Final round underway for Nevada Treasures contest

Valley of Fire State Park in Southern Nevada is a finalist in the Las Vegas Territory. Photo: Matthew B. Brown

Historic sites, natural wonders still in the running; vote through May 4

A handful of Nevada attractions and businesses are vying to be named Nevada Treasures in an online social media contest that began in March as part of the Nevada Commission on Tourism’s Discover Your Nevada campaign. Finalists in six categories were announced today by the Nevada Commission on Tourism; the public has until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 4 to cast online votes at discoveryournevada.com.

“This contest was designed to be a fun way to get people talking about Nevada’s most unique treasures,” says Claudia Vecchio, director of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. “We’ve seen people really get behind their favorites, courting online votes and creating a buzz about these treasures. While we’re very interested to see which treasures eventually win, the real value of the contest has been in the remarkable conversations that have been generated. People are talking about what’s available throughout the state.”

People nominated all types of things as Nevada Treasures, from historic sites and natural wonders, but also a photography symposium, restaurants, wineries, and even people.

The contest is wrapping up, with two finalists in each of six categories (which happen to be the six tourism "territories" of Nevada):

• Cowboy Country: Shooting the West — an annual photography symposium in Winnemucca — and the Star Hotel and Restaurant in Elko;

• Indian Territory: The Lost City Museum in Overton and Pyramid Lake in Northern Nevada;

• Las Vegas Territory: The Colorado River and Valley of Fire State Park;

• Nevada Silver Trails: Goldwell Open Air Museum — an open air sculpture park near Beatty — and Sanders Family Winery in Pahrump;

Ely's Nevada Northern Railway is a finalist in the Pony Express Territory. Photo: Matthew B. Brown

• Pony Express Territory: Churchill Vineyards in Fallon and the Nevada Northern Railway in Ely; and

• Reno-Tahoe Territory: Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in Minden and Thunderbird Lodge National Historic Site on the east shore of Lake Tahoe.

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.

Lake Tahoe Winter Games Exploratory Committee Organized

Thirty countries, their respective flags displayed on the Tower of Nations, competed in the 1960 Olympic Winter Games at Squaw Valley — the last time the Reno-Lake Tahoe region hosted the Games. Photo: Robert M. Reid

Nevada and California Leaders Unveil Joint Effort to Explore Bid for Olympic Winter Games in the Lake Tahoe Region

Fifty-two years after the Olympic flame was first ignited in the Tahoe region, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and Nevada Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki announced recently the formation of the Lake Tahoe Winter Games Exploratory Committee, a new joint California-Nevada initiative, building on the existing efforts, dedicated to developing an Olympic Bid for the 2022 Winter Games.

The new committee, LTWGEC, is an entity created by the leadership of two separate organizations that were set up to explore a potential bid for the Tahoe Region. The two organizations — the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition and the California Winter Games Committee, joined by the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee — will now be committing significant resources to the LTWGEC.

"The timing is right for Californians and Nevadans to come together and seriously explore bringing the Olympic Winter Games to the Tahoe region," Krolicki says. "Our new committee is the evolution of years of work by many people, and if the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) decides to bid on the 2022 Winter Games, we will be ready to showcase the Tahoe region's scenic majesty and winter games capabilities."

The LTWGEC will be tasked with creating a group of business, civic, and political leaders who will work to thoroughly explore the benefits and impacts of hosting the Olympic Games in the Lake Tahoe Region. According to Krolicki and Newsom, the new group's leadership will be announced soon — including a robust environmental leadership team.

"Lake Tahoe's physical beauty is our greatest asset and our greatest responsibility," Newsom says. "We can't do this without the environment being front of mind for us."

Read Krolicki's column, "Pursuing the Olympic Winter Games," here.

Read a related blog and watch a related video here.