Two Young Chautauqua performers play with the Douglas Tiger at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville. The group will be performing Saturday.
The Douglas County Historical Society invites the community to Family Day 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center, 1477 Main St., Gardnerville.
This month’s event features costumed performances and monologues by the 2025 Young Chautauqua class.
The award-winning Young Chautauqua program was created in 1993 by Nevada Humanities (nevadahumanities.org) to encourage young people to research and develop original presentations that portray inspiring historical figures. This is the first performance of the year for the local Young Chautauqua group, and Museum Director Emeritus Dennis Little said attendees will have an opportunity to learn about people from the past and see what history has to share.
Museum doors open at 11 a.m. with performances getting underway at 11:30 a.m. There will be an awards ceremony and reception with light refreshments following the program. Other family events planned that day include a scavenger hunt, museum exhibits, and fun games for children.
Admission is free, and donations are welcome.
Little said, “…all donations are appreciated to help keep our Youth Education programs alive.”
Throughout 2025, each visit to a Family Day event at CVMCC earns attendees a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from the museum’s bookstore. The more Family Day events attended, the greater the chance of winning. The drawing will be held December 8, and the winner need not be present to win.
Family Day at the Museum is held the first Saturday of the month (except for July) and is sponsored in part by Renewal by Andersen, The WNC Administration for Children and Families, and the Dennis R. Little Trust.
For more information, visit CVMCC online at www.HistoricNV.org or call 775-782-2555.
Spring brings surprises
Recent balmy temperatures brought out the blossoms on a good number of trees throughout my neighborhood, but the biggest delight has been spotting the first butterfly of the season. I saw something tucked between blades of grass on the back lawn several days ago and when I moved toward it, a lovely dark butterfly with light-tipped wing edges flew up from the ground and circled me a few times before darting away.
I couldn’t get close enough for a photo, but I think I was visited by a Mourning Cloak butterfly. These roaming butterflies hibernate over the colder months and are often the first to be seen come spring; this brief encounter felt like a spark of joy.
We are in what I like to call “accordion season,” where we get a few days of springlike weather that feel warm and expansive before we snap back into a few days of more wintry conditions. It goes back and forth like this every year in the Carson Valley, yet these fluctuations still seem like a bit of a surprise each time they occur.
As I’ve heard many times before, “If you don’t like the weather in Nevada, wait five minutes.”
Amy Roby can be reached at ranchosroundup@hotmail.com.