Nevada County Art, Culture & Media Digest

Movie fans gathered at the Del Oro Theatre for the Nevada County premiere of “Poor Paul,” an independent film directed by Nevada Union High alum Sean Michael Beyer.

WinterWonderGrass Festival has announced its lineup for the 7th annual family-friendly event, which will take place next spring at Palisades Tahoe. The lineup for the March 31-April 2 event includes 25 bands across four stages.

Over the next two weeks, tens of thousands will descend on Discovery Park for two big music events. The festivals are part of a concerted effort to boost tourism, to the tune of $1.5 million approved this year by the Sacramento City Council to support festivals and events.

A new mural has been created in Truckee, celebrating local history one train boxcar at a time. For more than a week, local youth have worked on a roughly 120-foot-long wall for a new park that’s currently under construction.

After a two-year hiatus, the First Friday Art Walks are returning to Nevada City, now through September. Over 20 downtown Nevada City businesses will participate by staying open late and hosting an artist in their space.

The Tahoe Fund and Clean Up the Lake have announced that the new art installation created from some of the 25,000-plus pounds of litter removed from Lake Tahoe will take the form of a bald eagle holding a Lahontan cutthroat trout.

Classical Tahoe Festival and Music Institute has announced its upcoming season, which runs July 14 through Aug. 18. Guest conductors Jonathan Darlington, David Chan, and Ken-David Masur will lead the orchestra.

Following Clean Up the Lake’s year-long scuba clean-up of Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Fund is commissioning artists (with support from Tahoe Blue Vodka) to create a sculpture using some of the recovered items. “Surfaced” will be featured at the new Tahoe South Events Center.

Lake Tahoe will be highlighted in its own board game, Monopoly Lake Tahoe. Visiting the area was the iconic Mr. Monopoly, there to highlight the new game and encourage the public to submit ideas for what should be featured on the board.

Archaeologist and historian Mark Selverston reviews Dr. Tanis Thorne’s new book, “Nevada City Nisenan,” which weaves together archival data, historical records, maps, photographs and illustrations to describe how the indigenous Nisenan people lived before the Gold Rush.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Orchestra restarts this month after a two-year hiatus. OLLI conductor Wayland Whitney invites local musicians of any age to consider joining. Some members are working or retired professional musicians; others are students.

For the first time in three years, the California State Fair will return. This Sacramento tradition of food and carnival rides is now four months away.

In July 2021, a mural on the Nevada State Bank building was created as part of Reno’s annual Artown festival. A colorful depiction of the ancient Sierra Nevada, the piece was created by Truckee resident Jesse Melanson.

“Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche” is a new documentary that looks back at the historic Alpine Meadows avalanche. It will premiere in December but is already gaining traction at festivals.

The Nisenan tribe is gradually becoming more visible to Nevada County residents, says Nevada City Rancheria spokeswoman Shelly Covert, thanks in part to a new art exhibit bringing their culture and language into focus.

A new conceptual design has been released showing the future of the Truckee library. The city expects to break ground in 2025 and reopen the library with its upgrades in 2026.

The Crocker Art Museum has unveiled a new exhibit featuring historic artwork, Gold Rush maps and more, with the goal of bringing light to untold portions of California’s history.

The nonprofit Tahoe Regional Arts Foundation has terminated its application to develop a 22-acre parcel of land near the entrance to Northstar California Resort as The Stages at Northstar.

In the season three premiere of FOX Nation’s “Monsters Across America,” a Tahoe legend makes its debut. Host Kacie McDonnell, who travels across the country in search of “monster sightings,” heads to Lake Tahoe to learn more about Tahoe Tessie.

Despite being a virtual affair this year due to COVID, the Nevada City Film Festival is offering a creative pick-me-up during a tough month. Through Sept. 12, the festival is streaming a collection of 80-plus films.

Nevada City resident Ruth Chase makes art inspired by interviews. In her latest project—“Blur: Unraveling The Feminine, Masculine, And Everything In-Between,” on display at Grass Valley’s Center for the Arts—Chase asked her subjects, “What does it mean to be a woman?”

The Nevada County Fair will open next week, after a quarantine year that closed state and county fairs across the country last summer. And that is good news for the many nonprofit groups that raise money via food sales.

Live at Lakeview organizers canceled an Aug. 5 show in response to the recent spike of COVID-19 cases. “We are hopeful to produce the show for Sept. 2, if case numbers drop, but it’s our first priority to ensure it’s safe to do so,” said Rob Giustina, owner of On Course Events.

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is inviting artists to submit work for possible inclusion at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, returning as an in-person event Jan. 13-17, 2022. Festival director Jess Swigonski said, “I look forward to seeing what creations our vibrant community of artists have in store for our 2022 Art Exhibition.”

A new interactive exhibit called “Reading Forest” by Todd Gilens shares concepts about the forest’s resilience and the ecological change happening in the Tahoe Sierra. The literary art piece can be experienced at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center in South Lake Tahoe.

During the pandemic, Lake Tahoe Dance Festival founder Christin Hanna made a commitment to support her diverse cast of artists. This led to a series of new works debuting at the ninth annual event in Tahoe City, from July 27-30.

Originally unveiled last month in Nevada City, the Remembrance Memorial art installation honoring victims of COVID-19 is now on view in Truckee. The work is expected to remain downtown at Victory Plaza until Aug 12.

Jill Shalvis moved to Truckee more than two decades ago, using the area for inspiration. Her latest effort is part of her Wildstone Series of novels, which are standalone works set in a fictional town.

The nonprofit organization that hosts art hikes in nature is back for 2021. “We’re keeping groups smaller this year, limited to 16 people. ... We’re encouraging people to build their own pods,” says the group’s founder.

During a pandemic, with mandated remote instruction, performing arts teachers are faced with particular challenges.

For a donation of $500, the Sierra State Parks Foundation will match donors with an artist who will paint a bear box in the style of their choosing.

“Airports are the new museums,” says Carole Sesko, curator of the Truckee Tahoe Airport’s art program.