Harrah’s Entertainment and MTV Games are again seeking the best Rock Band gamers in the United States with the 2nd Annual Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition.

Five participating Harrah’s Total Rewards Casinos will host Rock Band Nights. The five participating Harrah’s casinos are: Harveys Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Joliet, Bally’s Atlantic City, Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon in Las Vegas, and Caesars Windsor.

MTV Games will work with an additional 15 venues across the country to host Rock Band Bar Nights until June 13. The top scoring band from each venue will receive a chance to enter and compete in the exciting event in Bally’s Atlantic City hotel and casino July 1-2. The winning band will receive $10,000 and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Ringo Starr.

Additionally, one band will win a wildcard chance from an online competition at Harrahs.com and fly to Atlantic City in a private jet provided by XOJET. A camera crew, and a Rock Band expert will accompany the online winners to the 2010 Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition, which will be produced by MTV Games, and hosted and judged by MTV Games, Harrah’s and local celebrities.

The 2009 winners, The Gurn Killers from New York City, received $10,000 and opened for the B-52s at the House of Blues in Atlantic City.

More information and official rules on The 2nd Annual Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition may be found here.

Taste of Tahoe features one local restaurant each week for the weeks leading up to South Lake Tahoe Relay for Life on Aug. 7.

The focus is to raise money for the fight against cancer while having great food, drinks, entertainment and fun with friends, family, co-workers and neighbors at South Shore restaurants.

Nearly 30 local businesses are sponsoring Taste of Tahoe and strengthening our community’s contribution to Relay for Life and Taste of Tahoe in addition to the sponsoring restaurants.

About Relay for Life

Sushi Pier is the featured restaurant this week for Taste of Tahoe. Photos/Austin Fay

Relay for Life is a fun-filled overnight event designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for research and programs of your American Cancer Society. During the event, teams of people gather at schools, fairgrounds, or parks and take turns walking or running laps throughout the night. Each team tries to keep at least one team member on the track at all times. The South Lake Tahoe Relay for Life event will be Aug. 7-8 at Kahle Park. www.sltrelay.com

About American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is a nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service. www.cancer.org

South Shore sponsors:

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder

Paramedics, emergency medical technicians, firefighters and base hospital medical staff in El Dorado County are being recognized this week as part of National Emergency Medical Services Week, May 16–22.

Each year in El Dorado County more than 14,000 calls for emergency medical assistance are received through the 911 system. The local EMS system is highly collaborative and includes: the 911 system, dispatch centers, first responders, paramedic ambulances, air ambulances, acute care hospitals, trauma centers and medical oversight by the local EMS Agency.

The EMS Agency is providing special recognition this year to the emergency medical staff from the two base station hospitals in El Dorado County, Barton Memorial Hospital and Marshall Medical Center. Individuals to be recognized include Medical Director Dr. Lars Ensign and EMS Coordinator Karla Peterson of Barton Memorial Hospital, and Medical Director Dr. Juliet La Mers, past Medical Director Dr. Ben Housel and EMS Coordinator Michele Williams of Marshall Medical Center.

For more information about the EMS Agency or the EMS System in El Dorado County click here.

Proceeds from the  May 23 all-day car wash will help fund a trip to Los Angeles for members of South Lake Tahoe’s A Team.

The car wash will start at 8am at the Tahoe Quick Lube across from the Swiss Chalet Village on Highway 50.

More than a dozen at-risk students whose grades and attendance meet the requirements will tour the Museum of Tolerance and Homeboy Industries.

Grants, service clubs, fund raisers and PAL are paying for the trip.

For more information, contact Amy Jackson at (530) 307.4046.

The A Team was formed in 2007. Three counselors at South Tahoe High School recognized there were students at risk of making choices on the streets for their gang that would impact not only their lives personally withr eal and long-term consequences but also the safety of the school and community.

The “A” Team wrapped around these students with academic support, family strengthening, new opportunities, field trips, and counseling. They were shown that there were options in this life for them other than all they had been shown up to that point. The group proved to be successful as the majority of these students graduated from high school, left their gang ties and enrolled in college.

Tickets are still available for Saturday’s  “50 Ways to Love Your School” fundraiser.

Whittell High School’s spring auction will transform MontBleu casino in Stateline into a walk down memory lane. There will be a silent auction, wine toss, fast-paced live auction featuring nostalgic items, dinner, dancing and more.

Proceeds will benefit the students at Whittell High and Zephyr Cove Elementary schools. Last year’s event distributed $40,000 into the classrooms with technology such as smart boards and other teacher tools, sports uniforms and equipment, enrichment activities and field trips.

The event website lists where tickets can be purchased for the May 22 6pm event, sponsorship opportunities and auction items.

For more information, call (530) 307.8658 or email lv2plan@aol.com.

The culmination of a year’s work will adorn the hallways of Lake Tahoe Community College when the annual student art exhibit opens. The opening reception is May 23 from 2-5pm in the LTCC commons.

The students involved come from a variety of backgrounds.

Student artist Karl Schwiesow grew up in Homer, Alaska. Watching and working with his father, a marine fabricator, Schwiesow learned early on how things were built. His childhood was spent building boats with his father, skiing and playing in the snow, and drawing – always drawing. When Schwiesow entered high school, he was first introduced to formal art classes.

Karl Schwiesow

After graduation, Schwiesow left the isolation of Homer, following the snow to pursue his love of skiing. After moving to Washington for several years and then to Tahoe and working as a carpenter, Schwiesow was encouraged by his fiancé to pursue art.

Schwiesow became a staple in the studios of the LTCC Art Department, where he continues to hone his artistic skills. He produces work across the curriculum in ceramics, wood and metal sculpture, painting, drawing, and printmaking.

In 2009, Schwiesow participated in Sierra Nevada College’s invitational show for area colleges. His sculptural piece “Cube” won first place in the show and the attention of Sierra Nevada’s Art Department staff. Schwiesow was invited to interview and submit a portfolio. As a result of that meeting, Schwiesow was awarded a full tuition scholarship to Sierra Nevada, where he will begin in this fall. Schwiesow graduates from LTCC in June with his associates in art.

More than 400 pieces will be on display in LTCC’s 2010 Annual Student Art Exhibit. The show opens May 23 in the main commons of the Lake Tahoe Community College campus. The show will continue through June 19, and is open to the public.

Stop by the LTCC campus and place your vote for the “People’s Choice” award at the exhibit.

Think of the most generous person you know because the Barton Foundation is seeking nominations for the second annual Spirit of Philanthropy Award.

This award recognizes an outstanding individual, family, couple, or foundation who has demonstrated extraordinary dedication to the health of the South Lake Tahoe community, and to Barton Health in particular, through their good works and/or financial generosity.

The honoree will also have demonstrated exceptional civic and charitable responsibility and inspired others to philanthropic achievement. This award is for a living person, so if a foundation is proposed there should be at least one living founder.

Nominees must reside in, have a second home in, or have previously lived in South Lake Tahoe and continue to have a connection to the community. Visit www.bartonhealth.org/philanthropy for a nomination form. Nominations are due by July 31.

The selection committee meets in August to review all nominations. Once the selection has been made, it goes to the board of directors and board of trustees for final approval.

The Philanthropy Luncheon is set for Nov. 5 at Riva Grill when they will recognize the Spirit Award recipients.

The Foundations Health Grants will be celebrated and distributed that day as well. Call (530) 543.5909 for reservations or more information.

Tahoe Maritime Museum is looking for fun and enthusiastic people to volunteer at the museum.

On June 5 at 9am, learn about the unique ways to help out this summer. The hour training and information session will include light refreshments.

Opportunities include:

Greeting folks during regular visiting hours and lecture series events;

Leading group tours at 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays during the months of July and August;

Capturing the moment by taking photographs at special events;

Spending time in the children’s area assisting youth visitors with crafts and activities;

Passing on Lake Tahoe’s maritime history to the next generation during schools program field trips.

Tahoe Maritime Museum is located on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe at 5205 West Lake Blvd., Homewood.

For information, call (530) 525.9253.

The inaugural class of the Lake Tahoe Music Festival’s Orchestra Academy has been selected and 36 of the nation’s top music students are Lake Tahoe-bound for the 10-day intensive residency program.

Candidates were selected after a three-month audition process where more than 50 students submitted YouTube audition videos. Participating students play a diverse range of instruments, from viola and cello to flute, oboe, bassoon and timpani, and come from hometowns as far away as Spain, Ukraine and Brazil as well as from across the United States and even Lake Tahoe.

Geared toward bridging the gap between college music studies and a career in music, the academy includes rehearsals and master classes, solo instruction and practical sessions for career planning all led by professional musicians from major U.S. orchestras. The Orchestra Academy also performs at the festival’s July 22 Best of Broadway and July 29 Simply Sinatra concerts along with intimate Strictly Classical concerts July 21 and 28.

Instructors for the 2010 session are Ariana Ghez, principal oboe for Los Angeles Philharmonic and Jerry Grossman, principal cello for New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The festival’s Artistic Director Timm Rolek serves the same role with the Academy.

For more information about the Lake Tahoe Music Festival and the Orchestra Academy, log on to www.TahoeMusic.org or call (530) 583.3101.

Regional artist Jeff Myers will give a class in lariat basket making and leather tooling on May 24, sponsored by the Carson Valley Arts Council (CVAC) at the Copeland Cultural Arts Center in Minden.

The six-hour class begins at 9:30am and costs $55 plus $10 for materials, which will be provided by the instructor.

Myers uses coiled nylon lariat rope, of various colors and textures, and incorporated pieces of intricately tooled leather, to build uniquely designed, rustic baskets. Myers, who spent many years as a Montana cattle rancher, said that his baskets turn the old lariats he accumulated over years of “working cattle and tying gates” into legitimate art pieces.

Myers’ baskets have been wildly successful, and he frequently partners with the Nevada Arts Council in arts outreach efforts. He guarantees his students leave class with completed baskets of their own.

For registration or additional information,visit www.cvartscouncil.com or call (775) 782.8207. Limited space available.