holiday season

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - Just in time for the holiday season, the Peanuts gang will be visiting cities across North America in A Charlie Brown Christmas Live On Stage, with their final stop in Stateline at MontBleu Resort on Monday, December 30.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Help bring joy to a child this holiday season by joining in the Community Toy Drive on Saturday, October 5 from noon to 4:00 p.m. at American Legion Post 795.

There will be live music with Tony and Al, a raffle and silent auction.

Bring a new, unwrapped toy (no toy guns or toy knives please) and/or non-perishable food items for Christmas Cheer. Cash donations are also accepted.

The American Legion is located at 2748 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe. For more information, contact 530.318.3874.

There is no greater gift than to help others especially during the holiday season.
Two local families made Bread & Broth’s holiday Monday Meals extra special thanks to their monetary donations, and more importantly, sharing their time to host and help at their Adopt A Day of Nourishment dinners.

The holiday season can be a happy and joyous time, bringing family and friends together. But for some, it can be a stressful and lonely time, leading to symptoms of depression. When stress is at its peak, unhealthy behaviors, such as drinking alcohol, using drugs, and overeating, tend to take over. Though people use these behaviors to cope and escape difficult emotions, they tend to make things worse.

Just in time for the holidays, elves from the Harrah’s and Harveys Lake Tahoe bakery departments have created two “Gingerbread Virginia City” displays in the lobbies of both of their lobbies.

It took 400 pounds of fresh secret gingerbread spiced dough and 120 pounds of royal icing to create the hundreds of gingerbread cutout, house, numerous frosted candies, candy canes and pinecones which are part of the displays. There was also 200 hours of craftsmen-like hard work accomplished with the help of five of Harrah’s and Harveys top international culinary students working on the projects.

If you're like most this holiday season, you've been busy trying to find the perfect gift for loved ones on your list. You've hit the malls, shopped online, browsed the catalogs and spent your free time shopping.

For some it's easy to figure out what to buy them, but for those who already have everything, it's not so easy.

Instead of searching for what to give, especially for the adults in our life, how about doing something that will help those who lost everything and now need everything?

Celebrate Hanukkah and the holiday season at Temple Bat Yam's 2nd annual Vodka & Latkes fundraiser on Thursday, December 6 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at their temple in South Lake Tahoe.

Specialty cocktails made with Tahoe Blue Vodka will be featured along with a variety of different latkes and other appetizers and desserts.

There will also be raffle prizes, Texas Hold ‘em Dreidel style and more fun.

The cost is $45 in advance and $55 at the door. Must be 21 or over to attend. Tickets and more information are available on their website, https://tbytahoe.org/.

In an effort to help children in the South Lake Tahoe community enjoy the holiday season, local U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots organizers will be collecting toys at several locations including a big event on Saturday, December 1 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Bring an unwrapped toy or book and help put a smile on the face of a local child.

Volunteers will be in front of Kmart at the Y in South Lake Tahoe with a vehicle from Jim Bagan Toyota and the goal is to stuff it full of toys for local youth.

Bring a toy and enjoy tasty treats from Sugar Pine Bakery.

Black Friday is just days away. As the excitement of the holiday shopping season builds, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office reminds residents to stay focused on personal safety. Here are some tips to keep in mind before heading out to the stores:

First and foremost, stay alert. Do not get so caught up in the shopping frenzy that you lose awareness of your surroundings. Report suspicious activity to law enforcement or store security.

The Tahoe Chamber's GO Local & Win! campaign is returning to South Lake Tahoe for the 2018 holiday season. Starting on Small Business Saturday, November 24, the campaign is for business owners and operators, and local shoppers and diners.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - For 29 years members of the Barton Hospital Auxiliary and their volunteers have been creating cheese balls to sell during the holidays, and for 29 years the popularity of the garlicky, nutty and slightly spicy cheese balls has continued to grow.

One creamy swipe across a piece of sourdough bread or dipped with a cracker, and anyone with a discerning palate can tell the difference between store-bought and these homemade delights.

But what is in that tasty swipe is a guarded secret.

Buckle up when driving not only this holiday season as you head to Lake Tahoe, but each and every day no matter where you drive. As the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day weekend is a busy time on California roadways. To help segue into summer safely, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will conduct a Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP).

The string of holiday season killings in the Las Vegas Valley continued Saturday morning when two security guards were gunned down inside a hotel room.

The killings at Arizona Charlie’s Decatur marked the fourth double homicide and the fifth multiple homicide investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department this month.

Since Dec. 22 alone, Metro has investigated 12 homicides, all but one resulting from gun violence. But over the same stretch, the valley has had 15 homicides, including the deaths of three people inside a North Las Vegas home Thursday.

TOCCATA – Tahoe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus is in the midst of their 12th annual production of HANDEL’s MESSIAH with performances in five distinct locations this holiday season. The Reno-Tahoe-Truckee-Gardnerville communities continue enjoying the wonderful holiday tradition of TOCCATA’s Messiah production.

The Holiday Season is an especially wonderful time of year. We look forward to holiday get togethers, to holiday meals, to good cheer and yes, treats. But we don’t look forward to holiday pounds. Many of our New Year’s resolutions are testament to our holiday eating patterns. We vow to start a diet, or to exercise more, or change habits. We know we often consume more than we should. So what can we do to reduce the unhealthy parts of the holidays, and keep the treasured parts?

Internationally acclaimed Tintabulations Handbell Ensemble returns to ring in the 2017 holiday season. 'Winter Wanderings' presents musical tales of this magical time of year. Guiding their audience through an enchanting holiday journey of beautifully interwoven lush harmonies, haunting melodies, stridently joyous themes, with their usual touch of added humor, their artful sharing of musical talents and love of handbells radiates through to the delight of all in attendance. Join TIntabulations Handbell Ensemble for a magically entertaining holiday concert.

This opinion piece has been updated.

Winter is upon us as we begin to see light snowfall and cold, icy conditions. Every year families travel to South Lake Tahoe for Thanksgiving and Christmas, leading to congested roadways and an increase in pedestrian traffic. Many of these travelers are foreign to winter weather and do not have much experience driving in icy conditions. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department reminds motorists to be alert and courteous so that everyone can arrive at their destination and enjoy the holiday season with their friends and loved ones.

The Friends of the Library present Sierra Strings of Tahoe for an afternoon of music to usher in winter and the holiday season. This locally celebrated group will enchant you with a variety of songs. Free and open to all ages, light refreshments provided.

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As we are fast approaching the biggest giving season of them all I wanted to remind our wonderful Tahoe pet lovers what to avoid as gifts for your furry family member this year. I would like to thank the folks at Pet Plan Pet Insurance for the following great advice. Speaking of pet insurance, if you’re looking for a practical gift for your pet owning friends pet insurance would make a nice gift!

The Windjammers Yacht Club celebrated the holiday season and toasted to an enjoyable summer of sailing on Lake Tahoe at their annual Christmas party. After dinner and before dancing, the officers of the club for 2017 were inducted.

They include Shari Young, Vice Commodore; David Young, Rear Commodore; Diane Martin, Secretary; Kurt Rasmussen, Commodore; Dale Herman, Treasurer. (They are pictured above, left-right)

For the past six years, members of the South Lake Tahoe Moose Lodge have been providing meals for the less fortunate members of the community. What began as a small project with members filling up 15 boxes of food has grown into a much larger project with 50 families receiving the meals this holiday season.

Moose Lodge 1632 is asking for help from the community to fill these boxes. They are seeking donations of food to supplement the food boxes being prepared for distribution to needy families in the South Lake Tahoe area.

There is a full schedule of activites on the South Shore this weekend, plenty to do for the younger set as well as adults. Busy Santa can be found all over town!

Family Friendly -

Cruise with Santa aboard the M.S. Dixie II - Sunday, December 11, 2016, 12:00 – 2:00 pm, Cruise with Santa aboard the M.S.Dixie (530) 543-6191

What's going on this weekend in South Lake Tahoe:

Join Sierra Strings of Tahoe for a morning of music, ushering in winter and the holiday season on December 3, 2016 at 11:00 a.m This locally celebrated group will enchant you with a variety of songs. Free and open to all ages, light refreshments provided. At the South Lake Tahoe library.

Zawadisha's annual Holiday Bazaar returns this holiday season on Saturday, December 3 at the Blue Angel Cafe in South Lake Tahoe from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.