Live at Lakeview concerts coming back in 2014
By Kathryn Reed
With Lakeview Commons still in its infancy, South Lake Tahoe officials are struggling to figure just what it should be.
While the agenda topic Tuesday at the council meeting was to recap the summer concert series run by Rob and CarolAnne Giustina of OnCourse Events, much of the talk was about what else the area at El Dorado Beach could offer.
Family nights, movies, alcohol-free events, different musical acts – all of these were suggestions. Instead of expanding what OnCourse does the council instead directed city staff to come up with events, perhaps with partners, that the city can call its own.
Live at Lakeview will be returning for a third summer in 2014. Photo/LTN file
One of the issues brought up by Lauren Thomaselli, city recreation manager, during her Dec. 10 presentation is that even though the city is a major sponsor of Live at Lakeview, it was not featured prominently in advertising and promotional material. Besides providing $2,500 in cash, the city waived $5,000 worth of staff hours and $3,250 in rental fees.
Top billing went to Coors and Heavenly Mountain Resort. To eliminate the beer sponsor it would cost the city an additional $12,000 per summer. To get rid of alcohol completely would require a $35,000 contribution, according to the staff report.
CarolAnne Giustina told the council the demographics of the audience changes throughout the course of the Thursday night Live at Lakeview concerts. It starts out with many who are older than 50, then families come and the later crowd is younger and tends to drink more.
People smoking pot was another issue that was raised. It was agreed police officers will make a stronger presence early on and that perhaps fewer warnings and more citations will be issued.
It’s against the law in California to smoke marijuana in public even with a medical card. But one thing officers consider is whether the DA’s office will prosecute what amounts to a minor crime.
Next year parking will likely be problematic because the Harrison Avenue project will be under way. Everyone agreed better promotion of the free lot at the rec center is needed. Using a shuttle between the lot and Lakeview was also broached.
More than 1,000 people attended each of the 10 concerts. More than 300 came via bicycle, while a couple dozen were in some type of watercraft.
Despite some of the second-year hiccups, the council had high praise for the event and Giustina said she is willing to make necessary improvements.
OnCourse Events’ two-year contract runs through summer 2014. While the South Lake Tahoe company would like the first rights of refusal for 2015, that can’t happen because it was not in the original request for proposal.
So the City spent millions of dollars without a plan as to what the area should be. Then they allow people attending to violate Federal, State and City law by smoking pot and also violate city law by drinking on a city owned beach.
To paraphrase Yakov Smirnoff, WHAT A CITY!
Now, I do support what the city is trying to do with this public beach but let’s put together plans which make it work for everyone and support the laws the city has enacted, or change the laws.
Thinking positively – how about a winter event for the area? Something as simple as a sleigh ride from Lakeview Ave. along HWY 50 to the old lakefront office building and back. Similar to what NV has across from MontBleu. What else could you do with 5 feet of snow on the ground? I’d round up more advertisers for the summer months. Why fix something that isn’t broke?
Thomaselli should worry less about the City’s billing for the events and focus on getting and KEEPING sponsors to help underwrite the events. The City can make the sponsor statement read something like: Sponsored by Coors, Heavenly Mountain, (and others to be recruited) in partnership with the City of South Lake Tahoe. Most cities don’t have the funding moxi to be at the top of the pile for recognition – and who cares? Get the refuse company to also sponsor…
I also agree with Bob – it would be wonderful to have a sleigh ride on the lakeside. Or it could be a sleigh ride around the the park area – from the library parking lot around the ice-rink, pool/rec building and back for a cup of hot chocolate or ?
The first year we went to the Thursday concerts often. But it deteriorated rapidly as the summer progressed. Choking on cigarette (and other) smoke, dozens of dogs, drunken derelicts hogging the front of the stage, it stopped being fun. We didn’t go at all this past summer.
It’s a terrific venue, and the fish tacos and beer garden were nice, but it had stopped being ‘family friendly’.
Seems to be the town trend.
It might be free parking at lakeview if it goes to vote of the citizens.
Let’s hope so Buck. Get out, sign the petitions to put it on the ballot and then vote.
We should have the Forest Service get top billing on all of Vail’s advertising. The city needs to grow up.
If the police had the man power needed to remove the hobo camps they wouldn’t be disrupting the events. The city has the funds to harass people for non conforming carports but leave the homeless camps in stream environmental zones alone.
I had a great time at the 3 or 4 of these I was able to attend. Movie night sounds like fun, we did something similar in Piedmont Park when I lived in Atlanta, it was great.