Like it or not, Labor Day marks a change of seasons. True, autumn doesn't officially arrive until Sept. 22. But mentally, it starts when the kids go back to school, the days grow noticeably shorter, and fall colors start slipping into our daily wardrobes.
Another sure sign we're transitioning into another season: September is prime time for regional festivals, with some of the most entertaining events of the year timed to coincide with the advent of cooler weather. So mark your calendar and don't let the month slip away.
Our pick for the weekend most worthy of an overnight getaway is coming up this Friday through next Sunday, when the Reno area hosts a double-header sure to put smiles on faces of all ages.
You might think of camels and hot-air balloons as completely unrelated objects, but they're joined at the hip the first weekend in September, when the Great Reno Balloon Race competes for visitors' attention with the International Camel Races up the hill in the historic mining town of Virginia City.
The good news: You don't have to decide between the two. The venues are only about an hour apart, so it's easy enough to catch both.
"We laugh and say you can watch Dawn Patrol at the balloon races and get a crick in your neck from looking up, then come to Virginia City and get the crick out of your neck while watching the camel races," says camel-race organizer Linda DelCarlo. "It gives people a full day of something to do."
Billed as the largest free hot-air balloon event in the nation, the Great Reno Balloon Race is expected to draw around 150,000 spectators, all come to witness the awesome sight of 100-plus colorful globes rising into the sky at dawn each day of the event. Popular events include a mass ascension launch, hare-and-hound competition, "glow show" and the world's largest pajama party, dubbed Pajama Fest. Events take place at Rancho San Rafael Park, 1595 N. Sierra St., Reno; www.renoballoon.com.
For the camel races, a bit more explanation is in order.
Camels were introduced to the American West in frontier times for use as pack animals. They turned up in Virginia City in the 1860s to carry salt and supplies for miners working the Comstock Lode. When the railroad took over drayage duties, the animals were shooed into the hills. They did not thrive, which is why we don't see herds of wild camels foraging alongside wild mustangs.
Gone but not forgotten, the dromedaries were brought back to fictitious life in 1959, when a Mark Twain-style account of the town's nonexistent camel races was published in the Territorial Enterprise.
The story fired up the townspeople's imaginations enough to stage a real-life camel race the next year. Local lore holds that movie director John Huston won it, charging to victory on a camel borrowed from the San Francisco Zoo. The spectacle became an annual event, with ostrich races added in 1962.
"The camel races have always happened, in good times and bad times and even in years when we were down to just a few camels," DelCarlo said.
Camels are being trucked in from an exotic-animal supplier in Kansas for the 49th edition of the event. Townsfolk and tourists alike are encouraged to wear their Old West best for events including a Friday-night Camel Hump Ball at Miss Kitty's Longbranch Saloon; a camel parade at noon Saturday; and camel and ostrich races starting at 1 p.m. each day of the event. Admission to the racetrack is $10 general, $35 VIP, $8 seniors and military. Music and most associated activities are free. Information: www.virginiacity-nv.org.
Great Reno Balloon Race
WHAT: The largest free hot-air balloon event in the nation, featuring 100-plus balloons ascending at dawn each day, plus all-day activities on the ground.
WHEN: Friday through next Sunday
WHERE: Rancho San Rafael Park, 1595 N. Sierra St., Reno
ADMISSION: Free
INFORMATION: www.renoballoon.com
International Camel Races
WHAT: Dromedary and ostrich races, Camel Hump Ball, train rides, music, wacky events.
WHERE: Virginia City, Nev., about 40 minutes southwest of Reno on Highway 341.
WHEN: Saturday and next Sunday; races start at 1 p.m.
ADMISSION: Admission to the races is $10 general, $35 VIP, $8 seniors and military. Music and most associated activities are free.
INFORMATION: www.virginiacity-nv.org
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