- On this special edition of "Ar take a peek behind the curtains of the AVA Ballet Theater.

- The community expects really good culture here now and they're getting it.

- [Beth] A South Reno community lights up the holidays.

- If everybody put up a string o I think it'd look fantastic.

You don't need all the other stu Just everybody in the spirit.

(bells playing) - [Beth] Dive into the Griswold - Clark Griswold really helped create the fun side of the holidays and showcasing that you can be wild with your decorations and it's o (whimsical music) - [Beth] And exquisite gift wrapping by Charles Adams.

- So you deal with this like you with everything else in life.

You try to make it work for whoever's received it.

(piano music) - It's all ahead on this edition of "Arteffects".

(upbeat piano music) - [Narrator] Funding for "Arteff is made possible by Sandy Raffea with Bill Pierce Motors, Meg and Dillard Myers, the Nevada Arts Council.

Heidemarie Rochlin, in memory of Sue McDowell, and by the annual contributions of PBS Reno Members.

- Hello, I'm Beth McMillan and welcome to "Arteffects".

In this episode we are celebrati the holidays by observing the ways artists of all kinds in our region express their joy.

In our first segment, the AVA Ballet Theater enriches our community with exposure and education while coaching aspiring young artists to have professional dance caree Let's take a look at the AVA Ballet Theater, while they prepare for their production of the "Nutcracker".

- AVA Ballet Theater is the resident ballet company of the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts.

We hold open auditions for anybody in the community to come audition for each one of our productions, about two months before a production will happen.

And we select all the dancers at and then we begin rehearsing and we try to involve as many people as we possibly can into our productions and as many students as we can.

(symphony music) - I've been dancing with AVA for and I have done around 20 ballets with AVA ballet, and the main one that I do every year is the "Nutcracker".

- I started to produce the "Nutcracker" in 1994, and "Nutcracker" is very fun to do every year.

The community really looks forwa and I really enjoy doing it.

- I'm performing in the role of in the "Nutcracker" this year, which is the lead role.

Each scene, she's a little bit d It's a range of emotions that you get to portray and show the audience and it's a lot of fun to be able to do that.

You also get to wear the costume which is very pretty and kind of it would help me get into the mi of what she might be thinking.

- Inez got selected because she's always been dedicated to the art form of ballet.

She has always been reliable and respectful on stage and in the studio as well.

She is confident enough to be in the entire Reno Phil Harmonic and a 1500 seat house and pull it off.

(symphony music) In the rehearsals, it's very exhausting because you the dancers have had pretty much a full day already and they're trying to accomplish things that, you know, 7:30, 8:30 at night, which when you're exhausted and tired it's kind of hard to do.

But they do it because they love It's an art form that you really have to churn and it keeps getting bigger and and that's what makes dancers love to do ballet.

- Rehearsals can be long and try Pointe shoes are very tough on y You get blisters and you can get overuse injuries if you're dancing too much.

Dancing on pointe is painful and difficult, but also extremely fun 'cause you're turning on maybe an inch diameter of your foot, 'cause you're all the way up on and you have to be able to balan You have to be able to turn and I love doing it.

- It takes them a long time to actually perfect and get into the center and do p and do developpes en pointe, and do grand Renverses en pointe just do a pk hold arabesque in a pointe shoe.

Your body weight is distributed completely differently, from on flat when they just wear there's flat shoes and it's just a completely different expe for the dancer's body.

(symphony music) I think the artists in the commu and the parents and the students really look forward to bringing their daughter or son to actually dance with a live production with an o And I think that only enhances the experience of seeing a ballet production because it brings the level of the company up, it brings the level of the dancers up, because they really enjoy the orchestra as well.

And I think it's a really wonderful thing for the communit (symphony music) Since Reno has grown so much, my company has to grow as well, and it has been growing every single year that I put on these productions, it's just come to a whole different level now.

It's far more professional than it was before years ago.

A lot of more dedicated dancers and artists and volunteers and Reno expects that.

The community expects really good culture here now and they're getting it.

So it's my job as an artistic director to give the community what they need to see on stage and have them be proud of being here in Reno, Nevada.

and proud to be part of the art scene in Reno.

(symphony music) - You can find out more by visiting AVA ballet dot com.

For the next segment, we head to South Reno for a holiday tradition.

The parade of lights in Hidden V Since the early 1980s, this community has been pulling out all the stops and pulling out thousands of lig colorful characters, and more in an effort to out decorate one another to earn a spot in the coveted top 10.

However, the friendly competition is outshined by this community's collective love for the holidays.

(whimsical music) - The Parade Lights is an event the Hidden Valley Homeowner Asso and the people dress up their ho with creative lighting, Christmas type lighting.

- Parade of Lights is where the in Hidden Valley gets together and just decorates and it makes no difference if yo just put up one string of lights or if you decorate like I do.

(l I've been decorating for approximately 50 years, and I started in Santa Cruz, Cal and I started off with probably of little yard ornaments and a string of lights on the house and that was it and just grew fr I've lived in Hidden Valley sinc and we go all out front and back for our decorations for everybody to enjoy.

- Well, as you can see in my garage, (laughs) if you look around it almost looks like Santa Claus threw up in here.

(laughs) - We've lived here in Hidden Valley since 2007, and so we've been doing it since and this year we're adding some more pieces to our collection so it's gonna be better than last year.

(whimsical music) My wife Bonnie's into vignettes.

(whimsical music) We have a couple of mice with some Christmas trees behind them and they're cooking on a campfire.

And then we have ballerina, she's got skates on.

Last year we wanted to put together some sort of pond with skaters and so we basically purchased some skaters.

We've got some other items today into the pond this year, so it's kind of expanding.

And then we're also into large b We have the blowups that are 14 12 feet tall, six feet tall.

We got this bear that hugs you o Kids love it.

(whimsical music) It's one thing to put out a bunch of lights, but it's another thing if people in viewing it actually figure out that, wait a minute, these people really are into vig So it's kind of like a slideshow, so to speak.

And as they go down, things turn into different vignettes.

So I think that's getting very a if you do something like that.

(whimsical music) - I start around the 1st of Nove decorating for the Parade of Lig it takes a little while.

I go to Walmart, I buy lights, I go to Target, I buy lights.

I go through a place in Tennessee that's called Christmas Done Bright, Home Depot, Lowe's, wherever, doesn't make any difference.

If I like it and I see it, I buy I have a 10 foot stocking with four elves that are animate it looks like they're climbing t to go fill the stocking.

My strategy is to try to get something new every year or bring it out of retirement 'cause I've got quite a bit of decorations so I can let some for four or five years and then bring it back out and then you go and you start testing everything.

Then I'll get all the stuff out for the front of the yard and make sure it's all working.

Okay, these are all ready to go.

Then I'll do the big decorations Right around Thanksgiving time.

I put the train on the roof and train's 40 foot long, and I built a frame for the train and it's quite heavy.

I assembled on the roof and I'm not allowed on the roof unless somebody's here, where they can call nine one one I've never been afraid of height and I like it or I wouldn't do i (whimsical music) - The Hidden Valley, a homeowner association, they have a committee that goes and judges the houses, picks the Every home that enters the Parade Lights contest, they seem to have their own idea how they should decorate their h and we get a lot of pleasure of going around looking at these homes because they are - Last two years I've gotten fir and then three years ago, the fellow that lives on Pebble he got first place, which is fan I'm not trying to outdo anybody, but as long as I bring happiness to people.

(happy music) - I've had a number of people talking about the fact that they grew up either in Hidden Valley or they grew up around town.

They knew about the Parade of Li the way it was many years ago.

Now they have kids of their own and they're thankful about the f that we're still doing this.

It's a good feeling.

(happy music) - To check out the list of this year's winners, head to hidden valley homeowners The website includes a map of Hidden Valley to help you with your journey through the Parade of Lights.

And now it's time for this week's art quiz.

In the original "Nutcracker Ball the Sugar Plum Fairy's bell-like with ethereal notes was based on a new instrument.

What was that instrument?

Is the answer A, the bar chime.

B, the harpsichord, C, the hand bell, or D the celeste.

Stay tuned for the answer.

(piano music) Up next, we take a tour of the annual Griswold challenge put on by the nonprofit organization 39 North Downtown.

In this festive event that benef the community food pantry, participants compete for cash pr the Clark Griswold Award.

Businesses and residents of downtown Sparks are double do to build creative displays that as many lights and decorations as possible, all with themes based on holiday and family traditions.

(upbeat whimsical music) - The Griswold Challenge started as a part of the 39 North Pole V We created this challenge to bri the community together both businesses and families, to have a little stake in the ga the North Pole Village.

It's all based on the infamous Mr. Clark Griswold, who overly decorated his home and we just wanted to pay homage to him in our 39 North Pole event.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has stopped that.

We just need to help do our part to keep the community safe.

So this year what we've had to do is take a step back from the North Pole Village, and focus solely on the Griswold Challenge, allowing us to have a virtual event where people can enter their homes or their b for a donation of $20 or more if you would like.

And that goes to the community food pantry, which is local in Sparks.

(piano music) - The community food pantry is h to serve those people who are ha to make a decision between paying rent, buying medicine, putting shoes on their kids' fee getting gas to get to work.

We are here to help them fill that food gap that they are experiencing really, really hard right now.

- We do pick and choose what events that we like to benefit the community and we go wholeheartedly in.

- Especially this time of the ye It's been a really hard year for many people and the proceeds going towards helping the food pantry for Christmas is gonna be an excellent cause.

- Every dollar donated through the Griswold Challenge, through the entry fees, every dollar will buy three meals for someone in, you know, in the line in the pan And that dollar is really stretching a long ways.

(upbeat band music) - Your family decorates your home together, creating those memories safely.

Your businesses can have a team building exercise for the holidays instead of going out to maybe a party or something you get together and you decorate your business.

- What we notice about the staff they love to decorate just like They have the same focus as us and they want to win.

- The prizes that we are offering is first place is the Clark Griswold Award and you can win $500 whether you're a business or a r Those are two different categori The second place is the Cousin E and that is for $250.

(upbeat music) The creativity we get to see from the individual contestants is really cool.

Obviously everybody's different, and everybody brings something to the table.

So seeing all the displays together really make it a unique experience because you're going from one which might be beautiful and white and pretty and then you're going to the nex which is quirky and fun and super charismatic and crazy.

This year it's gonna be cool because you can drive around to the residents and individual and see that same effect just on a much larger scale.

So that's gonna be fun, to see how everybody's businesses do themes or not do themes just gaudy it up with lights.

I mean, that's what Clark Griswo - I'd say we're gonna channel our inner Griswold by bringing out Mr. Griswold himself.

We have a lot of lights up right and so this morning we bought another 2000 lights and that's gonna be going back up on the building behind us.

So.

- I would say close to about 10,000 lights are gonna go up.

- I think a lot of people can re to "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", because it was kind of one of the main holiday funny movies that existed actually ever.

Clark Griswold really kind of helped create the fun side of the holidays and showcasing that you can be wild with your decorations and it's o (symphony music) - Now let's review this week's a In the original "Nutcracker Ball the Sugar Plum Fairy's bell-like with ethereal notes was based on a new instrument.

What was that instrument?

Is the answer A, the bar chime, B the harpsichord, C, the hand bell, or D, the celeste.

(piano music) And the answer is D, the Celeste Our next "Arteffects" segment is a holiday favorite that features Charles Adams, who took gift wrapping to a whole new level.

In 2017, we visited Charles at his home in Carson City to experience the joy of the holidays through his exquisite gift wrapping.

Charles passed away in 2021 but his eclectic personality, unique sense of humor, and love for the holidays remain an inspiration.

(whimsical music) - Almost anything can be elevated to an art form if it's done beautifully, tastefully, beautifully, nice texture, nice colors.

It's just that people don't think of gift wrapping as art yet.

(upbeat music) My name is Charles Adams and when it comes to gift wrapping, I guess I look at it differently from other people.

Gifts are given on special occasions and in my mind in order for the recipient to feel special, the gift wrap must be special and geared to them.

(upbeat music) Some of my gift reps are extreme and out of the ordinary.

I call it extreme because I think about who the recipient of the gift is gonna be.

I always include humor in gift w and I think this kid has a funny personality.

He laughs a lot.

He's mischievous, he's a pain to his parents, but basically he's a good kid.

I'll put a rat on that kid's gif And of course when he sees it, he just comes unglued.

So you deal with gifts like you with everything else in life.

You try to make it work for whoever's receiving it.

And that's the difference betwee and most other people's gifts.

(upbeat music) There's just a very few people that take the time and the energy and the effort to take gift wrapping to a higher level.

It can be kept simple and you can do like a shoelace bow on a nice paper with a nice ribb and it's very simple clean and e Anybody can do it.

Or you can think about the gift where you want a stacked bow, or you want to use certain color you want it to grab the eye, and you want the gift to sort of represent its own message.

In other words, the gift speaks for itself.

When you see it, it's adorable.

So you're gonna love it or they're gonna love it, just 'cause it looks so good.

Doesn't matter what the gift is.

(upbeat music) I worked at Columbia Pictures in as a decorator and my life was very interesting, because I had been on sets with As you get older and you've had a productive life, and you've met some of the top-notch people in the world, you can't just become sedentary, you gotta still be active and yo to keep your mind going.

I didn't set out to be a gift wr it just worked out where the better I got at it and the more comfortable I became it doing it, the more people would ask me to and then I would comply.

To each his own.

We all think what we think and we do what we do.

(whimsical music) Life is short, sweet, and you must be self entertaining.

You gotta find humor in everything because it's there.

And when we get to the end of the line, we're outta here.

So let's have fun in the process (whimsical music) That's what Gift wrapping is abo Having fun.

- Before we wrap up the show, I want to remind you of another way to learn about the arts in our region with Art Each week at pbsreno dot org slash art views, you can enjoy a new column that highlights local artists and special events.

These columns are written by professional arts leaders who share a deep passion for celebrating local art.

From music to ballet and more.

Entertain your curiosity about the arts with Art Views.

(upbeat band music) And that wraps it up for this edition of "Arteffects".

If you want to watch new "Arteffects" segments early, make sure to check out the PBS Reno YouTube channel and don't forget to keep visiting PBS reno dot org to watch complete episodes of "Arteffects".

Until next week, I'm Beth MacMil Thanks for watching.

- Funding for "Arteffects" is made possible by, Sandy Raffealli with Bill Pierce Meg and Dillard Myers, the Nevada Arts Council, Heidemarie Rochlin, in memory of Sue McDowell and by the annual contributions of PBS Reno Members.

(upbeat band music) (upbeat band music continues) (upbeat band music continues)