Trails & Vistas – the nonprofit performance art organization that hosts art hikes in Tahoe’s beautiful landscape – is back for 2021. Melding arts and culture with a connection to nature, Trails & Vistas uses visual art, storytelling, music, dance, poetry and environmental education to spark an appreciation for natural surroundings.
Sept. 11 | Trails & Vistas Art Hikes
Oct. 14-15 | Truckee’s Historical Haunted Tour
TBA in 2022 | World Concert
The art hikes will be on Sept. 11 and tickets for the 2.5-mile hike are on sale now starting at $45 for adults and $15 for kids. Trails & Vistas is also offering Build Your Own Pod private tours.
“For our 2021 signature Art Hikes, we’re keeping groups smaller this year, limited to 16 people. Attendees will be required to wear masks at check in but we’re encouraging people to build their own pods. We’re excited to welcome everyone back and are pleased that people want to come back and hike amongst the rocks, feel the beauty of the trees, and be grounded again,” says founder and artistic director Nancy Tieken Lopez.
Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, Trails & Vistas didn’t host its art hikes or World Concert in 2020. Yet they did release the film “Full Circle” to try to keep the Tahoe performance arts alive at a time when people likely needed it the most. The film is available on the website.
As well, the organization will bring back the popular Truckee’s Historical Haunted Tour on Oct. 14 and 15, but the World Concert will not return until 2022.
The Dreaming Tree
Last year, the art-in-nature Dreaming Tree field trips for local third graders were also cancelled, which prompted Trails & Vistas Tieken Lopez to create another film sharing that childlike wonder to spark conversation. “The Dreaming Tree” film (and its in-person field trips) reinforce the notion that an outdoor classroom is where learning comes to life.
In March, “The Dreaming Tree” film was distributed to 11 local elementary schools to third graders and local students in virtual learning programs. As the kids watched the film, teachers prompted them to write poems and create art to show what nature and the film meant to them.
“[The Dreaming Tree] opens with a cultural spokesperson from the Washoe Tribe Culture/Language Resources department and includes musicians, performers, a wonderful presentation by interpretive guide/historical educator Bill Bowness and even a hip-hop dancer,” Tieken Lopez explains.
“I think there’s something so beautiful (about the film being shared in classrooms) and it gets to the essence of nature when seen through the eyes of a child,” she adds.
“We started the virtual field trip yesterday, and the students loved it. We have only gotten through the first three sections, as they were so engaged. They loved hearing the Native Washoe language and commented that it sounded soft, beautiful, rhythmic. They took time to make connections with how the use of fire can help the land, and not just destroy it. Many of them have witnessed control burns lately in our area, so it was a great connection,” adds Forest Charter School teacher Brook Binley.
“The art kits and the film can be sent anywhere and brings a bit of Lake Tahoe into any classroom. I hope that The Dreaming Tree field trips can go back to being in person, but in the meantime the film can be utilized for education purposes or even gifted to a school in another location,” Tieken Lopez says.
The Dreaming Tree was also shared with residents of Tahoe Forest Hospital’s Long Term Care Center. With the release of the film, residents also received an art kit with a journal in it so that they have a place to record their thoughts when they’re comfortable going out on Tahoe’s trails again.
Email Nancy Lopez at nancy@trailsandvistas.org to learn more about “The Dreaming Tree” film and art kit. | Art hike tickets trailsandvistas.org
