Carrie Underwood has sold more than 15 million albums, has 18 No. 1 singles, six Grammys, and countless other accolades.
The country music powerhouse will be at Harveys Outdoor Concert Series on July 18 at 8pm.
Tickets range in price from $89.50 to $175.50. They go on sale March 22 through Ticketmaster.
By Henry Grabar, Salon
If you were driving on an American highway earlier this month, you probably passed one. They came from Nashville, New York and New Orleans, from Boston and Seattle and Chicago and Los Angeles, and from four dozen other countries entirely: 2,000 musical acts, in vans brimming with equipment and ambition and hope, rolling toward Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest like filings drawn to a magnet.
It’s a big week for these aspiring musicians. Like preseason football hopefuls, many will do two-a-days, playing to land a label or a spot at a big summer festival. But it’s also a big week for Austin. Like a polished party host, the city doesn’t flaunt its own hospitality. But after nearly three decades, the festival’s brand of forward-thinking, creative cool seems perfectly aligned with Austin’s own.
This symbiotic relationship has turned heads in municipalities across the country. Cities have historically competed for visitors by building cavernous convention centers and taxpayer-funded stadiums, and though economic wisdom frowns on these expenditures, they still build them. But festivals represent an alternative growing in popularity. Industry conferences and major sporting events, like your average American family, do not visit the same city year after year. Festivals, by contrast, are a municipal golden goose. And they don’t just stick around: They can float a cultural aura that helps affirm a city’s identity year-round. For Austin, that’s live music. For Miami Beach, it’s art. Nearly everyone agrees it’s a concept worth imitating — so why do so few American cities have world-class festivals?
By Martha Rosenberg,AlterNet
Americans have become huge. Between the 1960s and the 2000s, Americans grew, on the average, an inch taller and 24 pounds heavier.
The average American man today weights 194 pounds and the average woman 165 pounds. The growing girth has led to the creation of special-sized ambulances, operating tables and coffins as well as bigger seats on planes and trains.
Almost a third of American children and teens are overweight, but 84 percent of parents believe their children are at a healthy weight in one study. Why? The adults are probably overweight too.
Still there are scientific reasons why Americans are blimping up and they aren’t limited to eating too much and exercising too little.
Queen
Queen is a beautiful 7-year-old Australian shepherd-Husky mix who likes other dogs.
She likes cats and other small furry creatures a little too much. She will be quite good at keeping them out of your yard. She is house trained and has good manners, and likes walks and car rides.
Like most dogs of her breed, Queen can be a little stubborn, but she is very loyal to her people.
Queen is spayed, microchipped, tested for heartworm, and vaccinated. She is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.
Go online or the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.
Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.
For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.
Auditions for “August: Osage County”, a joint production between the Valhalla Art Music and Theater Festival and the Lake Tahoe Community College Theater Department, are April 1.
The play is being directed by Dave Hamilton.
The 2008 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner is about a vanished father, a pill-popping mother and three sisters harboring little secrets. When the large Weston family unexpectedly reunites after dad disappears, their Oklahoman family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets.
Auditions are from 7-9pm at the Duke Theater at LTCC. Rehearsals will start in May on Tuesday and Thursday nights, moving to Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays in June.
Performances are: July 24, 25, 26, 30, 31 and Aug. 1 at 7:30pm and July 27 at 2pm. All at LTCC.
Placer County-Lake Tahoe Film Office had a special reason for applauding when “Her” was named winner of the 2014 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
The movie’s snow scenes were filmed at several locations near the Donner Summit in Placer County: Norden, Sugar Bowl Ski Resort, Soda Springs, and a group of cabins near the Interstate 80 exit at Big Bend.
The film office helped the film crew find locations, facilitated local support, and issued a county film permit.
“Her” is a romantic drama written, directed and co-produced by Spike Jonze. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely writer who falls in love with the voice on his computer operating system.
The Placer County-Lake Tahoe Film Office is part of the county’s Office of Economic Development.
Truckee High School’s Drama Department ends its 2013-14 season with “Little Shop of Horrors,” a grand-scale production that features a flesh eating plant, do-wop and pop music, and a man who gets more than he bargains for.
The musical will have evening performances in the THS theater at 7pm on May 2, 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17. Matinee shows take place at 2pm on May 4 and May 11.
The musical follows the life of Seymour Krelborn, a floral assistant on Skid Row, who purchases an exotic plant with a mysterious need for human flesh. As Seymour seeks the affection of his coworker, Audrey, he also battles for control over his increasingly bloodthirsty plant, Audrey II. The plant quickly grows beyond what Krelborn imagined and turns into a bad mannered, R&B singing, vulgar carnivore.
Advance tickets go on sale at Truckee High School library and the Truckee Community Center on April 8. Tickets for assigned seats are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Cash or check only.
The Lake Tahoe Community College Foundation and Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe are teaming up for the third annual Off the Wall Art Auction this month.
Participants may bid on art created by locally and regionally known artists while supporting local education and charitable organizations.
Local artists, including nationally known artist and LTCC Art Department Chair Phyllis Shafer, and other Art Department faculty members, have donated the pieces.
The first viewing is at the kickoff party on March 24 from 5-7pm in the Haldan Gallery and Aspen rooms. Auction items can also be viewed March 25-28 from 3-6:30pm.
The auction is March 29 from 6-9pm at the gallery. A silent auction will be from 6-7:15pm, then a live auction from 7:30-9pm. There is a $10 charge at the door to attend and bid at the auction, which includes one drink coupon and appetizers.
All of the proceeds from ticket and art sales will be split between the LTCC Foundation and the Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe.
For more information, call 530.541.4660, ext. 245.
By Nick Wingfield, New York Times
A half-century ago, dogs lived in barns or backyards, domiciled in shabby little doghouses. Now they have the run of our houses and apartments. They sleep in our beds (full disclosure). In some cases, they are considered by their owners to be like children, and possibly a bit cleaner.
So it is not so strange that the connected technologies that are creeping into the lives of humans are doing the same for pets.
Wearable pet activity trackers keep tabs on Bella’s or Bear’s exercise. Some go further, monitoring dogs’ heart and respiratory rates and tracking locations in case they escape their homes. Webcams allow people who are away from home to monitor, communicate and play games with their pets, breaking up the monotony of lonely days.
Angel
Angel is a beautiful Siamese mix, 10 years old. She came to the shelter when her owner lost her home due to a divorce. She is OK with other cats, but she’d prefer a quiet home without children or dogs. She has never been outside.
Angel is spayed, microchipped, and vaccinated. She is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other cats and dogs who are waiting for their new homes.
Go online or to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.
The shelter will resume dog adoptions on March 11. There are five available dogs who have been waiting patiently for the health precautions to be lifted, and they would love to go home soon.
Call (530) 573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.
For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.
— Karen Kuentz