McFadden Plaza

Community members officially broke in the brand-new Bob McFadden Plaza Saturday morning with a pancake breakfast, a ribbon cutting and cool, refreshing water from the splash pad.

Children splashed through streaming fountains of water Saturday morning to break in the newly completed Bob McFadden Plaza, located on the old Third Street section between Carson and Curry streets.

I can understand if your plans for the weekend include sitting half-naked in front of a swamp cooler with an icy beverage. It has been quite roasty these last few days. Let me, however, attempt to lure you out with this weekend’s event list; there is plenty of fun to be found around the valley. Some of your options even include air conditioning and icy beverages.

SATURDAY:

In conjunction with the McFadden Plaza grand opening, the Carson City Information Technology department has partnered with internet service provider, SkyFiber Internet, to provide public outdoor Wi-Fi connectivity called “Battle Born WiFi” to sections of the downtown area.

Carson City celebrates the opening of Bob McFadden Plaza, located on Third Street between Carson and Curry Streets this Saturday, July 30 with a full schedule of events. Proceeds from the celebration will benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

This week’s edition of It’s Your City with host Cortney Bloomer features Katie Leao, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada. The two discuss current happenings and upcoming events.

Lisa Lee, director of Advocates to End Domestic Violence, is this week's guest on It's Your City. She and host Cortney Bloomer discuss Saturday's upcoming Taste of Downtown Carson City, which benefits Advocates to End Domestic Violence.

Mile High Jazz Band Association and Carson City present the 13th Annual Jazz & Beyond Festival. It features 17 days of Music and Art at multiple venues in Carson City, August 5-21.

"Jazz & Beyond is a homegrown event celebrating the talent of our region and relying on many local music fans who donate their time and effort," said committee co-chair David Bugli, President of the Mile High Jazz Band Assoc. "Volunteers, sponsors, and advertisers help us make the event one of the best in the area, and keep most performances admission free."

The Kids on Big Rigs event will include crafts, activities, and a diverse collection of big rigs to learn about. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada. Kids on Big Rigs will be hosted at the Grand Opening of the Bob McFadden Plaza, which is conveniently located near Bella Fiore Wines, Mom and Pop's Diner, and The Firkin and Fox. Join us in celebration of Bob McFadden’s legacy and the incredible transformation of the downtown corridor. At 7:00 p.m.

In this week's edition of It's Your City, host Cortney Bloomer talks with Zack Hames about the upcoming second annual Sassabration Festival on Saturday, July 16 from noon to 9 p.m. at Sassafras, 1500 Old Hot Springs Road.

The event features food, friendship, entertainment, vendors, a bicycle parade and free swimming at The Carson Hot Springs. The festival is a celebration of unity, diversity and community. See the video below.

In this week's edition of It's Your City, host Cortney Bloomer talks with guest Jennifer Mannix about Artown held annually in Reno.

The July 2016 calendar brings nearly 500 events, more than 100 workshops and over 30 ongoing programs. Go here for more information.

In this week's It's Your City host Cortney Bloomer welcomes Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong. They discuss upcoming community activities, this weekend's Epic Rides events, plus traffic and safety.

In this week's It's Your City, host Cortney Bloomer welcomes Sarah Morey of the Brewery Arts Center to talk about the Levitt Amp Concert Series held Saturdays through summer at the BAC and the Arts in the Park program.

Access to businesses along Third Street, between Carson and Curry, has concerned patrons because of construction of the future Bob McFadden Plaza, but these businesses remain open despite detours, Carson City Public Works Engineering Manager Daniel Rotter said Wednesday.

It's Your City host Cortney Bloomer features guest Valerie Cauhape, health educator with Carson City Health and Human Services. Last month the Carson City health department became Nevada's first accredited health department through the Public Health Accreditation Board.

Breezy afternoon winds Wednesday deterred neither vendors nor shoppers at the opening of the Wednesday Farmer's Market, located along Curry Street between Third and Fourth.

It’s Your City host Cortney Bloomer speaks with Steve Roznier about the new Wednesday night farmer’s market in Carson City that begins June 1. Also in this program, Doug Cramer from Mom & Pop's Diner speaks about access and the future of the Bob McFadden Plaza, being constructed in the area of Third and Curry.

“Every American city, whether it prides itself on its public sculptures or deep-dish pizza, on hot-air balloons or woolen jackets, on abundant trout streams or Greek architecture, needs to develop that identity, or if it has been allowed to escape, remember what it once was.”

That single sentence written by Robert E. Price, author of “The Bakersfield Sound” and award-winning Executive Editor of the newspaper Bakersfield Californian, struck a chord with me, for as we go forth with our “reimagining,” we still don’t have a clear vision/identity of who we were or who we are today.

The dictionary defines "fixture" as something that remains in place, an established part of something else.

In downtown Carson City, there are a number of businesses that can make a case for being fixtures, storied parts of the Nevada state capital.

But few are as endearing to so many as Mom and Pop's Diner.

The organizers of the annual Nevada Day celebration are considering changing the course of the parade to move from south to north on Carson Street.

The staff of Nevada Day, Inc. met on Tuesday with Carson CIty officials to go over the planned changes for the parade. The basic outlines for the plan have the parade starting on South Carson Street at 10th Street, continuing north before taking a right turn on William Street, and ending at the intersection with Stewart Street.

Here's the speech made Wednesday by Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell at the 2016 Chamber of Commerce State of the City address held at Gold Dust West:

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