Column 103 – Red, White, and Tahoe Blue

Fair warning: This column is going to be an unabashed promotion for Red, White, and Tahoe Blue, and by way of full disclosure, I am on the board of RWTB, Inc, and have been intimately involved in the planning, so this won't be "fair and balanced."

 

To give you a little history, RWTB was the brainchild of local realtor Tom Bruno about a year ago. You may not know Tom – he's not big on social events or local clubs, but he is one of the most committed, hard-working, and self-effacing people it's been my pleasure to work with. He's a regular at the Tuesday morning Bonanza community meetings, and the bane of TRPA representatives who don't have their facts marshaled to meet his always cogent inquiries.

 

Tom surrounded himself with some equally committed folks for the Board of RWTB, Inc. – Greg Mc Kay, Bea Epstein, Bill Horn, Bill Hoffman, Tom Masterson, and Allen Ferris round out the Board, but Tom also got a huge number of people to participate – I won't attempt to name them all because I'd inevitably forget someone, but they'll all be acknowledged in the souvenir program for RWTB. This group, in turn, has raised almost $200,000 to put on what will be one of the great parties ever in Incline.

 

If you're a snowbird and just got back, here's the rundown – it started out as a three-day event; culminating in the 4^th on Wednesday, but other groups wanted to be part of it, so now some of the exhibits, athletic tournaments, and a special "Living Green in Tahoe" event at the College over the weekend. The core of the celebration, though, remains the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th.

 

On Monday, July 2^nd, a breakfast at the Firehouse will kick off the festivities, followed by a parade that will start at the "new" elementary school and go down Route 28 and Country Club, ending at the Middle School. The theme of the parade and RWTB is to honor our veterans, who will be prominently featured in the parade. At noon, church bells will ring and Mark Twain will read the Declaration of Independence followed by an Air National Guard fly-over and a World War Two-style "Stage Door Canteen" show with the Andrews Sisters redux and an old-fashioned ice cream social.

 

Every evening will see concerts at the Village Green – Monday's will be the popular local group Sol Jibe. On Tuesday the Sierra Nevada Ballet will put on a "Yankee Doodle Dance Event" in the style of George M. Cohan, all culminating on Wednesday with headliner Lacy J. Dalton before the fireworks.

 

On Tuesday the I-Can Run and Walk will be part of RWTB this year and for the less athletically inclined, the Rotary Clubs will be sponsoring the Rubber Duck Races. There will be breakfasts every day, a Barbecue and Apple Pie contest on Tuesday, and tons of other events all day, every day.

 

There will be gourmet dinners before each of the concerts and on Monday night an additional dinner at Thunderbird Lodge with the Great Basis Brass Quintet and stargazing with astronomer Dr. Paul Guttman and of course, the grand finale, the fireworks on two (count 'em two) barges in the lake – twice the fireworks display we've ever had before.

 

So plan to be here and to participate. We still need sponsors if you're inclined to donate, and if you want to donate time we still need volunteers. The plan is for this to be an annual event that will benefit the community and financially benefit local charities. Let's make this inaugural year a great kick-off that really demonstrates who we are as a community.