The Paul Abowd Tribute Dinner is a culinary love note to a man who has owned myriad Northern Nevada restaurants since the 1950s and is still manning Reno’s Stone House Café kitchen.

At this gastronomic Super Bowl, Abowd and fellow diners will be feted by chefs like Gregg Carano of the Eldorado, Jorge Flores, the Stone House Café; David Silverman, Silver Peak Brewery; Craig Rodrigue, Truckee Meadows culinary arts program; Troy Cannan, from Lulou’s and the Eldorado, and of course the ringleader Charlie Abowd. Each chef will have a chance to speak about their thumbprint on the menu and their relationship with Paul Abowd.

Adding to the feel-good vibe of the event is its non-profit beneficiary, The Greenhouse Project. Its mission is to establish and operate a community-based greenhouse using renewable energy sources and ecologically sustainable growing methods. With a focus on environmental stewardship, it will provide educational and vocational opportunities for students, youth groups and special needs individuals. It will also provide year-round organic produce to agencies serving low-income Carson City residents. For more information, go to carsoncitygreenhouse.org.

Event Details:

* Paul Abowd Tribute Dinner will feature a seven-course dinner with each course prepared by a different chef. Adele’s Anthony Kingland will match the wines. The dinner will highlight Nevada sourced produce, wine and meat.

* When & Where: Nov. 21 at 5pm at Eldorado Hotel and Casino, Reno.

* Tickets: Tickets are $150 per person and are available at the Stone House Café, Adele’s Restaurant and Lounge, J’s Old Town Bistro, Lulou’s, Silver Peak Brewery and the Cracker Box. For more information, call Adele’s at (775) 882.3353 or the Stone House Café at (775) 284.3895.

* Menu: Visit the website for a complete menu.

The 2nd annual Sample the Sierra on Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

Call (775) 588.1728 for info.

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Action snowsport photography and video from around the world highlight the 15th annual In The Mood, a free benefit event for the Tahoe Forest Cancer Center on Dec. 1 at 6pm at Resort at Squaw Creek.

The evening’s program will showcase the talents of the biggest names in adventure photography, video, and filmmaking including acclaimed filmmakers Scott Gaffney, Tom Day, Mike and Dave Hatchett, and Brad Holmes. Nationally recognized photographers include Keoki Flagg, Dave Norehad, Court Leve and Hank deVre.

A highlight of this year’s event is a tribute to the event’s co-founder, Robert “Fro” Frohlich, who passed away in October after a long fight with cancer.

A huge raffle with hundreds of prizes is a focal point of the night’s festivities. Grand prizes include a Squaw Valley adult season pass, heli-ski trips, gear and more. Other prizes include local resort day tickets, snowcat and heli-skiing adventures, ski and snowboard equipment, lodging packages, gift certificates and hard and soft outdoor retail items.

Raffle tickets may be purchased at the door before and throughout the event. All proceeds benefit the Tahoe Forest Cancer Center and the Truckee Community Christmas program.

Led by Medical Director Laurence Heifetz, the Tahoe Forest Cancer Center, located in Truckee, is committed to providing the highest quality cancer treatment and care to patients. The center strives to offer the most appropriate and current cancer diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in an honest, supportive, respectful and compassionate manner. The center is associated with the UC Davis Health System and the Tahoe Forest Hospital Foundation charitable organization.

As it was for the first In The Mood 15 year’s ago, guests are encouraged to donate a can of food at the door to support Truckee Community Christmas Inc., a nonprofit association that feeds the less fortunate over the holidays.

All ages are welcome. There is no admission charge. The doors open at 6pm and the show begins shortly thereafter. A no-host bar will be available.

The evening is co-emceed by local TV personalities Todd Offenbacher and Eric T. Brandt. The Resort at Squaw Creek will host a post-event party beginning at 9pm in Sandy’s Pub.

In The Mood is a Snowtribe Production. The event is supported by numerous partners and contributors including the Resort at Squaw Creek, Squaw Valley USA, Points North Heli ­ Adventures Inc., Pacific Crest Heli Guides, Tahoe Dave’s Skis and Boards, Snowbomb.com, Tahoe TV, and Swank Audio/Visual.

In the spirit of a free community event, In The Mood is supported and produced entirely by volunteers and the generosity of local and regional businesses and merchants. Raffle prize donations are welcomed.

For more information about the event, contact Eric Brandt at (530) 583.4206 or eric@tahoetv.com. For raffle donations, contact Meg deVre at (530) 525.6281.

The California Highway Patrol is offering a driving class called Winter Driving Safety & Survival.

Winter Driving Safety & Survival is aimed at helping educate all drivers about the hazards of winter driving. The class was created in an effort to preemptively reduce the incidence of injuries and deaths resulting from winter-related motor vehicle collisions and incidents.

With the use of still photographs and videos, officers in attendance will address drinking and driving, winter preparation, snow tires, speed limits, snow chain installation, anti-lock braking systems, stopping distances, restraint use and more. This class is conducted within the classroom and does not offer any behind the wheel training.

The class will be Nov. 16 at the South Tahoe High School Library and is free. Class starts at 6pm and will conclude at approximately 8pm.

This class is highly recommended for new drivers, drivers unfamiliar with winter driving conditions and drivers wishing to learn more about winter driving.

North Lake Tahoe celebrates its long winter season with SnowFest, a 10-day carnival. SnowFest is scheduled for March 4-13 and will beat a variety of venues throughout North Lake Tahoe.

In its 30th year, SnowFest is expected to draw thousands of attendees, with the majority of events free to spectators. The annual favorites are back, along with expanded special events, including the Opening Night Ceremonies, Laser Show, Torchlight Parade and Fireworks; Mamasake Extreme Food Challenge for those with a strong stomach; 21th Annual Gar Woods Polar Bear Swim in Tahoe’s frigid waters; SnowFest Parades in Tahoe City and Kings Beach; Sunnyside Luau; the Great Ski Race, an annual cross country adventure; Kings Beach Ice Castle and Lighting Contest; Wacky Winter Human Bowling with snow saucers and inflatable pins; Tahoe City Golf Course’s “Dog Pull”; the Dragon Snow Palace; Dummy Downhill at Diamond Peak in Incline Village; the highly creative and 23rd Annual Snow Sculpture Contest at Tahoe City’s River Ranch Lodge; Special Olympics Polar Plunge at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe; and the 3rd Annual Ta-Hoe Nalu Arctic Standup Paddleboard Race.

For more information about SnowFest and a complete list of events, visit the website.

On the occasion of Mark Twain’s 175th birthday, the Mark Twain Cultural Center will host a celebration and the old boy himself (impersonator McAvoy Layne) will hold forth on the balance of the autobiography that Twain asked be withheld for 100 years after his death.

The celebration, which honors one of Lake Tahoe’s most well-known writers and pioneers, takes place Nov. 30 at 7pm at the new Mark Twain Cultural Center at 760 Mays Blvd., Ste. 10 in Incline Village.

General admission tickets are $19.99 for adults and $9.99 for students.

For 20 years, in more than 2,000 performances from Leningrad University in Russia to C-Span, McAvoy Layne has preserved the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain. McAvoy is also the author of the soon to be published “Becoming Mark Twain” and winner of the Nevada Award for Excellence in school and library service. He portrays the ghost of Mark Twain in A&E’s “Biography of Mark Twain” and in the Discovery Channel’s Cronkite award-winning documentary, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

For more information about Mark Twain’s 175th Birthday Bash and to purchase tickets, go to www.GhostofTwain.com or call (775) 831.2820.

The fourth annual North Face Masters is the largest big mountain snowboarding competition in the country, and it provides a venue for the best snowboarders in the world to compete for a total $45,000 cash prize purse.

Competitors will be at Kirkwood March 3-5.

Ring in the holiday season with the Holiday Jazz Fest at Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa & Casino, Nov. 26-27. This annual two-day celebratory musical event features Peter White, Rick Braun, Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright, Lalah Hathaway and Kirk Whalum.

Doors open each evening at 7pm and live entertainment begins at 8pm.

Two ticket options are available. Individual VIP Tickets, priced at $95 each/per night include preferred seating at the concert, plus access to the pre-concert wine reception in the high limit slot area of Hyatt’s casino featuring select wines from Rodney Strong Vineyards. Reserved Seating Tickets are also available for both concerts at $65 each/per night.

Individual tickets to the Holiday Jazz Festival may be purchased through Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe’s Concierge Desk, or through Omega Events at www.omegaevents.com or

(949) 360.7800.

The 3rd annual North Face Junior Freeskiing Tour, a platform to develop young professional big mountain athletes by providing opportunities for them to compete and show the direction big mountain skiing is headed, stops in Kirkwood March 25-27..

The North American Junior Freeskiing Championships are in Kirkwood.

Each JFT event is sanctioned by the International Free Skiers Association (IFSA) creating consistent judging and accumulative points standings throughout the competitive season.

Billabong Flaunt it Finals at Sierra-at-Tahoe is April 9.

The finals of this North American women-only snowboard series is a Swatch Ticket To Ride World Tour rated event, so expect high-level femme riding from some of the best snowboarders in the industry.

Sierra Resort’s Jamie Anderson, currently ranked one of the top female snowboarders in the world, will be throwing down on the custom Slopestyle and Rail Jam course.

This event always brings tons of great female energy to Sierra Resort.

For more information, go online or call (530) 659.7453.