SUMMER FESTS, BEFORE SUMMER: One might be inclined to call Mardi Gras the biggest outdoor festival-style event that happens in winter, in the U.S., and one's inclination would have a very solid standing. For the NOLA-iconic good time? It's major. But more and more outdoor music festivals are landing in places during the wintertime and spring, places that are notably cooler and maybe even snowy. There's WinterWonderGrass, a Squaw Valley staple in early April, and making its debut in not-so-far-off Truckee, come the close of the fourth month? It's the inaugural roll-out of the Truckee Craw Thaw Music Festival. We mentioned New Orleans earlier, and the storied city's marvelous, large-of-scale celebration, for the Truckee Craw Thaw will find its inspiration in Bourbon Street fun, right down to the savory and filling Cajun-style foods sold at the Craw Thaw's street fair. As for the tunes set to strum over the three-day party?
AMERICAN ROOTS... will absolutely be the vibe, and the line-up for 2018 is already live. Miss Tess & The Talkbacks, Jazz Mafia Accomplices, Otis McDonald, The Easy Leaves, and other acts'll be on the stages, while the Truckee High School Jazz Band will during the daytime (as will area dance troupes, cool). Shall there be some snowboarding love, courtesy of cinematographer Tim Manning, and some footage of the epic mountain moves he's captured so poetically on film? Please, this is Truckee: There absolutely will be. The 2018 dates are Friday, April 27 through Sunday, April 29, and if you're into the idea of multi-day summer-type festivals happening before the ice has completely thawed, well, then, you know how to keep that celebratory spirit, all calendar long. All the stuff? All the stuff.
