Aside from reminding delegates to pack a camera so they can capture the beauty of Lake Tahoe on film, planners might also send them home with a Lake Tahoe-inspired gift to further remind them of their visit.
Tahoe Arts and Mountain Culture (530.318.6454; www.tahoeculture.com) might be a good place to start. This portal—created by local Becky Bell to “introduce the people whose deep connection to Tahoe inspires artistic expression”—showcases the wares of anyone with a creative endeavor in Lake Tahoe. If planners click through the website they might find a few gift ideas such as the following: Barbara Wesson’s pottery (www.letsgetmuddy.net), including succulent planter pots, vases and bowls, range from $4 to $40. Wesson is also able to customize the color and size of any of her pots or pottery. The Truckee River Winery (530.587.4626; www.truckeeriv erwinery.com) produces limited quantities of fine wines in a little red barn, where visitors are welcome to make an appointment for a tour and tasting. And Tahoe Candle (530.587.7996; www.tahoecandle.com) produces handmade luminaries inspired by nature that will certainly remind meeting attendees of their time at Lake Tahoe. Options include pine tree, fall maple and spring aspen candles.
Available at Tahoe City’s Tahoe House Bakery and Gourmet (530.583.1377; www.tahoe house.com), a family-run store since 1977, are numerous bottles of take-home culinary delights. Among them are mango ginger chutney, sweet balsamic mustard, bourbon peppercorn steak sauce, chipotle BBQ sauce, roasted corn tomato salsa, and amber brew beer rub.
Darin Talbot (www.airtahoerecords.com), according to Mike Frye, sales and events manager at the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, is Tahoe’s Jimmy Buffett.
“I’ve used Darin for many group events, he’s just a great entertainer,” Frye says. “A lot of his songs tell the story of the area.”
Whether or not planners consider booking Talbot, who’s also a skilled snowboarder, they can gift meeting attendees with one of his CDs, including Music Flight, Tahoe Backcountry or Big Air, on which he performs “extreme-sport folk-rock” music about the Lake Tahoe mountain lifestyle.
Apparently Starbucks has met its match in Tahoe. Alpen Sierra Mountain Roasted Coffee (800.531.1405; www.alpensierra.com) brews gourmet coffee that’s satisfying palates around the globe. Delegates can either pop into the South Shore coffeehouse or planners could gift them with a pound of beans, such as Alpenglow House Blend or Certified Organic Winter Solstice Blend. Teas, chocolates and gift baskets are also available.
