Genoa’s Sweet Sippin’ Sundays continues Aug. 5 from 1-4pm. The theme for August is rum cocktails and proceeds will benefit Austin’s House.

The cost is $10 for a keepsake glass handcrafted in Genoa and a passport to sample a sweet and a tasty rum drink at each participating business. There will also be live music and raffle prizes.

The Greater Genoa Business Association is the host for Sweet Sippin’ Sundays. Businesses participating in the event are Trimmer’s Outpost, Genoa Bar, Genoa Trading Company, Historic Genoa Ghost Tours, Genoa Country Inn, David Walley’s, Orchard House, Genoa Floral Creations, Silverheels Boutique, Tombstone Tap and Grill, Genoa Country Store, Dancing Deer, Sweet Repeats, Genoa Station Bar & Grille, Rustic Romance and Buono Sera. Sweet Sippin’ Sundays are the first Sunday of each month through October.

Call (775) 309.3133 for more information.

Austin’s House is the only emergency children’s shelter in rural Northern Nevada.

• Lake Tahoe was recently ranked the Best Lake in America in a survey by USA Today.

• Sept. 13 from 5:30-8pm is the Signature Cocktail Contest at Riva Grill. Proceeds benefit Barton Health Foundation’s Festival of Trees and Lights.

• Charter Communications has moved to 183 Highway 50, Ste. A in Round Hill.

• Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care’s open house is Aug. 5 from 10am-4pm.

• Truckee’s home tour benefiting Excellence in Education is Aug. 5 from 10am-4pm. Tickets are $40 in advance and $45 the day of event — (530) 550.7984.

Camp Tadaka is having a Fun Trip on July 31 for first- through 10th-graders.

The group is going to the Reno Aces baseball game. Cost is $25.

Preregistration is necessary — (530) 542.6056.

Bring lunch, sunscreen, hat, glove, and a water bottle. Camp will provide peanuts, popcorn, and water.

Here’s a pairing of Highway 50 at Park Avenue — 1965 compared to 2012.

Notice the 1965 stoplight islands in the center of the roadway, and all the ugly overhead wires.

 — Bill Kingman

The Historic Fourth Ward School Museum in Virginia City will host a grand opening of its Archives and Research Center on Aug. 1 at 2pm.

The archival collection is housed on the bottom floor of the 1876 nationally significant schoolhouse. The collection consists of historic documents, photographs, maps, books and memorabilia pertaining to the Fourth Ward School, Comstock history, mining, VCGH Water Company, Sutro, and genealogy of local families.

Research will be available by appointment and by request. For more information, contact the museum at (775) 847.0975. The museum is at 537 South C S., Virginia City.

• South Lake Tahoe Fire Department is having a public Badge Pinning Ceremony on Aug. 3 from 3-4pm at the senior center for the department’s three new firefighters and 19 reserves.

• South Tahoe High School’s Student Union will be dedicated Aug. 24 at 10am. At noon the school board will head down to South Tahoe Middle School to cut the ribbon on the new Mountain Vista building.

• The Steve Walker Band will be at Valhalla on the South Shore on July 31 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door – (530) 541.4975.

• Here is Caltrans’ roadwork schedules for the coming week for El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra.

• Artist Michael Godard will visit Wyland Galleries in South Lake Tahoe on Aug. 4 from 6-9pm.

Squaw Valley is hosting the resort’s first Full Moon Party at High Camp on Aug. 2. Slated to take place amidst the brightest full moon of the summer, the party will feature a line-up of five disc jockeys playing from 8pm until 2am on the mountaintop.

The Full Moon Party is restricted to ages 21 and over. Tickets are $29 and include the ride up to the party on Squaw’s tram. Tickets can be purchased online.

Lake Tahoe SummerFest three-weekend classical music concert series ion the campus of Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village opens Aug. 3 with Dvorak’s Romance Opus 11, and Vivaldi’s Concerto for Violin and Cello.

An evening of Beethoven is on Aug. 10. The Aug. 17 concert is a “Summer in Italy” program, featuring a series from Rossini beginning with “Overture to L’Italiana in Algieri,” the always sentimental Vivaldi with “L’estate” and ending with the finale of Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony #4.

Chamber music featuring the works of Mozart, Brahms, Schubert and Schumann is planned each Saturday, Aug. 4, 11 and 18.

Tickets are $85 for VIP seating, $50 in the Guest section and $25 in the Friends area, and for a limited time children 12 years and under are half price. VIP tickets and Season Pass holders are invited to backstage access and VIP Receptions with the artistic director/conductor and orchestra after the concerts.

For more information, go online or call (775) 298.0245.

Lake Tahoe mystery author Todd Borg will talk about his latest book “Tahoe Trap” on Aug. 1 at 6:30pm.

The event is at the South Lake Tahoe branch library, 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

Bring your books for him to sign.

The Tallac Historic Site’s 27th annual Great Gatsby Festival is Aug. 11-12. The weekend is a celebration of the Roaring 20s, honoring the heyday of the three restored estates on the site.

Weekend activities will include Pope House tours, the annual Great Gatsby Tea, vintage children’s games, vintage automobiles on display, a speakeasy, old-time movies, artists, craftsmen, musicians, and food vendors.

The festival will run from 10am-5pm both days.

The Tallac Historic Site is located on Highway 89 adjacent to Camp Richardson.

Call Jackie or Laurel at (530) 541.5227 for more information.