2012 SnowGlobe tragedy not forgotten during preparations for annual S. Tahoe music event
By Kathryn Reed
While it’s the music that draws people to SnowGlobe, it is Alyssa Byrne who is on so many people’s minds. The 19-year-old Petaluma woman died last year of hypothermia as she tried to walk from the concert venue to her Stateline hotel.
A lasting legacy of the tragedy is the Always Buddy Program that was created by her family and friends in Sonoma County. The mantra is, “I promise to never let myself or anyone I love leave in an unfamiliar place without a buddy system.”
SnowGlobe returns to South Lake Tahoe Dec. 29-31. Photo/LTN file
Leandra and Paul Hale, who own the Butter Muffin in South Lake Tahoe, have become friends with the Byrne family. They are working on securing permits from the city to erect warming huts at Al Tahoe Boulevard and Highway 50, and Al Tahoe and Pioneer Trail.
“The most important thing is the heat up huts,” Leandra Hale told Lake Tahoe News. “Then people will realize if they hit Pioneer Trail, they are going in the wrong direction.”
The booths are likely to be 12-feet-by-12-feet, include warmers, cell phones for people to use and water. Vegan Café is donating hot beverages.
The Hales are also organizing a free ride program because if people make it to their tents, it means their intention is to walk and not take the bus. Rides will be provided all three nights.
Anyone wanting to donate water or a ride may call (530) 541.8547 or email the_buttermuffin@yahoo.com.
South Tahoe High School seniors Cassidy Jackson and Noah Palmeiri have a booth at SnowGlobe. They have been collecting hats, jackets, gloves, blankets, and hand warmers for attendees. They plan to provide coffee and water, along with charged cell phones people may use.
Another STHS student planned to create a video to air on V-TV, the school television station, that talks about the dangers of drugs, especially Molly. Molly, also known as ecstasy, causes dehydration.
“This is the reason at SnowGlobe that the water line is longer than the beer line,” South Tahoe police Officer Russell Liles told the South Lake Tahoe Drug Coalition this month.
And people who are not used to Tahoe’s elevation can easily become dehydrated without drugs, so the mix can be even more dangerous for flatlanders.
Methamphetamines and other drugs were found in Byrne’s system, according to the toxicology report.
Changes for this year
The SnowGlobe Music Festival is Dec. 29-31 on the ball field adjacent to Lake Tahoe Community College.
“The college is very much in support of a safe and responsible SnowGlobe and making sure people pay attention to the cold, make sure they ride buses, and follow the signage,” LTCC President Kindred Murillo told Lake Tahoe News.
This year’s lineup features Tiesto, Cut Copy, Kaskade, Snoop Dogg, Holy Ghost!, Zed’s Dead, Gramatik, and Beats Antique and others. More than 50 bands or DJs will fill the main stage and two tent stages.
“The artists are from a number of different genres. Snoop Dog will play a greatest hits set,” Chad Donnelly, SnowGlobe promoter, told Lake Tahoe News. Snoop Dog will be on stage Dec. 31.
Tickets are still on sale, but Donnelly expects them to sell out in the next 11 days.
Fireworks will be shot off all three nights instead of just on New Year’s Eve, as has been the case the previous two years.
SnowGlobe has expanded its affiliation with Heavenly Mountain Resort. Big Air snowboard and skiing demos will go on in between sets near the main stage.
To help with the cold, 10,000-square-feet of heated enclosed spaces will be set up. The main stage is totally exposed to the elements, while there are heaters in the two tent venues. However, those are only enclosed on three sides.
The number of buses being used has doubled, so this should eliminate the length of time people are standing around in the cold waiting to get back to their hotel room.
“We have made arrangement as a city to ensure pathways from the post office to the college are free of snow and accessible. That way we try to keep them off the road as much as possible,” Police Chief Brian Uhler said.
One of the noticeable changes will be what people are walking on. To help preserve the ball field the promoters will lay down a material called LD Panels on top of the synthetic field. It will be used along with plywood. The wood will be used to widen the spots and under anything that needs to stay in place for the entire event.
Law enforcement
Police agencies on the South Shore like that SnowGlobe has contributed to fewer people gathering in the casino core on New Year’s Eve.
New this year is the Horizon casino is having an outdoor concert Dec. 31-Jan. 2. No one at the casino returned calls so details are not available. El Dorado County sheriff’s Lt. Pete Van Arnum said that event is expected to attract 5,000 people each night. (Douglas County law enforcement had no information.)
SnowGlobe brings about 10,000 people per night.
“It will be nice if people go to that and SnowGlobe instead of hanging out in the middle of the street at Stateline,” Van Arnum told Lake Tahoe News.
Uhler said his department is not making any major changes this year in regards to SnowGlobe. Amnesty bins will be at the entrance where people can drop their drugs, no questions asked.
“Essentially it will be the same sort of presence. We have undercover officers. We are not making secret about it because we want to prevent any illegal drug use,” Uhler told Lake Tahoe News.
Officers in uniform will be out, as will a few dozen security guards provided by the event organizers.
The future
Even with precautions for the field, this is likely to be the last year SnowGlobe will be at this location.
“The reality is (city officials) just are not sure if that venue is the right venue over the long haul. We will continue to work with them to assess what makes sense,” Donnelly told Lake Tahoe News.
Murillo said the college is encouraging the city to find a venue that would be ideal for more of these types of events.
“As far as the status of SnowGlobe for future years there has been no definitive decision on whether they will return, but there has been discussion regarding the desire to relocate the event to some other venue not yet identified,” Lauren Thomaselli, South Lake Tahoe recreation manager, told Lake Tahoe News. “Each year the promoter has asked for a multi-year contract, however until another venue can be identified, it is not likely the city would commit to multiple years.”
It’s a terrible venue. And while it’s really nice that all those folks are doing so much to keep people safe this year, it’s not right that the promoter gets to make so much money WITHOUT taking all the responsibility. It’s a bad deal for the town. That one young girl’s death will forever taint the event and the city.
Dogula, multiple people die every year while skiing at local resorts, yet I’ve never heard you, or anyone else, rail that those deaths taint our community.
mtn keeps them on hush hush an snow globe doesnt happen in every mtn community. I agree with dogula, why would hundreds of people in the community have to complain about noise and a girl has to die of hypo before any changes about this event were made. What changes are goin to be made next year? hopefully it goes down to the valley,
it is amazing how many people do not want to see the Truth
I’ve herd that next year it will be at the Horizon, in there parking lot
all the kids will probably be Smoking Heroin there’s
a lot of that here in Town
@Dogula & @mypicturisbiggerthanyours
How is bringing in 10-15k additional money spending, hotel / vacation rental renting, restaurant eating, small business consuming, lift ticket purchasing, grocery store visiting, taxi cab hailing, gas station using visitors into town for the week a “bad deal for the town?”
Let me guess, you both have lived here longer than anyone else. You have “seen this town go from blah to blah blah blah.” You raised your kids here and “this town would never … Blah blah blah”
Get over it. We need to bring in dollars to this community in a desparate way. This event gives local business owners a huge push (especially on this side of town) that they just wouldn’t get without it or a like event. See this: http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20120113/NEWS/120119909
But, I suppose we could send events like this away, down to the valley, leaving the town to simply pray for snow and hope tourists put us in their travel plans. But at least we wouldn’t have to hear that damn bass music for three days!
This event forces tourism to the area. We need more like it. I would love to see a summertime festival event spread out over 3-4 days here, bring on the tourist spending! Go check in with Quincy, CA and see how they feel about High Sierra Music Festival in their community since 1998! It draws over 10k consuming visitors every year to a community a fraction our size.
No doubt, the young lady’s passing last year was very tragic. As a father of two teenage girls, it broke my heart in two. I can’t imagine what her family is still going through on a daily basis. My heart, just like many other supporters of this event in this community, still sorrows for them.
If not Snowglobe, we still need progressive ideas to bring in dollars! What’s the alternative? Let here some of your thoughts.
Something makes me think you guys will say, “nothing. Leave me alone and get out of my town.”
Slow roller, Since Horizon it changing management in April(or is it March) with Edgewood taking over its property I doubt that any discussion with edgewood has been confirmed yet or even close to that.
I think the Park family gets the Horizon and the Edgewood company gets Mount Bleu.
I am shocked at this next level of enabling of drug abusers. How about educating them about the results of their poor decisions at these warming huts and at the entrance of the festival? These are not babies, but sophisticated young adults, many of whom are addicts and who are already educated about the dangers of drugs, and also know about what cold temperatures and drugs can do to a body. The fault is their own. Now we as a town are going to foster, encourage, and babysit these idiots just for a few bucks so they can party and get high.
“Now we as a town are going to foster, encourage, and babysit these idiots just for a few bucks so they can party and get high.”
Wow, hasn’t that been going on a the Casinos since they opened? Or do you see the addictions of drinking, tobacco smoking, and gambling as a-okay? And are you quite positive that EVERY person going to Snow Globe is doing drugs?
Get real!
We are talking about South Lake Tahoe, not Stateline, Nevada. Have fun at Snow Globe!
You people that are putting down the Snow Globe need to go back to farm living, with the cows, and pigs, and chickens ,Just my thought, To old for loud music, then you do do not like music, Take off for 3 days, LEAVE if its to loud your to old,
Nice attitude. If you don’t like the new loud drug using tourist urinating in your front yard, leave your home for three days during the holidays.
The positive adjustments made to the event were caused by the criticisms of the supposed professionals. They made too many rookie mistakes for a “promised” experienced promoter.
Wow, semantics.
Its a New Year , Bring on the new you .Make it a good one.
SLT is dying on the vine…has been for 20+ years. Need to change the target venue beyond blue hair gamblers. North shore is cleaning our collective clocks….Ironman? Good kids listening to their music with tons of discretionary $ for the community.
Wake up and smell the pot!!!
Wow! The next level of enablement? How is making sure people get home safe enabling drug abuse? Are you implying that someone on drugs deserves to die? There will be no drugs or alcohol at the tents instead there will be volunteers spreading the always buddy mantra, heaters, water, hot beverages & compassion. We have nothing to do with the concert. This is a grass roots effort to help keep people safe. Loosing Alyssa has effected my wife & I in a profound way as it has many people in the community. To hate on a effort to help save lives is just sad. WOW !!!!!