Tahoe City, CA – Alpenglow Sports has teamed up with Tahoe Cross Country to present the first-ever Lake Tahoe Nordic Festival today through Sunday. All events are free, open to the public and take place at Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area in Tahoe City.

The three-day Lake Tahoe Nordic Festival will cater to one of the fastest growing cross-country regions in the United States – Lake Tahoe. While it is no secret that Lake Tahoe is a famous alpine skiing destination, the region also offers world-class Nordic skiing, and even played host to the Nordic events on the scenic West Shore during the 1960 Winter Olympics.

The festival kicks off tonight with a community-oriented party and film presentation by local athletes. An on-snow demo with all the latest and greatest in Nordic equipment from all industry brands will take place on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday are filled with technical and health clinics, group skis, historical snowshoe tours and race series.

The festival has gathered the local Nordic ski and snowshoe community to lead its clinics, groups skis and races, including Olympians Marcus Nash and Glenn Jobe, Far West Nordic Head Coach Ben Grassechi, Tahoe Peak Endurance’s Colleen Connors-Pace, Andy Pasternak and Julie Young of Silver Sage Sports Performance, Tim Hauserman of Tahoe Cross Country, Kara LaPoint of North Tahoe High School Nordic, and Peter Fain of Atlas Snowshoes. Local organizations Tahoe Institute for Natural Science and the Tahoe Rim Trail Association will also lead a Natural History Snowshoe Tour and Snowshoe Hike, respectively.

“We are excited to be hosting this first event at Tahoe Cross Country with Brendan and Alpenglow Sports,” said Kevin Murnane of Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area. “We have had a long standing partnership in Tahoe City promoting Nordic skiing together. The Lake Tahoe Nordic Festival will bring out the entire Nordic community to celebrate this great sport. Our goal is to offer something for everyone: from the complete beginner looking for a first lesson, to the veteran racer looking for the best equipment available, to the trail runner looking for a great snowshoe to help them stay fit in winter. When Brendan approached us with the idea of modeling this event after his successful Alpenglow Backcountry Festival and Demo Day, we jumped right in.”

A full schedule of events is available at www.tahoenordicfestival.com.