Opinion: Tahoe Tallac Association committed to keeping culture alive

By Ginger Nicolay-Davis

On behalf of the nonprofit Tahoe Tallac Association, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the numerous volunteers and supporters of our efforts to keep the arts and culture alive in South Lake Tahoe. As president of the TTA board, I can attest to our ongoing financial challenges and that our board members continue to do the best job possible with the limited resources available. We, like so many organizations in town, have been hit hard by the current economic reality. Arts grants across the country are scarce and our board members consistently seek effective ways to bring in funding.

In the spirit of volunteerism and to help keep the annual Valhalla festival going, we, like previous board members over the past 30 years, are up for the challenge to secure funds. The work we do is a real labor of love — from our board, staff, volunteers, and our partner, the U.S. Forest Service — and this is why we are in it for countless hours. We are grateful for the new local Forest Service administration, as they’ve been working with us diligently to help us through our current financial situation.

As many of you know, the Valhalla site is a true gem in our community and most appreciate the unique talent offered in the summer festival line-up. When people step onto our site and into our theater, they tell us they’re in awe of the experience. It connects them to performing arts, culture, the environment and beauty of Lake Tahoe. What most don’t realize are the day-to-day, behind-the-scenes efforts to raise the critical and necessary funding to keep the effort going. This is our ongoing reality and challenge as a nonprofit performing arts entity.

Losing board members can be difficult as we all aim for the higher goal of keeping our amazing site open and available to the community for the arts, culture, and historical preservation — this is our mission. It is with this mission in mind that we would like to continue the dialogue and invite more people in our community to participate with ideas, volunteerism, and financial contributions. Only together can we be successful. We thank you for your support over the years to help make TTA work and look forward to providing many more years of performing arts at this site.

Ginger Nicolay-Davis is president of the Tahoe Tallac Association.