Snow Festival Opening Ceremonies & Fireworks at Squaw Valley
Squaw Valley, CA (Tuesday, February 28, 2006) -
Fireworks will light up the night sky above the ski slopes of Squaw Valley USA as the California ski and snowboard resort launches North Lake Tahoe's annual Snow Festival Friday night. |
The celebration begins at dusk on Squaw Valley USA’s lower mountain as members of the Squaw Valley Ski School descend the slopes of KT-22/Exhibition in a picturesque torchlight parade complemented by a laser light presentation and followed by a spectacular fireworks show. Beginning at 5:00 p.m. you can stop by the Auld Dubliner Irish Pub in the Village to fill your belly like an Irishman at the Kiwanis Irish Stew feed. The Kiwanis Club of North Lake Tahoe will be putting on a feast of Irish stew and side dishes for $10 per person. Proceeds benefit local charities.
After the fireworks and torchlight parade, the festivities move indoors to a mix of parties throughout the Olympic House bars where revelers can dance and celebrate the night away to your choice of blues, house music, or hip-hop. Party goers can sashay from one live music/DJ act to the next with no cover at the door. Bring on the house music with the Space Cowboys at Bar One, get down to some hip hop with DJ Step Daddy and Chubby Reign at Zenbu, and watch the blues wash away with the upbeat talent of the Boogie Monsters at Plaza Bar.
Following closely on the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino Italy, organizers for this year’s festival are planning a tribute to North Lake Tahoe’s special Olympic connection during the Tahoe City Parade taking place on Saturday morning, March 4, 11:30 a.m.
Sponsored by the Tahoe City Downtown Association (TCDA), the parade’s theme is ‘An Olympic Moment’ with many past, present and future Olympic athletes and fans planning a variety of festive Olympic themed floats and displays. Tahoe area Olympic athletes currently planning to participate in the parade include Eric Poulsen, Sandra Poulsen, Bill Hudson, Kristin Krone, Jeff Hamilton, Mark Wellman and Nate Holland.
The parade also features a special tribute to the local athletes Kevin Bramble, Candace Cable and Reed Robinson who are participating in the 2006 Paralympic Games in Torino Italy. They are missing the parade as their events officially begin with the lighting of the Paralympic Flame on March 1.
Over a dozen groups are participating in the parade, including Squaw Valley USA. Host of the VIII Winter Olympic Games in 1960, the Olympic resort is planning a nostalgic float featuring the original Olympic flame and a variety of original 1960 memorabilia.
The Kings Beach Family Resource Center’s float will depict various Olympic podiums designed to represent the possibility and magic that exists within the North Lake Tahoe community.
The TCDA rallies around the North Lake Tahoe’s unique community spirit with their ‘Low Life Local Float’ dedicated to all of the fabulous people who call Tahoe home. The Low Life Local movement is a grassroots effort to empower the community following an editorial in the Tahoe World written by a second homeowner that belittled the residents of Tahoe as ‘low life locals’.
Barifot & Pomin's Tahoe Hot Tubs hits the streets of Tahoe City with their ‘Traveling Hot Tub with Beads’. The entertaining float has been a recent feature in the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Salad Bowl, Beer Bowl, Tequila Bowl, Bloody Mary Bowl, and Champagne Bowl parades.
Great Olympians need great doctors and nurses and this year the ‘Tahoe Forest Hospital's Precision Bed Pan Drill Team’ are ready to share their spirit! The nurses and staff, dressed in the latest and chicest fashion styles of nursing garb and hospital apparel, plan to entertain parade goers with their funky hip hop movements and choreographed dance.
Other parade participants returning again this year include the Railroad Regulators, Pete the Juggler, The Vulcans & Miners, a variety of fire engines and ambulances, the Sierra Pacific Hot Stix Drill Team, coast guard boats, Furry Friends for Adoption, a couple of marching bands, other bands on trailers, the Kiwanis Precision Snow Shovel Drill Team, and the Jazzer-babes.
The Tahoe City Parade takes place snow, rain or shine. The parade route begins from the Safeway side of town and travels through the heart of Tahoe City. Spectators are encouraged to park at either end of town and walk as parking will be limited. Drivers are also reminded that traffic delays will occur during the parade and they should plan accordingly.
The 25th Annual North Lake Tahoe Snow Festival, a ten-day celebration of winter fun, is scheduled for March 3-12 and includes a full calendar of events and activities in and around North Lake Tahoe. Following the Squaw Valley kick-off and the Tahoe City Snow Festival Parade, popular festival activities include the Stohlgren Brothers’ ice cream eating contest, musical shows, the Heuga Vertical Express Ski & Snowboard Poker Run, the Garwoods Polar Bear Swim, and plenty of nighttime antics at all of the local bars and restaurants, including a Luau at Jake’s.