Gatsby Festival

If you're into period festivals, then we're pretty sure that you'd want to come to South Lake Tahoe on the second weekend of August, because that's when the Great Gatsby Festival is held. It's a living history program held every year, and there is a great amount of fun in taking in the sights, sounds and shows that make up this tribute to the 1920's – the glittery, glamorous era of the early twentieth century.

For those who don't quite get the name, the Great Gatsby Festival is actually named after a novel by Minnesota-born (and national anthem lyricist Francis Scott Key relative) F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel was set quite far away from South Lake Tahoe – the events in the novel were in Long Island's North Shore and New York City. Nevertheless, the reasons for using the famous novel's title as the festival's namesake has very little to do with the where and everything to do with the when. The novel “The Great Gatsby” was set in the summer of 1922, in an era the author dubs “the Jazz Age”. What Fitzgerald calls “the Jazz Age”, many think of as the roaring 20's – it is when the American economy skyrocketed after the first World War, and when the sale and manufacture of alcohol was banned by the government. The resulting excesses and organized crime is chronicled by the novel, and is currently given tribute by the South Lake Tahoe Great Gatsby Festival.

Despite how some people feel about the immorality of the era that is Fitzgerald's “Jazz Age”, it cannot be denied that there is much fun to be had when looking back (and in some ways, looking back) to that time. On the Great Gatsby Festival weekend, you will find 870 Emerald Bay Road in South Lake Tahoe teeming with actors and actresses dressed in period outfits and accessories, walking and talking as if they belonged to that opulent decade of the past. There will be demonstrations of old pastimes like croquet, or displays of beautiful antique automobiles. The live music is of the era as well, and you're bound to be treated to tours of period homes. If you're interested, you can also shop for vintage items at the vintage fairs that usually happen around the same time. If you so like, you can even come in costume – it's more fun that way. The best part is that most of the activities at the Great Gatsby Festival of South Lake Tahoe need no admission fee.

The only thing you have to pay for, if you ever decide to come for the Great Gatsby Festival, would be the afternoon tea for Sunday. But rest assured, it would be the best twenty bucks you'd spend for the event because something really interesting usually happens at the afternoon tea parties – it could be anything from a fashion show to a live brass band. These events never disappoint at all.

The Great Gatsby Festival is quite popular event, however, so be sure to make your Tallac, South Lake Tahoe reservations in advance to avoid the hassle and headache.