Reno, Nevada - Look beyond the rolling golf greens, snow-covered ski slopes and bright lights of downtown Reno and you will find a vibrant arts and culture community that rivals any big city. Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place, offers a wide variety of artistic and cultural attractions from museums and galleries featuring exclusive exhibits and collections to unique places to visit and themed special events.

Museums and Galleries:

The Nevada Museum of Art welcomes guests to three floors of breathtaking art exhibits and eye-catching architecture.

Sierra Arts, the local, private arts agency for northern Nevada, actively supports and advocates awareness, appreciation, excellence, accessibility and development of all arts, highlighting the five major disciplines of art – music, painting, poetry, creative writing, dance, theater and sculpture. Visitors can see the artistic disciplines in full color at the Sierra Arts Gallery, located on the lower level of the historic Riverside Artist Lofts, in downtown Reno.

Stremmel Gallery was founded in 1969 as a fine-arts gallery specializing in contemporary paintings, drawings and sculptures by mid-career and established American and European artists. Located in an architecturally award-winning building, Stremmel Gallery showcases artist exhibits and offers a full range of client services, including appraisals, framing, restoration of paintings and fine-art auctions. The gallery offers clients and designers a wide selection of contemporary art from an extensive inventory.

Founded by world-traveler Wilbur D. May, Reno’s May Museum, Arboretum and Botanical Gardens features a collection of animal trophies and artifacts from May’s 40 trips around the world. The hands-on attractions offer a variety of activities for kids about the world of animals and their habitats.

Rev up your engines for a tour through the National Automobile Museum, which houses more than 200 cars from the 1890s to the 1990s and beyond. See the 1907 Thomas Flyer, winner of “The Great Race” from New York to Paris, and stand in awe of the 1910 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Tourer and the 1936 Mercedes Benz 500K Special Roadster – two of the most beautiful cars ever built. Feel history roar to life as you move from the one-of-a-kind 1892 Panhard & Levassor Voiturette through the decades to the 1913 Stutz Series B Bearcat and Al Jolson’s 1933 Cadillac Phaeton – one of only 126 produced. You’ll also find the 1953 Corvette convertible owned by John Wayne and Lana Turner’s 1941 Chrysler Newport.

Must-See Regional Attractions:

Visit Carson City, just 30 minutes south of Reno, for the state’s most historic attractions including the Nevada State Museum, named one of the top 10 regional museums in the West, the Nevada State Railroad Museum, which displays a collection of restored historic Virginia and Truckee Railroad equipment or Northern Nevada’s Children Museum, which provides a fun learning environment for children with 25 hands-on exhibits.

Virginia City – an entire town dedicated as a national historic landmark – is where the Silver State’s history comes alive in the streets and buildings of this historic Comstock Lode town. Take a walking tour through the silver-mining town where men made millions and Mark Twain started his career writing about it. The town is home to the Fourth Ward School Museum, a former school and “monument to education,” which now houses exhibits on Comstock mining and Mark Twain memorabilia, as well as Piper’s Opera House, which is considered to be one of the most significant vintage theatres in America.  Both these historic buildings are recipients of the National Park Service’s “Save America’s Treasures” grants, and the Fourth Ward School Museum recently won the National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Truckee Riverwalk, a walkway of marble, granite and bronze, graces the banks of the Truckee River as it flows through downtown Reno. Lining the walkway is an open-air gallery with sculptures depicting Nevada’s wildlife. The River Walk is a focal point for many downtown activities, including the Festival of Trees at Christmas. On the third Saturday of each month, Riverwalk merchants open their doors and pour free samples of wine during the Wine Walk. While the Wine Walk is free, for $10 tasters will receive a Wine Walk map and commemorative wine glass as well as a chance to win prizes at each stop on the tour.   

Nothing To It Culinary Center, founded by Jennifer Bushman, recent author of the nationally released cookbook “Kitchen Coach Weeknight Cooking,” offers hands-on and demonstration cooking classes for the home chef. In addition, the center features a Napa-style gourmet deli and a kitchen store with a wide variety of ingredients, kitchen tools and accessories for the everyday cook. Classes are available for visitors by calling in advance.

Performing Arts:

The Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Maestro Barry Jekowsky, who has conducted ensembles world-wide including the London Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony, is a constant source of classical entertainment. Also bringing culture to the Reno stage is the Nevada Opera, now in its 38th season and featuring “Tosca,” “The Magic Flute” and “The Pirates of Penzance.”

The Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts lights up downtown Reno with its “Broadway Comes to Reno” Series, which kicks off in October with “The Full Monty,” followed by “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Cats,” “Oklahoma” and “Hairspray.” Just steps away – or below – the Pioneer Center is Magic Underground, one of only two theaters in the United States devoted entirely to magic. Located below the city streets in downtown Reno, Magic Underground presents both traditional and new acts of illusion and wonder in an intimate theater setting.

Art Events:

Artown is a month-long festival that celebrates the arts in northern Nevada with 31 days of cultural festivities designed for every artistic taste and talent. More than 80 organizations participate in the July celebration offering more than 300 performances at dozens of venues city-wide. Entering its 11th year, Artown has proven itself to be among the top cultural events in the country.

Travel through history at the Great Basin Chautauqua Festival each summer where scholars portray major literary and historical figures in an outdoor tent setting, providing both education and entertainment in a fun summertime setting.

Experience one of Lake Tahoe’s most popular summer events at one of the most awe-inspiring venues in the country at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Approaching its 34th year, the Shakespeare Festival is set against the beautiful shores of north Lake Tahoe with swaying pine trees and crystal-clear night skies serving as the backdrop for the natural outdoor amphitheatre at Sand Harbor State Park. The 2006 season features “Othello” and “Twelfth Night” with performances nightly, excluding Mondays, from July 13 to August 20, 2006.

For additional information about arts and culture in Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place, contact 800-FOR-RENO (800-367-7366) or www.VisitRenoTahoe.com.