Between now and March, Tahoetopia will feature residents' remembrances from past celebrations.

#1 Old Man Winter
"That first year I missed the final Snowfest meeting and no one told me I'd been nominated to be "Old Man Winter." Rotary had a ski day the same day as the opening of Snowfest, and I was busy.

"I got a message on the hill to call Bev Bedard. She told me she had rented a tux and I had to rush down to Reno to be fitted for the opening ceremonies that were coming up in just a few hours. Amazingly I made it and helped crown the first Snowfest Queen. J.C. Krise, Snowfest's Old Man Winter.

#2 Bertha the Elephant
"There are so many memories, but the one that sticks out is having to clean up the Safeway parking lot after Bertha the Elephant marched in the parade!" Steve Teshara, early Snowfest organizer and publicist; now Exec. Dir. of NLTRA.

#3 Snow Sculpture
"One year there was hardly any snow. I had to bring in tons of snow by loader and shovel it onto the River Ranch back deck. It was so warm that I thought everybody's entry was going to melt before the judges could look at them." John L. Weedn, organizer of Snowfest Snow Sculpture Contest.

#4 Warm Welcome
"I arrived in Tahoe City for the first time on the day of the Snowfest Parade. I was a total stranger on the street. The girl scouts marched by in the parade, noticed me, and invited me to their candle lighting. And here I was a total stranger! It was then that I knew I wanted to live in this community." Marilyn Sloan, Snowfest volunteer, 1987-1999.

Editor's Note: This series of remembrances was originally published in 2006 leadng up to the 27th Snowfest. It was compiled for Tahoetopia by Robert "Fro" Frohlich,  a thirty+ year resident of North Lake Tahoe.