2011 Lake of The Sky Garden Tour

This year Lake of The Sky Garden Tour will return to Truckee on Saturday July 30th from 10am-4pm. If you are an avid gardener or love looking at beautiful gardens, this is a not-to-miss event.

My front garden

At the high altitude of Lake Tahoe & Truckee, there are many challenges to gardening.  A few that readily come to mind is our short planting season. This year we received a snow storm in early June and sometimes we start getting snow in October so to cultivate a garden with gorgeous flowers and beautiful gardens is no mean feat. Also we have a lot of wildlife such as deers, chipmunks, squirrels who delight in tasting the first tender buds or tasty flowers…and that is enough for me to contemplate giving up on my gardening hobby sometimes.

Shade plants in my back garden

That is why Lake of The Sky Garden Tour becomes such a treat for me every year. You will marvel at the hidden gardens and exquisite flowers nestling along rocks walls or garden paths. A few gardens will also have soothing water features with lively fishes and exotic plants. There will be 8 gardens on tour this year including one lakefront property at Donner Lake.

Tickets for2011  Lake of The Sky Garden Tour are only $20 and you can purchase them at all local nurseries or Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce. Tickets can sell out quickly and may not be available on tour day so make sure you get some soon if you don’t want to miss this enjoyable event.

Fourth of July Celebration in Truckee, CA

Once again Dickson Realty had a large turnout for the annual Fourth of July Celebration in Truckee, CA. The atmosphere was very festive and most of our clients showed up early to reserve the seats on the bleachers that we had set up in front of Dickson Realty. Across the street from Dickson Realty, our own Truckee firefighters hosted the annual popular pancake breakfast that many of our clients enjoyed while waiting for the parade.

Dickson Realty Clients watch Fourth of July parade in Truckee

The Fourth of July parade in Truckee started right in front of Dickson Realty along Donner Pass Road and ended at historical downtown Truckee. Dickson Realty clients got the premium seats to view the parade from the bleachers. Some brought their own chairs so they could sit in the shade.

Tahoe Donner celebrates 40th Year anniversay with their fun 4th of July float

This year Tahoe Donner had a fun “cake float” celebrating their 40 year anniversary. A few of my favorites are the entertaining bag piper group and the Hawaiian ski drill team.

Dickson Realty Clients enjoy a BBQ lucnch after the parade

After the Fourth of July parade, our clients enjoyed an elaborate lunch of tri tips, grilled chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, garlic bread, and water melon while listening to live music provided by our very own talents, the Green Weather band: Garrison Green, Stephanie Weatherford and the new addition, Doug Adams.

Fourth of July celebration is also an occasion for Dickson Realty to thank all our clients who had done business with us for many years and I look forward to celebrate this National Independence Day with our loyal clients again next year.

For more information on summer events or real estate in Lake Tahoe, Truckee…contact Ann at 530-545-3458 or email Ann at anguyen@dicksonrealty.com

Amgen tour cancelled at Lake Tahoe Truckee

I have been so excited waiting for Stage 1 & Stage 2 of Amgen Tour to go through Lake Tahoe Truckee. This is one of the largest bike race in America and Tahoe Truckee had planned all kinds of events to welcome the racers such as “King of the Mousehole” sponsored by Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Town of Truckee.

Our Truckee Outrigger Canoe club also arranged to paddle along the shore on the morning of Monday May 16, next to the world best riders.

 However nature did not want to cooperate and winter storms arrive on Sunday May 15 with a vengeance. Between the snow and wind, race officials decided that conditions were just too dangerous and cancelled both Stage 1 & 2 in Tahoe Truckee. Monday Stage 2 of Amgen Tour was moved to Nevada City at 12:30 pm.

I guess Truckee will remain our best kept secret until the next big event. Let hope Spring will arrive soon since there are a lot of fun summer outdoor activities in Lake Tahoe Truckee: scenic trails for hiking, biking…not to mention the beautiful lakes for fishing, boating, etc….

Come on Spring…we are ready!!!

Truckee Toys For Tots 2010

Every year Dickson Realty along with other local businesses in Truckee put out barrels at the front office to collect Toys For Tots. Do you know that Toys For Tots dated back to 1947 by Major William Hendricks. Major Hendricks rallied his fellow Marine reservists and collected around 5000 toys for local children. In 1948 Toys For Tots became a national campaign led by the Marine Corp Reserve.

As of 2009, Toys For Tots have collected & distributed almost five hundred million toys. The mission of the Toys For Tots program “is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.”

On December 16-17, local Truckee volunteers gathered at the old Sierra Mountain Middle School Site to wrap up thousand of toys collected in the past month. It looked like Santa workshop: long tables were set up in the old gym and toys were divided into piles according to age group and gender. Every table was filled with people laughing & having a great time wrapping all the toys with beautiful paper, colorful strings & sparkling bows.

The toys were distributed to needy families the next day. Lots of children will have a big smile on Christmas Day thanks to the Toys for Tots program.

Truckee Football in the Rain

We don’t have much rain here in Truckee but last week was an exception. We had days of rain lasting through the night. And on a cold wet day last Saturday Truckee Wolverines went heads up against Lowry Buckaroos. So far Truckee Wolverines has had an impressive record, undefeated for the last 8 games so it was a big surprise when Truckee fell behind and Lowry Buckaroos controlled the first half of the game.

Half time found Truckee at the rare 16-13 deficit score. The defending state champs kept fumbling the balls in the cold slick weather.

          Truckee Football fans braved the cold wet weather watched the Wolverines played against the Buckaroos.

The weather played a major role and the steady rain made footing difficult and the football slippery. Both teams kept dropping the balls & the ball has to be changed out after every play.

Truckee High School band provided some upbeat tunes at half time.

In the end Truckee defense came through in the final two quarters and the offense brought up the score to end with a 22-16 victory.

Truckee cheerleaders kept the spirit of the game going despite the cold wet rain pouring down.

So eventhough the score was too close for comfort, Truckee Football fans went home happy that their beloved football team is still defending state champs.

    Arts For the Schools in Truckee CA is a community based non profit organization founded by Terry Yagura in 1984. It was formed with the purpose of raising funds to bring professional artists to the students and community at large. Over the past 25 years, students and adults in the Tahoe Truckee Incline Village areas have benefited from performances of both local & world renown artists. Arts For the School has been instrumental in providing students with hands-on experience and interaction with these professional artists.

Recent performances include Alpin Hong, a classical pianist with stunning techniques and rare humor & Falla Guitar Trio, a top guitar ensemble with a repertoire ranging from classical pieces to original work and improvised jazz.

Most recently Arts For the School invited Judson Laipply who is famous for creating the YouTube video “Evolution of the Dance”, one of the most watched video on the internet.

Judson Laipply reception

Raine Howe & Ann Nguyen

Future performance features Kevin Johnson who is a master ventriloquist. Kevin has appeared on American Got Talent and The Late Show with David Letterman. His show is a hit with all age groups. Expect magic with Kevin’s amazing skills in bringing his puppets characters to life.

In addition to the School & Public Performance Series, Arts For the Schools also has an Artist-In-Residence program which provides 3rd-5th grade students access to professional arts instruction in the classroom. All our three children brought home beautiful painted eggs taught by artist-in-residence Cathee St. Clair that we still treasure today.

Raine Howe is the current executive director. She is passionate about arts & commits to continue in Terry Yagura’s footstep to promote the growth for Arts For the School in the years to come.

We had the honor of hosting two private receptions for Alpin Hong & Falla Guitar Trio in appreciation of the donors & supporters for Arts For the School. It was a fun  event filled with good food, great company, laughter and music. We feel blessed to live in a community that cares about arts & supports this program through generous funding & donations. We expect many more great performances in the next season & hope to see all of you at the next event.

It is the time of the year that we all get into the spirit of gratitude for what we have and also the spirit of giving for the less fortunate ones. I will be standing outside Safeway this Sunday December 6 from 1-3pm to help collecting food so please stop by for a chat and make  a small donation. Dickson Realty also has barrels collect clean coats & toys in the lobby area so please go through your closets & bring down extra warm coats that you have not worn in a long time. It will help to free some needed storage space and also make a great gift for our cold winter.

Click here for more details on how you can pitch in for Truckee Community Christmas

Truckee Town Council has recently approved a low interest loan program to assist first time homebuyer. With interest rate ranging from 2-3% on a 30-year deferred loan program, this will greatly help home buyer with low to moderate income to get their first home. Applications will be available on December 18 & due February 5.

More details on the Truckee homebuyer assistance program.

Get your skis & snowboards ready for the ski resorts opening next week, including Sugar Bowl, Squaw Valley USA, Mount Rose and Northstar-at-Tahoe…just in time for Thanksgiving. Cheers!!!