40,000 expected to attend 3-day SnowGlobe Music Festival in South Lake Tahoe

By Kathryn Reed

While SnowGlobe should still be a bass-driven event, the music lineup for the three-day South Lake Tahoe festival has been altered to help appease the neighbors who last year made as much of a ruckus as the musicians.

Plus, when the first act takes the stage at 3pm Dec. 29, the direction of the sound won’t be the same as in 2011. The stage and speakers will be set up in such a way to lessen the reverberation into neighborhoods.

Still, it’s a lot of techno acts that fill the main stage and two tent performance areas.

Headliners include deadmau5, Wiz Khalifa, Chromeo Live, Beats Antique, Big Gigantic, Laidback Luke and MiMOSA.

But it’s not just music and a smattering of vendors who will fill the community ball field adjacent to Lake Tahoe Community College.

“We’ve added so much, from décor to heating to action sports elements,” Chad Donnelly, SnowGlobe creator and general manager, told Lake Tahoe News. “There are so many new touches the fans will get to experience firsthand.”

The local non-food vendors include Tahoe Made Attire, Enlightened Jewelry, Luna Lobo Creations and UKY The Spot. Nonprofits that will be there are the Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe and Sierra Avalanche Center.

LTCC involvement

Lake Tahoe Community College will have two booths on the field to be able reach out to music fans about what the institution is all about. LTCC is hoping this won’t be the only time some of the concertgoers are on campus.

“We are partnering with SnowGlobe this year to gain benefit from their marketing campaign worldwide. Basically, instead of renting the facilities we get marketing, booths, and some other perks for the use of our facilities,” LTCC President Kindred Murillo told Lake Tahoe News. “We are very optimistic that this will be a benefit for our community by having a structured event for young people on New Year’s, and by the marketing to the SnowGlobe target audience 18-34 age group, which is where we want to reach out in developing our destination market.”

Organizers have to pay for snow removal costs, which with the forecast could be an issue this year. But snow on the ground could be a good thing because it will help absorb the sound. Plus, it means the field should not be trashed as much as it was a year ago.

City’s concerns

South Lake Tahoe makes money off the event primarily through more people being in town – as in hotel and sales taxes.

Will SnowGlobe return in 2013? That remains to be seen. City officials say they won’t start talking about that until they see how this year’s event goes. Promoters have said they would like a multiyear contract and would entertain the possibility of moving the date. But dates would have to be coordinated with the college to ensure school is not in session.

“The police plan is essentially unchanged from last year as it went very well,” Police Chief Brian Uhler told Lake Tahoe News. “We will have amnesty bins and we will have undercover presence.”

Both of those were in place in 2011, too. The amnesty bins are where people can deposit (no refund) any drugs without question. The theory is officers would rather dispose of unused drugs than have people using during the concert.

In addition to local law enforcement, event organizers also provide security staff.

They have also increased the list of items not allowed at the festival; specifically glass containers. A complete list of items is online.

“SnowGlobe event promoters have been very supportive of community concerns from last year’s event and are taking extensive measures regarding a sound management plan, increase in the number of shuttle stops, waste management, and local business integration,” Tracy Franklin, spokeswoman for the city, told Lake Tahoe News.

Bus service

At the Dec. 14 Tahoe Transportation District meeting, the board agreed to enter an agreement with SnowGlobe organizers to increase bus service.

The music festival will pay for more buses to be on Route 53 Dec. 29-31.

TTD staff anticipates between 60 and 80 hours of additional service will be required to accommodate the festival demand.

Like last year, the festival will also provide chartered bus service for people to get to the Lake Tahoe Community College campus.

According to TTD, the plan is to add one to three Route 53 buses before and during the festival times, with an additional seven buses operating for 90 minutes when the festival ends each night.

Donnelly expects more people to attend this year – with about 40,000 people throughout the three-day festival. This compares to the approximately 10,000 who attended each day in 2011.

He expects to sell out on Friday or Saturday.

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Things to know:

• Dec. 29-30 3-10pm

• Dec. 31 3pm to Jan. 1 12:30am

• Fireworks will be shot off New Year’s Eve

• Jan. 3 field will be cleared

• South Lake Tahoe has a webpage dedicated to SnowGlobe

• Dedicated SnowGlobe phone line – (530) 542.7429.

Here is a video from 2011: