Alpenglow Sports announces 4th annual Community Book Initiative and theme, stewardship

Alpenglow Sports is kicking off its 4th annual Community Book Initiative on May 13. The month-long event will highlight 21 books, chosen in collaboration with 10 respected and diverse community members, admired for their mountain, environmental and/or social leanings. The event will run from May 13-June 10, during which all of the proceeds from these specific titles will benefit the local nonprofit, Clean Up the Lake. The theme for the 2024 Community Book Initiative is “stewardship”.

Alpenglow Sports operates through a rich and connected community-centric business model. For 43 years, the Tahoe City shop has put on events that bring the North Lake Tahoe community together and facilitate fun, education and inspiration. One has to look no further than the Winter Speaker Series, a large-scale event that seeks to give back to the community that has supported the shop since its inception in 1979.

The Community Book Initiative was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way for the team at Alpenglow Sports to continue to engage with their community, despite not being able to gather in their traditional ways and host their usual line-up of events. While the event started as a way to fill a need, it has turned into an annual staple for the local mountain shop.

The format is simple. Each spring, Alpenglow Sports reaches out to 10 community members who are respected and admired for their mountain pursuits, community involvement, and inclination to make Tahoe a great place to live. Each community member is asked for two to three thought-provoking and enlightening titles related to a theme, for a total of 20-25 books. These titles are designed to spark dialogue and illicit personal reflection and engagement, with topics including environmental, social, or adventure-related issues. After all, we’re all beautiful works in progress.

For the 2024 event, the team at Alpenglow Sports chose stewardship as the theme.

“In picking a theme, our team went back to the roots of this event, and expanded on our first year's theme of 'connection'," said event manager Stef Pyatt. "As we thought about what it means to be a vibrant, connected, and responsible community, stewardship immediately came to mind. We see this theme as an opportunity to explore all of the benefits of giving back to our community; from self-growth and purpose, to improved environmental practices, to economic growth and development, to community support, and so much more. By recognizing our individual role in taking care of our home and each other, we can become more connected physically and mentally, and as a collective”.

This year the community participants include Colin West, Niobe Burden Austere, Doug Read, Jessica Lisagor, Jared & Julia Drake, Dr. Wendy Robinson, Mike Rogge, Rebecca Anderson, Luke Nelson, and Renee Koijane. Each participant chose two books and explained their book selections in respective paragraphs to help facilitate dialogue within the community. These commentaries will be included alongside the titles in the shop, as well as on Alpenglow Sports’ website. Whether the books they chose reflect themes about self-improvement, environmental care, economic practices, or community they all relate to each other through the common thread of stewardship.

Additionally, the Community Book Initiative will benefit the local nonprofit Clean Up the Lake, an organization committed to protecting our environment through removing litter, monitoring aquatic invasive species, and educating the public. From May 13 -June 10 Clean Up the Lake will receive 100 percent of book sale proceeds from the 21 community-recommended titles. Books are available for purchase both online, and of course, in-person at the store in Tahoe City. Check out the event to “meet” the participants, learn more about their book choices, and purchase one (or a few) for yourself.

Alpenglow Sports is located at 415 N Lake Blvd, Tahoe City. For more on the event, visit https://alpenglowsports.com/pages/community-book-initiative.

If you are interested in participating in the Community Book Initiative in future years, or would like to be selected as the nonprofit beneficiary for this event, please contact info@alpenglowsports.com.