Volunteer to ‘dress’ the town in 'Red, White and Tahoe Blue'

By Tanya Canino
Bonanza Editor, tcanino@tahoebonanza.com
May 9, 2008

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To brighten the community before last year’s Red, White and Tahoe Blue event, a committee of dedicated Realtors and volunteers placed an American flag in front of each and every home in Incline Village and Crystal Bay.

Organizer Cheryl Delehanty said she is going to continue that tradition because of the outpouring of support for decorating the town in “Red, White and Tahoe Blue.”
She said as volunteers were placing the flags last year, people would honk their horns in support, and they even wrote letters to the editor.

“What solidified it for me is the fact that the day we put out the flags, the spirit of the community was just overwhelming,” Delehanty said.

Dressing the town this year with American colors will fall between two important events for the community — Xstream Clean on June 7 and Red, White and Tahoe Blue on July 2-4. Xstream Clean is an event in which community volunteers pick up trash throughout the community, while Red, White and Tahoe Blue is a community celebration of Independence Day.

Those interested in helping to decorate with the flags can sign up during Xstream Clean at Incline Middle School. Participants pick up trash beginning at 11 a.m., but can return for the barbecue and carnival afterward. At that time, there will be a booth available to sign up to help with the flag decorations.

The flags placement will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 28, at the Coldwell Banker/Chase Realty courtyard, 917 Tahoe Blvd. For more information, call Delehanty at (775) 833-6444.

“The Realtor Community Outreach program will be involved in a big way,” Delehanty said.

Last year, 9,000 flags were used to dress the town. Of those, 75 percent were recycled, she said.

The flags will be taken down on Saturday, July 12, and volunteers are needed to pick up flags and return them to the Coldwell Banker/Chase Realty real estate offices courtyard, she said.

“It’s a lot of fun. The community really latched onto it and embraced it,” she said.
Those wishing to decorate their businesses or find patriotic outfits for the Red, White and Tahoe Blue parade can visit Dress the Part(y), which is stocking up on American and patriotic decorations for Red, White and Tahoe Blue.