FESTIVALS AT TAHOE

UNDER THE THREE-RING TENT

[Crystal Bay, Nevada] When I was a kid I envisioned, at various times, a career as a cowboy, an Indian, a heroic soldier, a fireman, a master criminal, and a star of the circus.

Growing up I discovered that cowboying paid less than journalism. I learned that this wasn't the country in which to be an Indian.

It turned out that soldiers were underpaid, too, and occasionally used for target practice. And forget the fireman thingy. Riding in the truck and swinging down a pole looked good, but you had to be crazy to rush into a burning building.

Women taught me I wasn't bright enough to be a master criminal.

But I still wanted to be in a circus. Thank goodness for SNOWFEST!

By comparing SNOWFEST to a circus I'm not comparing the winter carnival to uncontrolled chaos and buffoonery. Instead, just like under the big tent, SNOWFEST! is a theater-in-the-round that, in its 20th year, remains as full of old fashioned hospitality, unbridled laughter, and diversified events worthy of P.T. Barnum.

It's the evens that fuel this travel log worthy of the Odyssey. Like a train that has slipped its tracks and is bouncing across uneven ground, participating in many of its unique events can be like learning to drive a car while it's rolling out of control downhill, but without any imminent danger. In one day an enthusiast can thrash through the gates at the Bob Everson Memorial Ski Race, then stumble into the Optimist Ice Cream Eating Contest, before ending up making the pooch a star in the Dress Your Dog Up Contest at the Brockway Golf Course.

Consider the Gar Wood Polar Bear Swim. Decidedly an East Coast event - like in Greenland - the swim competition can reawaken anyone's bravery. Or the Great Ski Race, which, at the start, resembles the retreat from Moscow with over 700 nordic racers launching themselves toward Truckee 18 miles away. Visit the River Ranch Snow Sculpture Contest to find a sort of Lord Of The Flies, feral savages playing with snow. Competing for big money, the greatest downhill racers in the world can be watched uncorking unbelievable speeds during Squaw Valley's Ford Downhill Series. And if you enjoy more pedestrian activities, prizes and fun can be won at Steamer's Cribbage Challenge, the Fireman's Burning Bingo Bash in King's Beach, or Pete N' Peter's Eight-Ball Tournament.

To some, SNOWFEST! means food, and few festivals offer such a variety. Where else but at Tahoe can you attend a Tahoe City Fire Station pancake breakfast in the morning and finish the day lakeshore at Sunnyside with an Hawaiian Luau? Other gastronomic delights discovered throughout the week abound at the Jake's on The Lake Mardi Gras Party, the Homewood Mountain Resort Taco Feed, and the Hacienda Del Lago Snowboard Festival. Don't worry about gaining weight. You can work it off Saturday night moving to rocking sounds at the SNOWFEST! Street Dance in Tahoe City.

After keeping up with the deluge of events, by the time SNOWFEST!'s final event occurs at Sierra Vista's Gala Closing Party a person could feel like they definitely need a vacation. That¹s why it's important to purchase tickets for the SNOWFEST! Drawing. Win a prize and be off to an exotic holiday for two.

I still can't walk a tight rope and the closest I've ever been to a flying trapeze is swinging from a tree into Lake Tahoe. I guess I'll never make it to the big top. But SNOWFEST! allows a person to rekindle the idea of surprise and awe as when a child views a circus under a three-ring tent for the first time. After 20 years, that in itself makes SNOWFEST! continue to give many people a great deal of pleasure.

For more information and a 2001 SNOWFEST! schedule of events, call (775) 832-7625, or visit www.snowfest.com.

For lodging information and reservations call (800) 824-6348.