This Week

reno river Festival

Reno’s special events season kicks off this weekend

with the two-day whitewater kayaking festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary and a return to its original slot in May. Last year the event was held in June, which is usually a safer bet for warm, sunny weather as opposed the unpredictable temperatures that can occur in early May. But this year, organizers moved it back to May to take advantage of spring runoff as well as to better accommodate athletes’ schedules. Some of the world’s best kayakers will compete for top honors and prize money during the festival, which includes freestyle and slalom competitions, a stand-up paddleboard competition, a boatercross competition, an outdoor expo, outdoor yoga, food and drink vendors, a children’s play area and clinics and demonstrations presented by representatives from Cabela’s. Buster Blue, Whitney Myer, Mark Sexton Band, and Keyser Soze will perform on May 11. Oddly Enough, Groove Session and Jelly Bread will perform on May 12. The festival is open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., May 11, and 9 a.m–4 p.m., May 12, at the Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield Park, between Arlington Avenue and Virginia Street. Admission is free. Call 784-9400, ext. 119 or visit www.renoriverfestival.com. —Kelley Lang

Chili on the ComstoCk

While kayakers will stay cool in the water, chili tasters will feel the heat at Virginia City’s chili cook-off. Forty chili cookers from across the West will compete for a spot in the International Chili Society World Finals in Las Vegas during the 30th annual event. Competitors will create their chili from scratch on Saturday morning and a winner will be chosen each day during the twoday event. There will be a people’s choice award, which includes cash and “Virginia City-style” prizes. The festival will also feature the Fireball Crawl and live music at various venues in downtown V.C., as well as a “Family Fun Zone” at the parking lot of the Delta Saloon. While admission is free, chili tasting tickets range from $5-$60. The Fireball Crawl will cost $10 for a map and a cup. The event takes place from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., May 11-12, at the corner of C and Union streets. Call 847-7500 or visit http://chilionthe comstockvc.eventbrite.com/#.

Western heritage Festival

If you missed last weekend’s Genoa Cowboy Festival, you’ll get another chance to celebrate the history and legacy of Nevada’s cowboys, pioneers and indigenous peoples this weekend. The inaugural event, presented by the Sparks Museum & Cultural Center, will feature performances by cowboy poets and musicians Walt “Bimbo” Cheney, Janice Gilbertson and Richard Elloyan, as well as pow wow drummers, the Eagle Wing dancers and a folklorico dance troupe. There will be demonstrations in saddle making, Native American basket making, quilting, blacksmithing and other skills, as well as food and arts and crafts vendors. Pre-festival events will take place on May 10 at Sparks Museum & Cultural Center, Cantina Los Tres Hombres and Great Basin Brewing Co., with the main festival events taking place from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., May 11, at Lillard Railroad Park and along Victorian Avenue, between 14th Street and Pyramid Way in downtown Sparks. Admission is free. Call 355-1144 or visit http://sparksmuseum.org/event/ western-heritage-festival.

2nd annual steampunk exposition and rail City shoWdoWn

Whether your interests involve Old West cowboys, steam trains or steampunk fantasy, downtown Sparks will be the place to satisfy all three. Local steampunk and costume enthusiast organization High Desert Steam will hold its second expo featuring a shopping bazaar of handmade steampunk clothes and other accoutrements, classes on steampunk costume-making, Victorian shaving and clockwork character creation and the first Tea Duel Invitational Tournament between steampunk organizations. There will also be stilt walkers, fortune tellers, a fashion parade and show along and a sneak peak of the costumed characters who will participate in the Comstock Steam Invasion at Virginia City this fall. The expo will take place 10 a.m.-5 p.m., May 12, at the Sparks Museum & Cultural Center (a.k.a. Sparks Heritage Museum), 814 Victorian Ave. Sparks. Admission is free. Visit www.highdesertsteam.org.

national publiC gardens day Walking tour

While the Truckee Meadows landscape may look quite brown and barren to the eye of someone accustomed to the green and forested hills of the East Coast, there are oases both natural and manmade within the valley that boasts a variety of flora. The Wilbur D. May Arboretum and Botanical Garden Rancho at San Rafael Regional Park is one of these verdant gems in the high desert of Washoe County. The almost 27-year-old public park will celebrate National Public Gardens Day with a tour led by former May Arboretum director Ed Kleiner, who will take visitors along some of the 13-acre park’s walking paths and discuss the history behind the gardens as well as some of its unique plants. Walking or hiking shoes are recommended. The free tour begins at 10 a.m., May 10, at the May Arboretum inside the park, 1595 N. Sierra St. Call 785-4153.

argenta trio With theodore kuChar

The University of Nevada, Reno faculty ensemble will be joined by maestro Theodore Kuchar on viola for its season finale of its Argenta Trio series. The program will feature Robert Schumann’s Piano Trio in F major, considered one of his happiest compositions, and Ferdinand Ries’ transcription for piano quartet of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, which supposedly will be the western U.S. premiere of this rare work. The concert begins at 2 p.m., May 12, at the Nightingale Concert Hall inside the Church Fine Arts Building, 1335 N. Virginia St., at UNR. Tickets are $20 general admission and $5 for student rush tickets. Call 784-3555 or visit www.unrsota.com.