Fourth Ward parties are filling up fast

A series of 30 parties running from today to December are planned to raise money for Virginia City's Historic Fourth Ward School, and some of them are already sold out.

Party-goers can do everything from wildflower walks to kayak trips to haunted pub crawls.

Fourth Ward School executive Director Barbara Mackey hopes to raise $25,000 for the historic landmark.

"They all have something different, either food or presentations," she said.

In 2006, the first year the "parties" were done, the museum came up $10,000 short of it s goal, but after a story in the Appeal, museum supporters rallied to make up the difference.

Last year, the museum did the event as part of a challenge, to raise $50,000 by Christmas and Bob Kendall, the eighth-grade salutatorian at the school in 1936, pledged to match.

This year there's no match involved, and Mackey said they learned a lot putting on the event.

"It takes awhile to build up an understanding of what the event is."

She also said they learned a few things from last year's experience, such as keeping the numbers in the parties small, with the smallest being two and the largest being 30, and most being eight to 10.

"We found after last year the big ones didn't sell," she said. "People want that small intimate experience, where you get more of a feeling that you're getting something unique."

Of the 30 parties, eight have sold out and the rest are filling up fast.

"There's Spooner by the New Moon, that's very unique," she said. "And at Autumn Leaves to Remember, you press flowers and leaves and you get to use the printing press."

Brews and Boos, the Haunted Pub Crawl, the Historic Stone House party with ragtime pianist Squeek LaVake and her quartet, a fly-fishing trip and a chance to learn beadwork are still available, as is a wildflower tip to Spooner and a flower trip to Smith & Smith Farms in Dayton.

Glenbrook Golf Gambit, Party 7, is still available along with the Sand Harbor Kayak Trip and a gourmet dinner in Silver City.

For the palate there is an East Indian dinner in a beautifully restored Virginia City home, a taste of Cornish pasties and All Things Persian, with dinner, music and decor from the Middle East.

Already filled are Party 2, Birdseye View, which is an airplane flight over the Lake Tahoe; Party 5, Four Courses, a four-course meal, in four of Virginia City's historic homes; and Party 10, Marlette Lake Safari, a trip along the Marlette Lake water system, the 1860s engineering marvel that still brings water to the Comstock.

Also no longer available are spots for Party 19, Health and Wealth on the Comstock, a fancy dinner and tour of the Castle and St. Mary's Art Center, which used to be a hospital; Party 22, Glenbrook Privileged Peek, a look at Glenbrook logging and ranching artifacts; and Party 23, Rocky Road to Rock Art, a trip out to the petroglyphs in Lagomarsino Canyon.

Mackey said those wishing to attend parties that are sold out can still call the museum in case of cancellations.

The final party will be free and available for everyone, on Dec. 4, after the Christmas Parade of Lights, where party-goers can get together and relive the year's fun.

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.

If you go

• A Blissful Day of Yoga: 8 a.m.-1 p.m., today, Carson City. $40 per person, limit 20 people.

• Birdseye View: Lake Tahoe Air Tour: 8:30-10:30 a.m., June 16. Minden-Tahoe Airport. $200 per person, limit 2 people.

• Wild about Wildflowers: 9 a.m.-noon, June 17, Spooner Lake State Park. $40 per person, limit 15 people.

• Caughlin Ranch Sunset and Conversation: 5:30 -9 p.m. June 23 at Caughlin Ranch, Reno. $80 per person, limit 10 people.

• Four Courses: An Historic Homes Progressive Dinner: 5:30-9 p.m. June 24, Virginia City private residences. $100 per person, limit 10 people.

• Sutro: a Private Town and a Private Tour: 10 a.m. -2 p.m., June 30. $80 per person, limit 30 people.

• Glenbrook Golf Gambit: July 11, tee time to be determined, at the Glenbrook Country Club. $75 per person, limit two people.

• Spooner by New Moon: 6-10 p.m. July 13 at Spooner Lake Nevada State Park. $175 per person, limit 8 people.

• Flower Day Camp: 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. July 14 at Smith & Smith Farms, Dayton. $75 per person, limit 10 people.

• Marlette Lake Safari: Virginia & Gold Hill Water Company System: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 23. $150 per person, limit 10 people.

• Sand Harbor Kayak Trip: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 28. $85 per person, limit eight people.

• Silver City, Pond-side: 6-9 p.m. Aug. 4, at the Cobbey Residence, Silver City. $125 per person, limit 8 people.

• Beading Bedazzled: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Historic Fourth Ward School. $35 per person, limit 15 people.

• Magic: Concert on the Divide: 4:30-7 p.m., Historic Stone House on the Divide. $75 per person, limit 20 people.

• Pretty Papers II: Collage: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 18, Historic Fourth Ward School. 50 per person, limit 10 people.

• Brews & Boos Haunted Pub Crawl: 7:30-10:30 p.m. Aug. 18, downtown Virginia City. $50 per person, limit 10 people.

• Exotic East Indian Delight: 6-9 p.m. Sept. 8, "A" Street, Virginia City. $100 per person, limit 12 people.

• Pasties and the Past: Evening, Sept. 22, in Virginia City. 800 per person, limit 10 people.

• Wealth & Health on the Comstock: 4-9 p.m. Sept. 29, the Castle, Virginia City. $125 per person, limit 12 people.

• Sun Mountain Sunday High: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 30 on Sun Mountain. $40 per person, limit eight people.

• Undisclosed Fly Fishing: October, time and place to be determined. $150 per person, limit 2 people.

• Glenbrook Privileged Peek: 4-7 p.m. Oct. 3, Glenbrook. $100 per person, limit 10 people.

• Rocky Road to Rock Art: Lagomarsino Petroglyph Tour, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 6. Lagomarsino Canyon. $75 per person, limit 10 people.

• Oktoberfest: 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 6, Sullivan residence, Carson City. $65 per person, limit 6 people.

• History Whiskey and Warm Beer: 3-8 p.m.. Oct. 7, Hidden Valley. $100 per person, limit 12 people.

• All Fashions of History: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Marjorie Russell Clothing and textile Research Center, Nevada State Museum, Carson City. $45 per person, limit eight people.

• Autumn Leaves to Remember: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Oct. 13, Historic Fourth Ward School. $35 per person, limit 10 people.

• A Sea of Flames and the Roar of Fire: 5-9 p.m. Oct. 13, Delta Saloon, Virginia City. $80 per person, limit 12 people.

• All things Persian: 6-9:30 p.m. Nov. 10, Virginia City Highlands. $90 per person, limit eight people.

• Parties of the Year Celebration: 5-8:30 p.m., Historic Fourth Ward School. Free and open to all participants of previous parties.

For more information on parties, call 775-847-0975.