Fire and Ice: Nevada Magazine Has it All

The 2010 Wild Horse Ice Fishing Derby at Wild Horse Reservoir was well attended.

Nevada Magazine’s November/December 2012 issue is now available on newsstands throughout Nevada. In it are a feature that delves into the logistics of fighting wildland fires in the state, as well as a story on ice fishing, among others that prep travelers for the holiday and winter seasons.

Also highlighted in the issue are the Lyon County Museum, Las Vegas and Reno coffeehouses, holiday events, Nevada-made gift ideas, a history story about the brutal winter of 1889-90, and a Q&A with Secretary of State Ross Miller, a trained MMA fighter who won a professional bout in August.

Photo: Juniper Images

The other feature story in the issue is titled, "Silver State on the Silver Screen." Learn anecdotes from classic Nevada films such as "The Misfits" and "The Professionals," but also discover where travelers can go to capture a piece of movie history. For instance, there is a time capsule in Rachel, outside of the town's Little A'le'Inn restaurant, left by the cast and crew of "Independence Day."

The magazine is currently offering a number of great holiday gifts, such as the 2013 Nevada Historical Calendar and 75th-Anniversary Edition subscription combo. Find out more at nevadamagazine.com, or by calling 775-687-0603.

Nevada Magazine Wins ‘General Excellence’ Award

This is the third year out of four that Nevada Magazine has won First Place in the General Excellence category from the Nevada Press Association.

Nevada Magazine, the official travel publication for the state of Nevada, raked in the awards at the annual Nevada Press Association’s 2012 “Better Business Contest,” once again earning first place in General Excellence for magazines.

“We are so proud of the magazine and the hardworking team at Nevada Magazine,” Claudia Vecchio, director of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs (NDTCA), of which Nevada Magazine is a part. “They pour their hearts into each story, each photo and the layout of every page to ensure that readers get only the best representation of our beautiful state.”

The magazine is published bimonthly and in 2011 celebrated its 75th anniversary, publishing a special edition chronicling the last seven and a half decades of life and news in Nevada. This is the third year out of the last four that the Nevada Press Association has recognized the magazine with its top magazine award.

The judge’s comments include: “This was a fun magazine to read. Good writing, beautiful photography, and interesting mix of copy. It’s unusual to find a state tourism publication that is this well done. Fits its niche perfectly.”

“Awards are always welcome, but they are especially meaningful coming from our peers, our fellow journalists throughout the state we call home,” Publisher Janet Geary said. Nevada Magazine’s 2012 awards from the Nevada Press Association include:

• First Place, General Excellence
• First Place, General Excellence in Advertising
• First Place, Best Page Designer: Tony deRonnebeck
• First Place, Best Multicolor Ad: Carrie Roussel and Sean Nebeker
• First Place, Best In-House Promotion: Carrie Roussel & Sean Nebeker
• First Place, Best Regular Department: Wide Open
• Best Multiple Photo Essay: Great Nevada Picture Hunt (photo contest)
• Second Place, Best Local Column: Matthew B. Brown
• Third Place, Best Large-Space Ad: Carrie Roussel and Sean Nebeker
• Third Place, Best Page Designer: Sean Nebeker
• Third Place, Best In-House Promotion: Carrie Roussel and Sean Nebeker

In other awards news, Nevada Magazine associate editor Charlie Johnston received an Award of Merit in the Culture Feature category in the 32nd annual International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA) awards competition. Johnston's "Cultural Guardians" story from the July/August 2011 issue earned him the honor.

Reno Man Wins Nevada Magazine’s 2012 Photo Contest

Kristoffer Glenn Pfalmer (left) poses with Nevada Magazine Editor Matthew B. Brown on August 27 in Carson City. Pfalmer had large prints made of his three photos that earned accolades in the magazine's 2012 photo contest.

Kristoffer Glenn Pfalmer, a guardsman navigator for the Nevada Air National Guard in Reno, is the Grand Prize winner of Nevada Magazine’s 35th annual Great Nevada Picture Hunt photo contest — the feature story in the publication’s September/October 2012 issue.

The winning image, titled “Ranges Blue," was captured from a Las Vegas-bound commercial jet about 100 miles northwest of the city looking east into Nevada. The picture shows dozens of Nevada's mountain ranges shrouded in a beautiful blue haze (see below). "I used the color casting as an artistic element," Pfalmer says.

In addition to the Grand Prize, Pfalmer won the Events category with his black-and-white "Thunderbirds" photo and was runner-up in the Photo Illustration category with his "Strega" image. Both images are of planes that participated in the 2011 National Championship Air Races and Air Show (now the TravelNevada.com Reno Air Races, which occur annually in September).

Photo: Kristoffer Glenn Pfalmer

The additional categories of Nevada Magazine's 2012 photo contest are: City Limits, Wide Open, Nature, People, and Then & Now. Overton resident Jay Wanta won the City Limits category with his vibrant nighttime image of the Las Vegas Strip; Neil Lockhart of Reno won Wide Open with a beaming black-and-white image of North Lake Tahoe; Las Vegas' Jose Witt took top honors in Nature with a photo of a golden-colored bobcat; Oregon photographer Larry Turner won the People category with his soulful image of grey-bearded Beatty resident Fred Reed; Mauricio Reyes-Gomez of Las Vegas won Photo Illustration with his Valentine's Day-themed photo of his balloon-wielding girlfriend at Bonnie Springs; and Beatty's Mark Holloway swept the Then & Now category, in which photographers snap a modern photo from the same place a historical photo was taken a number of years ago.

To view the winning images and runners-up, pick up the latest issue at national bookstores and where magazines are sold in Nevada, or visit nevadamagazine.com. Look for information in a future 2013 issue covering rules of submission for the 2013 photo contest, or check back regularly at nevadamagazine.com.

Also in the September/October 2012 issue

Photo: Rob Petersen

The remainder of the current issue honors Nevada’s centennial ranches — ranching families that have survived for 100-plus years. Lake Tahoe photographer Rachid Dahnoun captures this traditional lifestyle wonderfully in a photo gallery feature.

Also highlighted are scenic autumn drives and hikes, Reno's MidTown District, volunteer efforts at Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, Fallon's Tractors & Truffles event, Pahrump Valley Winery's Grape Stomp, a Q&A with St. Louis Rams running back and Las Vegas native Steven Jackson, and a history story titled “Nevada's Lost City,” which includes excerpts from a new Arcadia Publishing book of the same name.

Indigenous Peoples Week Celebrates Indigenous Tourism

By Ron Mader/Planeta.com 

Photo: Charlie Johnston

Planeta.com, Nutti Sámi Siida, Guurrbi Tours, TIME Unlimited, and Nevada Magazine co-host Indigenous Peoples Week, August 6-12, the second annual celebration of social media storytelling about indigenous peoples and tourism around the world.

This online "unconference" is free, and everyone's invited. The objective is two-fold: to raise awareness of indigenous tourism options around the world and improve digital literacy skills among indigenous tourism providers themselves.

Our circle of conversation includes indigenous and non-indigenous peoples around the world. Complete details are available online at Planeta Wiki.

Be Engaged: How to Participate

Learn social media by using it — blogs, Delicious, Facebook, Flickr, Foodspotting, Foursquare, Google+, Linkedin, Pinterest, Slideshare, Twitter, YouTube, and Wikipedia — to learn and share info about indigenous culture.

1. Delicious: Follow the Indigenous Peoples Week Stack, and suggest a link.
2. Facebook: Introduce yourself or ask a question on the event page.
3. Flickr: Create an account, and upload a few photos of your work. There are a
   number of relevant groups. One of our favorites is the World Crafts Group, and another is the World Parks Group.
4. Foodspotting: Please share photos of indigenous foods available for visitors.
5. Slideshare: Favorite the overview presentation, and seek out or create a new presentation about indigenous culture.
6. Twitter: Tweet about indigenous culture, and please tweet about the event. Use the hashtag #ipw2012.
7. YouTube: Videos, please! Record your own video, and introduce yourself and your interest in indigenous tourism. You can also curate a playlist to document indigenous culture and traditional knowledge. Example here.
8. Wikipedia: Read or edit information about indigenous culture.

Nevada Magazine announces 2012 Best of Nevada winners

Nevada Magazine’s July/August 2012 edition, which reveals the winners of the publication’s 15th annual Best of Nevada readers’ survey, is on newsstands now. From Brewery to Wedding Venue, the annual listing includes 18 categories. In most cases, the categories are divided into North, South, and Rural Nevada, giving tourists plenty of statewide vacation ideas.

Peppermill Resort Spa Casino in Reno is a five-category winner, voted Best Casino, Hotel, Nightclub, Spa, and Wedding Venue in Northern Nevada. David Walley’s Resort Hot Springs & Spa won two categories: Best Spa and Wedding Venue in Rural Nevada. The Best of Nevada food-and-drink categories (Brewery, Buffet, and Restaurant) are covered extensively in the magazine’s “Cravings” department, highlighted by Reno’s Cactus Creek Prime Steakhouse, which won Best Restaurant in Northern Nevada for the third year in a row.

Red Rock Casino Resort Spa is the only two-category winner in the Southern Nevada discipline, earning Best Casino and Spa honors. Tropicana Laughlin won Best Restaurant and Wedding Venue in Rural Nevada. The recently opened Mob Museum won Southern Nevada’s Best Museum category in its first year of eligibility, and Tonopah’s Central Nevada Museum won the Rural Museum category for the third consecutive year.

A complete list of winners can be found at nevadamagazine.com. To see past Best of Nevada winners, click here.

July/August 2012 issue

Best of Nevada winners Nevada Northern Railway in Ely (Best Place to Take the Kids; Rural) and Valley of Fire State Park (Best State Park; South) also were honored with the distinction of being named one of the state’s six treasures in a recent Nevada Commission on Tourism campaign called Discover Your Nevada. Like Best of Nevada, the treasures—one from each of the state’s six “territories”—were determined by public vote.

Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park (Minden), Goldwell Open Air Museum (near Rhyolite), Nevada Northern Railway (Ely), Pyramid Lake (Indian Reservation), The Star Bar & Dining Room (Elko), and Valley of Fire State Park are the six treasures and the subjects of the July/August issue’s cover story, which also discusses how Governor Brian Sandoval and Lieutenant Governor Brian K. Krolicki have taken active roles in promoting intrastate travel.

Also in the July/August issue are stories about renovations at Las Vegas’ original resort—Golden Gate Hotel & Casino—sister bed and breakfasts in Alamo, a cozy B&B in Kingston, and a history story about the July 18, 1912 flood that wiped the northwestern Nevada mining town of Mazuma off the map.

Nevada Magazine announces 2012 Photo Contest

For more than three decades, Nevada Magazine’s Great Nevada Picture Hunt photo contest has been a favorite among photographers and readers. The Grand Prize winner of this year’s contest will receive a $250 gift certificate courtesy of Gordon’s Photo Service based in Carson City and Reno (which is redeemable online as well).

The seven categories this year are City Limits (urban), Wide Open (rural/scenic), Nature (wildlife), People (human interest), Photo Illustration (includes HDR images), Events (including shows), and Then & Now, in which photographers provide a high-resolution history photo and take a modern photo from the exact same location. All winners and runners-up will be published in the September/October 2012 issue and receive frame-ready certificates.

The 2012 Great Nevada Picture Hunt is open to all photographers. Send up to eight submissions via e-mail to tony@nevadamagazine.com by 5 p.m. (PDT) on Friday, June 29, 2012. To mail your images, call 775-687-0606 for instructions. To view past photo contest winners, or for more contest details, visit nevadamagazine.com.

In Nevada Magazine’s May/June 2012 issue

Photo: Nancy Good

Nevada Magazine’s May/June 2012 issue will be available on statewide and national newsstands starting May 1. It features Nevada’s iconic neon signs and stories about traveling with your dog(s). Also highlighted are The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas and the delicate natural formations of mysterious Little Finland, located south of Mesquite.

The Cravings department includes stories on historic Café at Adele’s in Carson City and downtown Reno’s new stylish eatery, Campo. The History section delves into the fascinating story of Carson City’s 150-year-old Nevada State Prison. Finally, in a Q&A with Tony Hsieh, the Zappos.com billionaire talks about moving his company to downtown Las Vegas in 2013.

Vote in our Best of Nevada, win a trip!

Do you have a favorite hotel, restaurant, show, or event in Nevada? How about a museum, ski resort, state park, or place to take the kids? You can cast your vote in those and more categories in Nevada Magazine's 2012 Best of Nevada survey now through April 15. Not only is it a great opportunity to support your favorite attractions and businesses, one lucky voter will win a travel package to Elko, including two nights accommodations for two at Red Lion Hotel & Casino, plus dinner at the Aspens Bar & Grill. Vote now at NevadaMagazine.com!

See past Best of Nevada winners here.

In Nevada Magazine's March/April issue

Valley of Fire State Park,
Photo by Adam Smith

Nevada Magazine's current issue features a Nevada road trip and the state's prevalent motorsports scene. Last fall, Seattle photographer and brand-strategist Adam Smith spent two weeks traveling the Silver State. His assignment was to bring back stories that illustrate the soul of Nevada. Readers can enjoy photographs and entries from Smith's travel journal, including a day spent at Glaser Ranch outside Elko, ATVing on Sand Mountain, and riding the V&T Railroad.

Starting with NASCAR Weekend, held March 9-11 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Nevada truly is a motorsports mecca. The story includes a Q&A with NASCAR standout Kyle Busch. Eight other speedways outside Las Vegas are covered, as well as three racing organizations — SCORE, SNORE, and BITD — that are instrumental to bringing some of the world's top off-road racing events to Nevada. For example, the Mint 400 comes to Las Vegas March 23-25, popular for tech inspection at Fremont Street as much as the racing.

Also in the issue are a story about Old Middlegate Station and a proud slayer of its famous Monster Burger, how to prepare for and survive in Nevada's wilderness should a crisis occur, Carson Valley's own George Ferris Jr. who went on to invent the Ferris wheel, and a guide to the Strip's newest resort, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Learn more about the issue in the below video.



In our Events & Shows editions, we feature Nevada rodeos and The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, which opens in Las Vegas on March 10. Readers can access the Las Vegas Events & Shows and Nevada Events & Shows publications, both produced by Nevada Magazine, for free at NevadaMagazine.com.

Nevada Magazine explores Las Vegas’ cultural side

Nevada Magazine’s January/February 2012 issue is available on newsstands throughout Nevada. Featured in the edition are multiple Southern Nevada museums, highlighted by the opening of The Mob Museum on February 14. Former Las Vegas defense attorney and mayor Oscar Goodman is one of four people interviewed who have strong connections to the new museum, which is housed in the city’s historic former federal building and post office on Stewart Avenue.

The new Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas at Springs Preserve leads off the issue’s other feature story (watch a video of Governor Sandoval's speech at the museum's November 12 opening below). Among the other museums covered are two additional state museums — the Lost City Museum in Overton and Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City — the National Atomic Testing Museum, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum, and the Neon Museum.

Also featured in the issue are the Mizpah Hotel, which recently reopened in Tonopah, Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, The Gun Store in Las Vegas, Reno-Sparks bakeries, and Reno’s CommRow, home to the world’s tallest artificial climbing wall. The issue also debuts new “Visions” (spotlighting outstanding photography) and “Nature” departments.

To view the digital editions of Nevada Magazine's sister publications, Las Vegas Events & Shows or Nevada Events & Shows, click here. If readers missed any of the magazine’s special Territory issues of 2011, they can view them here.