• Truckee River Winery’s Cask as Canvas provides 10 retired wine barrels to be painted by local artists, with five being auctioned off at the end of the summer and the proceeds going to local charities. To participate, email katy@truckeeriverwinery.com for a registration form due by July 20.

• Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association is holding two weekends to ride and work on trails: July 14-15 on the Sunflower Hill Trail and July 20-21 on the Tahoe Rim Trail. Go online for more information.

• Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, South Lake Tahoe Police Department and Carson City Sheriff’s Office are offering a free training class for rental property owners called “Crime Free Multi-Housing Program” July 25 from 8am to 5pm at DCSO, 1625 8th St., Minden, Nev.

Nevada State Parks is hosting a day of free historical talks at Mormon Station State Historic Park on July 14.

The outdoor presentations begin at 10am and and each lasts approximately 30 to 45 minutes.  The schedule is as follows:

• 10am –  Stanley Paher, Western Nevada Ghosts and Ghost Trail

• 11:30am – Laurie Hickey, The Emigrant Trail – 1848 to 1851

• 1pm –  Bob Ellison, Ranch One, The First Land Claim in Nevada

• 2:30pm –  Frank Mullen, Jr., Donner Party:  The Tragedy of a Doomed Wagon Train

Members of the Truckee Meadows and Sierra Nevada Mormon Pioneers will also be demonstrating rope making, Dutch-oven cooking, musket firing, pioneer toys and tools.

Bring a lawn chair, beverage, and picnic lunch.  For more information, contact the park at (775) 782.2590.

• Neighborhood Service Are Team #5 for Rancho Bijou and Bijou Acres is holding a meeting at 6pm on July 11 at Parks & Recreation, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd.

• The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival is still looking for volunteers for its upcoming season starting July 13. For more information, contact volunteer coordinator Ali Beltramo at ali@tahoebard.com or go online to sign up.

• Reggae/ska band Keyser Soze will be playing at the Lakeview Commons on July 12 at 4:30pm as part of an ongoing music series.

• Tahoe Douglas Visitors Authority is holding a board meeting July 11 at 4:30pm in the LTVA Executive Conference Room, 168 Highway 50, Stateline.

• The meeting of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority board will be July 12 at 3pm in the LTVA Executive Conference Room, 168 Highway 50, Stateline.

• County music singer Mark Chestnut is performing July 22 at 8pm at the Carson Valley Inn. Tickets are $25 and available at the hotel’s front desk or by calling (775) 783.6606.

•The Zawadisha Fund is hosting a one-day workshop featuring author and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Leadership, Rayona Sharpnack, who will speak on leadership development for women. The workshop will be held from 8:30am to 5pm on Aug. 24 at the North Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach. Register online. The $195 registration fee includes lunch and a signed copy of Rayona’s book, “Trade Up.” All proceeds benefit the Zawadisha Fund.

The Art, Wine and Music Festival returns to The Village at Squaw Valley on July 14-15 from 11am to 5pm. The event partner  is Sierra Nevada Classical Guitar Society and features fine wine, artwork from 30 artists and classical and world guitar music.

The festival features concerts on each day,  including the Celso Machado and Friends, Thakur Chakrapani Singh, Rene Izquierdo, Connie Sheu, Giacomo Fiore, March Teicholz, Samantha Wells and Larry Aynesmith.

Wine samples from 18 wineries, including Zaca Mesa Winery, Lola Kay Wines, Domun Estate, Masut, Hatcher and Yorba will be offered each day from 2-5pm.

The event is free. Wine tasting is $25 each day and includes a commemorative festival wine glass. All proceeds benefit Disabled Sports USA Far West.

Placer County is having a community workshop on its Community/General Plan in the Tahoe basin July 11 at 6pm at the Tahoe City Public Utility District office, 221 Fairway Drive, Tahoe City.

Placer County staff has formed four Plan Area Teams, which include public members. The areas are West Shore Plan Area, which includes Homewood, Sunnyside and Tahoma; Greater Tahoe City Plan Area, which includes Tahoe City, Lake Forest, Dollar Hill and the Tahoe City Gateway; North Tahoe West Plan Area, which includes Carnelian Bay and Tahoe Vista; and North Tahoe East Plan Area, which includes Kings Beach and Stateline.

The workshop is for developing zoning, development standards, and design guidelines for each area.

A town hall meeting to provide a report on the update of its general plan is scheduled for 6pm July 19 at the Granlibakken Conference Center & Lodge in Tahoe City.

The county will also provide a status report of the Community Plan update process to the Board of Supervisors at their July meeting, which will be at the Resort at Squaw Creek July 23-24.

• Gathering at the Gatekeeper’s fundraising dinner and auction for The North Lake Tahoe Historical Society is from 4-8pm on July 15. The event includes an auction with packages such as “Dinner party with Mark Twain” and “High Tea with Stella Watson at Watson Cabin.”  Tickets are $65 at can be purchased online or at the Gatekeeper’s Museum in Tahoe City. Proceeds from the go to operate the Gatekeeper’s Museum, Watson Cabin and cultural events. For more information, visit the museum online call (530) 583.1762.

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

•The 23rd annual Foam Fest beer and music festival featuring Johnny “Guitar” Knox and the Rockin’ Blues of Ro Harpo and the Blues Busters is set for 6pm on Sept. 2 on the KT sundeck of the Olympic House at Squaw Valley. Concert plus five brews is $25 or a suggested donation of $10 for concert only. Proceeds go to helping disabled people ski. For more information, email info@dsusafw.org.

Nutrition science researcher Kimber Stanhope will present a study on the metabolic effects of sugar consumption at the University of California Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center monthly lecture.

The study was recently featured in the CBS News 60 Minutes investigative report with Sanjay Gupta, which will re-air Aug. 5.  

The event is being held at 6pm on July 26 on the Sierra Nevada College’s Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, 291 Country Club Drive, Incline Village.

Truckee Police Department has received a new supply of gun safety kits thanks to a grant from Project ChildSafe.

The kits include a cable-style gun locking device, lock installment instructions and a safety booklet.

The safety kits are available for free and can be picked up Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm at the Truckee Police Department lobby located at 10183 Truckee Airport Road.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is working to eradicate, control, and contain known and future infestations of invasive weeds using chemical treatment in a project from July 9-12.

Current project areas include the Tallac Historic Site and parking area, the corner of Al Tahoe and Pioneer Trail, Pope Beach, 64 Acres and 64 Acres East, Heavenly Ski Resort, Meyers Landfill, Airport Meadow, Panther Road, near Big Meadow Trailhead (FS Road 1213), west shore of Fallen Leaf Lake, several urban lots in the Angora area (off Mt. Rainier) and off Ski Run Blvd./Wildwood Ave.

Treatments will use herbicides similar to the commercial product Roundup. Crews will apply the product by hand and no spraying will occur. Caution signs will be posted in treatment areas at least 48 hours prior to and after treatment and caution tape will provide a barrier around each treatment area. Access to treatment sites will be restricted for several hours during and after the application.