By Laurie Brazil

STATELINE  — Blowing wind and a week filled with snowstorms couldn’t keep the Lake Tahoe community from showing their support for the 2011 Business Expo Friday night.

This year’s event, which was entitled “Pedal to Prosperity,” was designed to tie in to the Amgen Tour – the nationally acclaimed bike event scheduled here in May.

At the MontBleu convention center, 72 booths represented businesses, ski resorts, government agencies, restaurants, and several local nonprofit groups. Although most vendors were located locally or in neighboring cities, a few came from as far away as Sacramento.

The ballroom was abuzz with a lot of chatting, laughter, remote interviews on radio or TV, but the most activity centered around those places that had food or drink to share. A popular trend was to gather many of the freebies that were offered to promote the various groups featured at the booths.

Some attendees bid on the silent auction items or entered in several of the evening’s drawings. A few lucky folks walked away with a custom designed necklace and rode away with a beautiful beach cruiser.

The prevailing attitude was that this year’s event, coordinated by the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, was not only instructional, but also provided many chances to socialize and sample delicious food.