Lifestyle

Every year since I've had a channel I have been covering Bike The West's signature bicycling event America's Most Beautiful Bike ride; though, over the years I've varied dramatically on how I have chosen to cover it. By tradition, I always cover the bicycle race on foot to give me a different perspective to the people who cover it on bicycle helmet cams or in a car.

Whether it's love, passion or heartbreak, no one sings a breakup or makeup song quite like Chris Isaak. California's coolest crooner will bring his sweeping catalogue of heart-bending classics — from "Wicked Game," "Somebody's Crying" to "San Francisco Days" and "Two Hearts" — to Lake Tahoe for a one-night-only show Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014 at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa.

Dr. Louis Grivetti will present “Chocolate: Heritage of the Americas,” featuring samples of American Heritage Chocolate made with authentic ingredients from the 17th century. Chocolate today is a universal treat—amazingly, a mere 500 years ago it was unknown outside of Central America. This presentation will cover
the geographical origins and global dispersal of the cacao tree, and its most beloved product.

Chocolate’s extensive history includes its earliest uses by native Mesoamericans and the spread of cacao production and chocolate manufacture into

April 1st starts the month long zero tolerance campaign “It’s Not Worth It!” to highlight the fact that drivers who text and use cell phones while driving have the same driving behavior as those who are legally drunk. South Lake Tahoe California Highway Patrol officers will join others from around the state in an effort to curb these behaviors in order to reduce preventable accidents with injuries.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe is looking for cyclists to join their Climate Ride California team to cycle through wine country May 17-20, 2014. Riders will help raise awareness of climate change, alternative modes of transportation and the effort to Keep Tahoe Blue.

League staff member Seth Chanin will be captaining Team Keep Tahoe Blue.

If you could take Muddy Waters, the Beatles, Tina Turner. David Bowie and Tom Petty, throw in a little Jay Z and mix them all up, you'd come up with a blond 27 year old named ZZ Ward.

After listening to her debut CD, "Til the Casket Drops", I am a new fan. And apparently I am not alone. "The tour has been incredible," Ward told me in a phone interview. "At every venue I'm seeing new fans and it's been a very positive thing to see."

The Annual South Lake Tahoe Earth Day will be held on Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bijou Community Park.

The festivities will include live music, a kid's zone, raffle prize and informative and interactive booths.

There will be plenty of opportunity to learn about local environmental issues while celebrating the Lake Tahoe region's unique beauty.

Putting on the annual Valhalla Art, Music and Theatre Festival takes more than a village. It requires the skills, creativity and organization of a Festival Director. The Tahoe Tallac Association, which produces the Festival, is pleased to announce its new Festival Director, Evangeline Elston.

Even though winter hasn't made much of a presence in Lake Tahoe this year, it's time once again for the annual spring ritual of daylight savings time. Sunday, March 9 at 2 a.m. is the official time charge where people are to move their clocks forward one hour.

What would you do if you were losing your eyesight? This question wasn't a hard one to answer for Monroe, Louisiana resident Leslie Hestle. Her answer? Go to Lake Tahoe!

Suffering from gyrate atrophy since birth, Hestle knew that her eyesight was going away. People with the disease are usually totally blind between the ages of 40-60. One year ago she had cataracts surgery, giving her eyesight for awhile longer but without peripheral vision.

Chef Candace Lockhart, Owner of Bella Tahoe Catering, will be teaching a hands on and demonstration class as part of the Sierra Chef Cooking Series at the Lakeview Loft in South Lake Tahoe. The February 6 event will be from 6 to 8 pm. Chef Lockhart will be showing just how fabulous Gluten Free cooking can be.

You'll learn to create 2 appetizers, a main course and a dessert, all tasty and Gluten free.

The class is $75 and reservations can be made by email at events@sierrachef.com or by phone at 775-588-01
484.

After getting his $10 Christmas Tree cutting permit from the U.S. Forest Service; Charlee, from the Charlee Simons & Jen morning show on K-Tahoe 590 AM & FM 96.1, finds the PERFECT tree in the forest!

El Dorado County, Douglas County, and the City of South Lake Tahoe are hosting two community workshops on December 11-12, 2013 to discuss the role that outdoor recreation plays in enhancing tourism and community livability for the South Shore. This is a great opportunity for residents to share their insights about parks, recreation, trails, events and programs, so that recreation opportunities can be improved in the future.

Grammy Award winning island music superstars Shaggy & Ravon and the legendary group Black Uhuru will headline separate shows at the Lake Tahoe Fall Harvest Reggae Jam at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa Nov. 19 and Nov. 29.

Here is the November 2013 concert and event report courtesy of Jack Durst of Fabulous Lake Tahoe. Follow Jack at his website, his YouTube channel and Twitter here.

SouthTahoeNow.com had a booth at this year's Halloween Cove at The Beach Retreat & Lodge! K-Tahoe's morning show, Charlee Simons & Jen, take us on a quick video tour of the event.

Buona Sera in Minden is presenting holding a wine tasting and dinner Thursday, October 17. This special event will be "Sangiovese Tasting 101 – Five Vino Noceto Sangioveses: The Differences – The Clones."

This is an educational and fun class that will cover 5 of the 7 Sangioveses and will be followed by a 5 course wine dinner with Rusty Folena, Winemaker.

New KTHO morning show, Charlee Simons & Jen, were disappointed that the So. Lake Tahoe Airport "Lake in the Sky" airshow had to be cancelled due to the smoke from the fires, so they made it down the mountain into Minden for the Minden/Tahoe Airport "Aviation Roundup this past weekend. It was quite incredible when an actual P-51 Mustang taxied up behind them!

Visit California’s annual “California SuperFAM,” in conjunction with British Airways, returns to the Golden State, October 10-17, 2013 for the sixth consecutive year. Sixty travel agents from the United Kingdom and Ireland will get the VIP treatment on this fast-paced, educational and entertaining California familiarization (“fam”) tour. Split into five groups, agents will embark on five different themed itineraries designed to allow them to experience all that California has to offer firsthand – from Southern California and the Desert to the North Coast and High Sierra.

September 28, 2013 - January 5, 2014

Santa Cruz-based artist Andrea Borsuk will create a new site-specific mural installation portraying the journey from the California coast to the Nevada desert. By layering paintings, drawings, and objects on top of a wall mural to imply a narrative trajectory, Borsuk explores the precarious notion of time and destiny.

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K-TAHOE 590 AM/FM 96.1 has a new morning show, Charlee Simons & Jen! Charlee discovers some special menu items you'll only find here at Tahoe.

Oktoberfest at Camp Richardson is living up to expectations with their food, drink, crafts, games and kid's activities. If the cars parked along Highway 89 is any indication there were several hundred people, if not into the thousands, enjoying the festivities.

The annual event runs until Sunday at 5 pm so there is still time to make it out. The Trolley will be running from the Y and dropping off passengers right in front of Camp Richardson. Biking and walking are also very viable options if one prefers not to drive.

The City of South Lake Tahoe and the South Lake Tahoe Police Canine Association (SLTPCA) worked in partnership to install several pieces of custom dog agility equipment at Bijou Park. A Ribbon Cutting ceremony was held on Sunday, September 22nd to celebrate the opening of the Bijou Dog Agility Park.

Tickets on Sale now for the Friends of the Library fundraiser- “A Toast to Twain”. Join us November 3rd, from 4-7 PM, for an incredible evening of fine wines, hearty appetizers, silent auction treasures with the highlight of the night being the talents of McAvoy Layne, the noted Mark Twain impressionist.

The evening benefits your South Lake Tahoe Library. Tickets are $40 and available for purchase at the Library through Oct. 30th. For tickets, call or visit the South Lake Tahoe Library at (530) 573-3185, 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.

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