Lake Tahoe's Valhalla Arts, Music and Theater Festival gets spicy, funky and downright funny

LAKE TAHOE — Visitors and locals alike can head to the shoreline of the Tallac Historic Site for some of the area’s most unique and diverse entertainment. The Valhalla Arts, Music, and Theatre Festival is bringing down the house with its July line-up and it’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Rhythm and groove will be the sounds on Saturday, July 10, when the Folsom Lake College Afro-Cuban Funk Band take the Boathouse Theatre stage at 7:30 p.m. The concert will feature the music of West-Africa and Cuba with influences from funk, rhythm and blues, jazz, ska and reggae.  The energetic and innovative musicians have coalesced around the idea that "going global" is not a phenomenon limited to the economic and geo-political realms. Take a journey to various parts of the Globe with ACF and its international fan base in 35 countries. Familiar instruments such as the guitar, bass, drum set, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, piano will combine with the less familiar such as djembe, didgeridoo, guiro, cabasa, shekere, cajon and others.  The heart of ACF's musical performances is improvisation. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.

On Monday, July 12, Ann Thennes returns for the Summer Trans Dance Series with her expression and meditation through dance. It’s a free event and starts at 6 p.m. at the Grand Hall.  “My classes have morphed from teaching traditional fitness classes to working with movement/meditation and dance energy,” Thennes said.  “It’s one thing to talk about mind/body/spirit connection and another to dance it,” she said. Thennes works with the elements, energies, rhythms and animals that surround the Tahoe basin and has experience in classical ballet, West African dance and free form dance meditation.

Tahoe Improv Players take the Boathouse Theatre stage on Tuesday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m. Skits n' bits are made up and on-the-spot themes suggested by the audience. Described by the North-Tahoe Truckee newspaper as ‘Mensa on Acid’, the Tahoe Improv Players have been entertaining audiences with laughs and good clean fun for years. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.

For Celtic, classical and folk music with some Renaissance and pop sprinkled on top, head to Dream Spirit Baroque Band on Wednesday, July 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Boathouse Theatre. The folk chamber music is easy listening music representing different cultures and eras.  “The music of Dream Spirit Baroque Band perfectly complements the serene, natural setting found at the Tahoe Tallac Site,” said Lori Cramer, executive director of the non-profit Tahoe Tallac Association. Haven’t seen a hammer dulcimer in some time? Then you don’t want to miss Dream Spirit Baroque Band. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5emO-K8fLk

Sold Air performs Friday, July 16 at 7:30 p.m. with its Americana/Folk-Rock band music. Solid Air is a music group based north of San Francisco, led by founders Allegra Broughton (vocals, guitar, songwriter), and Sam Page (vocals, bass, baritone slide guitar, co-writer), native Californians who have been performing together for 20 years at fairs, festivals, clubs, concert stages and coffeehouses. They have eight albums to their credit, including the excellent Grammy-nominated album on Jackalope Records (Aug. 2007.)

Don’t be afraid to visit Tahoe Mystery Writer Todd Borg who’ll be hanging out at the Twin Cabins from July 16 – 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (no charge to talk with Todd!). The Tahoe landscape gave him the idea for a series of award winning novels with a detective protagonist who lived in Tahoe. The result was Owen McKenna, an ex-cop with a tragic background who moved from The City (San Francisco) to the mountains to study art and earn a slightly more genteel living as a private detective. Tahoe Deathfall was the first novel in the series and Kirkus Reviews called it "A thrilling, extended rescue/chase" while Midwest Book Review called it, "A tremendous read from a great writer." The second book, Tahoe Blowup, received equal raves. The subsequent books in the series have received many accolades and awards and have been praised in major newspapers and magazines from coast to coast.

This season, the Valhalla parking lot will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Parking will be limited to two hours to allow visitors to visit the cultural art store, view the Valhalla Grand Hall and the Boathouse Theater or to buy tickets for upcoming events. Limited parking is available for all scheduled events and we encourage car-pooling.

The Tahoe Tallac historic 74-acre setting is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was a favorite getaway in the late 1800’s for Northern California’s elite members of society.  The Valhalla Boathouse Theatre is a structure that dates back to the turn-of-the century distinguishing it as one of Tahoe’s earliest preserved buildings.  It’s located right on the shores of Lake Tahoe at the historic Tallac Site, a 74-acre setting listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information and tickets, please call 530-541-4975 or visit www.valhallatahoe.com

For a complete summer festival line up, visit www.tahoevalhalla.com or call (530) 541-4975. The annual Valhalla Arts, Music and Theatre festival is in its 31st season with a summer-long entertainment series including theatrical presentations, an entire series of classical, jazz, Celtic, ethnic, and popular music; the return of the Wa She Shu It Deh Native American Festival. Guests to the site will find visual arts exhibits; an artists-in-residence, children’s art workshops, youth theatre camps and a Cultural Arts Store.

Tahoe Tallac Association was formed in 1979 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with the goal of assisting the Forest Service in restoring the three estates on the Tallac Historic Site, developing the site as a historic center, and sponsoring/producing the Valhalla Arts & Music Festival held annually on the Heller Estate of the Tallac Historic Site.