City: Reno, NV
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
17. Greek Festival
City: Reno, NV
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (775) 825-5365
Address: 4795 Lakeside Drive
Description: Greek-food lovers cannot miss this annual event, usually put on toward the end of August by the parishioners of St. Anthony’s. Everything from baklava to gyros is on the menu, plus live Greek music and dances performed by award-winning dance groups. Admission is usually $4 and food tickets begin at $10. Opah!–come on by for a great Greek time.
18. Hot August Nights
City: Reno, NV
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (775) 356-1956, (800) 367-7366
Description: Hot nights, hot rods, hot times, and a great location to enjoy it—this describes the premier event in the Reno/Tahoe area. It’s a celebration of America’s love affair with hot cars and rock ’n’ roll music. For a week in early August, thousands of pre-1970 autos cruise the streets, accompanied by good food and great live music. This is the largest event in northern Nevada, with 800,000 attendees enjoying the nostalgia of a bygone era. Hotels and motels are usually booked a year in advance, so make sure you plan way ahead for this spectacular event.
19. Nevada State Fair
City: Reno, NV
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (775) 688-5767
Address: 1350 North Wells Avenue
Description: This is a really fun, old-fashioned state fair usually held on the last weekend in August and featuring livestock exhibits, baking and cooking exhibits, special events, entertainment, rides, and midway games. If you ever wanted to visit a down-home country fair, this is the one.
City: Reno, NV
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Address: 2500 Spinnaker Drive
21. The Great Reno Balloon Race
City: Reno, NV
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (775) 826-1181
Description: The early-morning Reno sky is alive with color when the nation’s top 100 balloonists compete in early September for cash and prizes in the Hare and the Hound and various target drops. The Dawn Patrol, at 5:30 a.m., offers a spectacular light show as the balloonists ascend in their multicolored balloons. Children especially like this event because of the variety of balloons, some in shapes as unusual as champagne bottles, frogs, panda bears, and giant hamburgers. It’s a great way to spend an early morning in September, but be sure to dress warmly because temperatures in the desert before dawn are very cold this time of year. Both admission and parking are free. (See the Spectator Sports chapter for more.)
22. National Championship Air Races
City: Reno, NV
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (775) 972-6663
Description: If you like airplanes, you won’t want to miss this, the longest-running air race in the world. Hundreds of planes fill the sky during this five-day event, which features six classes of racing. Besides the air races, military jets are on hand to thrill the crowd, as well as planes doing aerobatics, skywriting, and the ever-popular daredevil wingwalkers. General admission entrance fees vary from $10 to $27 for adults, depending on the day. (See the Spectator Sports chapter for more.)
23. Great Italian Festival
City: Reno, NV
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (775) 786-5700, (800) 648-5966
Description: Celebrated along with Columbus Day, this event includes great Italian food, entertainment, a grape-stomping contest, and a parade. The highlight for most spectators is the spaghetti-eating contest. Admission is free. All you have to do is pay for your food and drinks. Insiders love this festival.