·      The 2017 Douglas County School District Spelling Bee winners are Lilly Dingman (sixth grade, Zephyr Cove Elementary School), Ruby Jacobsen (seventh grade, Carson Valley Middle School), and Grace Wolski (eighth grade, Whittell High School).

·      The Loft in South Lake Tahoe is hosting a five-course wine pairing dinner on Feb. 8 at 6pm. Grace Patriot will be the featured winery. For tickets and more information, go online. 

·      Tahoe Cross Country in Tahoe City is having a demo day Feb. 11 from 10am-3pm.

·      The 3rd annual Lake Tahoe Fat Bike Challenge is Feb. 26 starting at 8am at Tahoe Cross Country in Tahoe City.

·      Tahoe Donner Association is hosting an open mic on Thursdays from 6:30-pm starting Feb. 16 at the Northwoods Clubhouse.

AARP’s Tax Aide Program offers free tax preparation assistance for individuals and families in the Lake Tahoe area.

Assistance is available at the Family Resource Center of Truckee in Truckee and the North Tahoe Family Resource Center in Kings Beach. It is free to locals of all income levels and all ages, as long as your taxes do not include complex or extensive business returns. 

Appointments in Truckee are available from 9:15am-3:15pm on Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25; March 4, 11, 18, 25; and April 1, 8, 15. Call 530.587.2513. Appointments in Kings Beach are at the same time but on Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24; March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; and April 7, 14. Call 530.546.0952.

For more info, email taxesaarp@gmail.com.

Feb. 4 is the day before the Super Bowl, which is one of the single largest events for sex trafficking in the nation.

A group will be gathering to dance and call attention to the millions of men, women, and children who are trafficked every year. South Lake Tahoe will be part of the One Billion Rising Flash Mob to raise awareness around sex trafficking.

It will take place at 2pm in Heavenly Village in front of Base Camp Pizza. 

·       Highway 89 around Emerald Bay is open.

·       The Truckee chamber is putting on a workshop for independent contractors and businesses that use them. It will be Feb. 16 from 8:30-10am. For more info and to register, go online. 

·       South Lake Tahoe’s warm room needs people to serve on the following committees: fundraising, volunteer training and recruitment, budget-finances, and operations. Email Marissa at tahoewarmroom@gmail.com or call 775.573.0822 to volunteer.

·       IMBĪB Brewing Company of Reno was awarded two medals in the 2017 Best of Craft Beer Awards — a gold medal for Nevada Weisse and a silver for Belgian Dark Strong Ale.

·       Sierra Business Council and SCORE of Northern Nevada are putting on a seminar for people wanting to start their own business. It is Feb. 2 from 5:30-7pm in Truckee. Go online for more info. 

·      South Lake Tahoe Friends of the Library is hosting a books sale March 18 at 10am. The sale will have hundreds of previously read and some new books, movies and music. Members get in an hour early. The library is at 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.

·       Tahoe Maritime Museum is looking for people with tattoos with a nautical theme or deep Tahoe connection. For more info, email Barbara@tahoemaritime. org.

·      Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless is hosting an open house Feb. 22 from 4-6pm at the warm room, 2179 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

·      Incoming Placer County Sheriff Devon Bell has appointed Capt. Wayne Woo undersheriff effective Feb. 26.

The annual Kings Beach Snowfest Parade is scheduled for March 11, 11:30am-12:30pm on Highway 28 in downtown Kings Beach between Secline and Coon streets.

The event is produced by the North Tahoe Business Association.

Last year’s Kings Beach Snowfest Parade was attended by an estimated 1,000 spectators and featured 30 entertaining entries including kids, music, animals, clubs and more. This year, the parade will be filled with past participants as well as several new entries and surprises. Parade entry forms are due Feb. 13.

For a complete schedule of Snowfest events, go online.

The Tahoe Boys Variety Show will be Feb. 3 at the MontBleu showroom beginning at 7pm.

The show features Tahoe natives Chris Smith, Nick Smith and Sean Pawling.

It will be an evening of music, comedy, juggling, skits and more. This program is suitable for all ages.

Tickets are $15 for adults, and free for kids who are accompanied by an adult. Doors open at 6:30pm.

Tahoe Arts Project is bringing Tahoe Boys Variety Show to South Shore schools the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 3.

For more information, call 530.542.3632.

The Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe will be hosting a guardian nomination workshop for all families in the South Lake Tahoe area.

This event is open to the public and will help with the process of nomination a guardian for minor children. The event will be in the meeting room at the of the club at 1100 Lyons Ave., South Lake Tahoe on Jan. 31 from 5-6pm.

The club will be open until 6:30pm to allow parents to be in an uninterrupted workshop.

This workshop is free for all parents.

For more info, contact Kili Ongoy at kongoy@bgclt.org or 530.542.0838.

·      Jan. 30 is a school day for Douglas County kids at the lake. Originally it was to be an in-service for teachers. Instead it’s a makeup day for one of the five snow days this school year.

·      The first Maker’s Monday of the New Year will be Feb. 13, 6pm at Bona Fide Books — 1069 Magua St., No. 4, Meyers. The focus will be mail art. This art form, also known as postal art and correspondence art, is an artistic movement centered on sending small scale works, interesting/fun inclusions, and unique mailings through the Postal Service. For more info, call 530.545.1373.

·       The QuickMap app from Caltrans is now available for iPhone and iPads. The app displays the user’s location on a map along with real-time information including; traffic speed, road closures, California Highway Patrol incidents, chain controls, fire locations, electronic highway sign messages, and live traffic cameras.

·       Here are the roadwork schedules of the coming week from Caltrans for El-Dorado-Tahoe and sierra.

·       Forbes ranks Northstar in the top five for family friendly ski resorts.

“American Pickers” is returning to the South Shore this spring.

This is a documentary series that explores the world of antique picking on. The hit show follows Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz, and their team hunts for  America’s most valuable antiques. 

The pair hopes to give historically significant objects a new lease on life, while learning a thing or two about America’s past along the way.

“American Pickers” is looking for leads. Anyone with a large, private collection or accumulation of antiques that the pickers can spend the better part of the day looking through is asked to send their name, phone number, location and description of the collection with photos to americanpickers@cineflix.com.