Hello! 11 Days a Week is arriving a couple of days early this week and next due to Christmas and New Year’s. From all of us at the RN&R: Have an amazing Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, and a wonderful New Year!
Light up the dome
Fleischmann Planetarium wraps up 2024 with a science and sci-fi celebration and laser-show party. Dress up as your favorite sci-fi character; participate in several space-themed activities; watch a laser show with classic themes from Hollywood movies as part of the planetariumโs Christmas in the Cosmos event starting at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 26. Enjoy a pre-show meal with a catered mac and cheese bar, green salad and iced tea. Tickets are $22-$30 for the dinner and show, or $10-$20 for the laser show only. If a classic rock laser show is more your style, the planetarium will present a selection of laser shows set to the music of The Beatles, Journey, Pink Floyd and Queenโas well as the pop anthems of Taylor Swiftโthrough the end of the month. The planetarium is located on the north end of the University of Nevada, Reno, campus, 1664 N. Virginia St. Visit www.unr.edu/planetarium for show times and tickets.
Lights in the darkness
This year, two major faiths will share meaningful religious observances on Dec. 25. Christians will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ when they rise in the morning, while Jews will mark the start of Hanukkah later that evening. Hanukkah, which means โdedication,โ is the Jewish festival of lights that commemorates the purification and re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the beginning of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire. As described in the books of the First and Second Maccabees, a group of Jewish rebels was able to expel the occupying Seleucids (who were Hellenistic Greeks) from the city and the temple. An account in the Talmud mentions how the Jews were able to ritually purify the temple using only one jar of oil that miraculously lasted for eight days. Each night during the eight days of Hanukkah, Jews light a candle on a candelabrum known as a menorah to represent each day the oil burned. The city of Reno, in partnership with the Chabad of Northern Nevada, will mark the start of Hanukkah with a menorah lighting ceremony at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 25, at Reno City Plaza, 1 E. First St. The free event will feature speeches from dignitaries, the menorah lighting with candle distribution and blessings, and traditional hora dancing. Food will be provided after the menorah lighting. Free parking is available in the City Hall parking garage located at University Way and East First Street. There will be another public menorah lighting on Thursday, Dec. 26, in Carson City, as well as at other sites in Incline Village, Fernley, Yerington and Truckee, Saturday, Dec. 28, through Wednesday, Jan. 1. Visit www.reno.gov orย www.chabadnorthernnevada.com for more details.
Exercise your brain
Itโs only one week into winter break, and your kids are already complaining about being bored. Shut off their smartphones, and activate their minds at The Discovery. Learn about sustainable energy through more than 18 hands-on exhibits focused on energy generation, use and storage in the bilingual exhibition Energy/Energรญa. Let your kids test their problem-solving skills in Mindbender Mansion, a large-scale, quirky exhibition full of brainteasers and interactive challenges. Explore human anatomy and uncover the ways our bodies work, grow, age and heal in Inside Out: An Anatomy Experience. Get up close and personal with Gerard the Allosaurus, or scale the heights of the Cloud Climber while learning about the water cycleโamong other fun things to do during your visit. During winter break, the museum will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday; and 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The museum will be closed on Christmas Day. Admission is $16 for adults, $15 for seniors age 65 and older, $14 for kids age 6-17 and $11 for kids ages 1-5. Entry is only $5 per person after 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum (The Discovery) is at 490 S. Center St. Call 775-786-1000, or go to nvdm.org.
End the year on a high note
The Reno Chamber Orchestra presents its 21st annual Nevada Chamber Music Festival featuring a variety of chamber music works performed by RCO musicians and guest artists. Cellist Clive Greensmith and Quartet Integra (pictured) open up the festival with a program featuring String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135 by Ludwig van Beethoven; โEpigramโ by Reno composer Monica Houghton; and String Quintet, D. 956 by Franz Schubert. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 28, at the Harlan O & Barbara R. Hall Recital Hall at the University of Nevada, Reno. The festival continues with afternoon and evening performances on Sunday, Dec. 29, through Tuesday, Dec. 31, when the music series concludes with the โString in the New Yearโ concert featuring works by Giacomo Puccini, Carl Maria von Weber, Rebecca Clarke and Antonรญn Dvoลรกk. All 2024 NCMF concerts will feature a pre-concert talk one hour prior to concert time. Performances take place at the Hall Recital Hall, 1338 N. Virginia St., in the Church Fine Arts Building at the University of Nevada, Reno. Tickets are $55 per concert or $290 for a festival pass. Call 775-348-9413, or go to www.renochamberorchestra.org for tickets and concert information.
Unplugged
Wind down the year with the New Yearโs Acoustic Celebration featuring fiddler/guitarist Matthew Hartz, classical guitarist Peppino D’Agostino (pictured) and guitar prodigy Keenan Hammack. The show starts at 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 29, at Mountain Music Parlor, 735 S. Center St. Tickets are $25. For tickets, call 775-287-3391. Visit www.facebook.com/mountainmusicparlor for more information.
A happy new year for all
There are plenty of fun options for families to ring in the new year without staying out late. Strap on some skis and spend a few hours on the slope, then enjoy an NYE fireworks show, snowcat and torchlight parade. The free, aprรจs ski event starts at 4:45 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 31, at the base of the Main Lodge at Mount Rose Ski Tahoe, 22222 Mount Rose Highway. Visit skirose.com for details. Boogie on down to Palisades Tahoe for Disco Tubing, a snow tubing experience enhanced with colorful LED lights, lasers and live DJs starting at 5 p.m. at the SnoVentures Activity Zone. This event is open to riders age 4 and older. Tickets are $79. The ski resort will also hold its free New Yearโs Eve Family Celebration featuring a torchlight parade, fireworks, live music, an East Coast ball drop and more starting at 5 p.m. Palisades Tahoe is located at 1960 Olympic Valley Road, in Olympic Valley. Go to www.palisadestahoe.com. Heavenly Village will wind down its monthlong Heavenly Holidays celebration with a closing ceremony on New Yearโs Eve kicking off at 4 p.m. with music spun by DJ Cash Master, rock hits performed by The Jackeyes; and a finale featuring Americaโs Got Talent finalist Dee Dee Simon, a gondola drop timed with the Times Square ball drop in New York City and a fireworks show to usher in 2025. The free party takes place at Heavenly Village, 1001 Heavenly Village Way, South Lake Tahoe. Visit visitlaketahoe.com/event/heavenly-holidays-family-festival/2024-12-21. Take an evening trek through the snow during a New Yearโs Eve guided snowshoe tour. Groups depart at 5:30 p.m. from the Alder Creek Adventure Center, 15275 Alder Creek Road, in Truckee. Equipment is available for participants ages 13 older. Tickets are $75-$95. Space is limited. Call 530-587-9484, or visit www.tahoedonner.com. Lastly, clear the mind and prepare for the year ahead during Gardnervilleโs annual New Yearโs Eve Candlelight Labyrinth Walk, which starts at 6 p.m. at Heritage Park Gardens, 1461 Ezell St., Gardnerville. Go to www.mainstreetgardnerville.org/annual-events for details.
Party people
Just about every bar, nightclub, casino lounge and restaurant in the area will have a New Yearโs Eve celebration to welcome in the new yearโmore than we can mention within the confines of this newsletter. But here are a few NYE events to keep in mind if youโre planning to go out. Enjoy a three-course dinner, then stay for a disco-themed party with Margretโs Funk Band and a East Coast New Year’s champagne toast at the New Yearโs Eve โLast Danceโ Party, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at Nashville Social Club, 1105 S. Carson St., in Carson City. Tickets are $45-$110. Visit thenashvilleclub.com. Or dance into 2025 at the inaugural LiFE iN LiTE New Yearโs Eve bash featuring Dillon Francis, Lost Kings, Whipped Cream, No Thanks and Casmali. The all-ages rave starts at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 31, at the J Resortโs Glow Plaza, 670 W. Fourth St. General admission tickets are $99, or $119 for VIP tix. Go to www.jresortent.com/life-in-lite-2024. Bid farewell to 2024 with electronic music duo the Funk Hunters (pictured), who will work their magic on the turntables along with Marvel Years and TWOGOOD, starting at 9 p.m. in the Crown Room at Crystal Bay Casino, 14 Highway 28, in Crystal Bay. Tickets are $50. Visit www.crystalbaycasino.com for details. Dancers will tantalize the eyes at New Yearโs Forever & Ever: A Night of Drag, Burlesque & Eternal Love featuring performances by Haus of Vertigo and Sweet & Lethal Burlesque, beginning at 9 p.m. at Black Rabbit Mead Company, 401 E. Fourth St. Tickets are $25. Check out www.blackrabbitmeads.com/renotaproom or www.facebook.com/blackrabbitmeads. For more NYE events, go to the RN&Rโs calendar at renonr.com/calendar
11 Days a Week is written and compiled by Kelley Lang. Want your event included in 11 Days a Week? Email 11days@renonr.com for consideration. Email advertising@renonr.com for advertising info!
Read 11 Days a Week at RenoNR.com!