel destination, changing the tourism paradigm by highlighting the area's rich history and modern amenities as attractive attributes to luring visitors to the capital city.

The Traveling Vietnam Wall at Mills Park in Carson City honors our fallen servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice and paid the ultimate price in the name of freedom and duty.
The arrival of the Traveling Vietnam Wall marks the Battle Born Days Celebration highlighted during this year's Nevada Day, with a salute to America's military that includes living history re-enactments, tributes and military honors, aircraft and weapon displays, a USO dance and Bomber Girl Pin-Up Pageant.

Hundred of motorcycle riders arrived Wednesday with the Traveling Vietnam Wall in Carson City in an official escort by the Nevada Highway Patrol and Carson City Sheriff's Office.
Veterans and local military personnel assisted in the convoy that began from the Silverado Casino in Fernley and ended at Mills Park in Carson City, where it will be put up overnight in time for Nevada Day Festivities.
The Traveling Vietnam Wall honors our fallen servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice and paid the ultimate price in the name of freedom and duty.

Nevada Day festivities will celebrate the 148th year since joining the union with the theme, “Honoring Our Military and Families Past, Present and Future” Oct. 25-28.

Doug Watson brings twenty years of historical characterization experience to his presentation of American humorist Will Rogers, an Indian-cowboy, one of the nation's most beloved faces and voices of the 1920s and 30s.

Known as the Bandit Queen or The Petticoat Terror of the Plains, Belle Starr has taken her place in history among the outlaws and desperados of what was then known as Indian Territory and what is now Oklahoma. Acclaimed storyteller and living history performer, Karen Vuranch brings this remarkable woman to life.

By the Nevada Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources
Nevada State Parks invites the public to a weekend of free historic events at Mormon Station State Historic Park. 
For more information, please contact the park at (775) 782-2590.

June 18: Pioneer Living History Day
Bring the family and enjoy a living history day with the Sierra Nevada and Truckee Meadows Mormon Pioneers. 

With enough cannon fire, frontier food and Wild West living history to pack a weekend's worth of activities, the 28th annual Carson City Rendezvous continues today, tonight and through Sunday at Mills Park in Carson City.

The Carson City Rendezvous is noted for portraying the lifestyle of early Nevada settlers, with a host of gun skirmishes, mountain man encampments and trapping demonstrations. This year the main demonstration of the Civil War-era gun battles has been moved from afternoon to dusk to better capture the backdrop of live-fire, rounds shot from muskets and cannons.

The 28th annual Carson City Rendezvous - a living history and re-enactment event celebrating Nevada's early days of the mid- to late- 1800s -continues today and Sunday at Mills ParkEvents will p...

The 28th annual Carson City Rendezvous, the area’s largest special event, returns Friday through Sunday to celebrate the wild west and Civil War era history.

The 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's presidential inauguration is just one of many new events for the free three-day Civil War-era living history set at Mills Park, according to a news release issued by the Carson City Visitors Bureau.

The opening ceremony will be a special re-enactment of the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, the nation’s 16th president, at Mills Park on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Carson City's history, arts and culture will be featured throughout the summer with a litany of events and activities to resonate with families and their budgets, according to the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Prepare yourself for a living history weekend at the 27th annual Carson City Rendezvous, June 11-13, at Mills Park in Carson City. This year's Rendezvous features a salute to the Pony Express, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

SILVER SPRINGS, Nev. -- Please join Nevada State Parks and the National Pony Express Association in celebrating the 150th anniversary commemorating the first Pony Express ride from St. Joseph, Mo.