It was a great April in Deadwood – but this last day has brought on some snow! But don’t panic, it’s not a whole lot of snow, and it’s not sticking on the roads. Going to be a nice weekend to eat fine food, check out fine entertainment and play some fine games… and it’s all in Deadwood! Woo hoo!
Have a great weekend all!
Lee

Deadwood has teamed up with other Black Hills partners to give away 5 (FIVE!) vacations with a value of $4,000 each! What a deal if I do so say myself! Go to www.blackhills.travel for more information, and here’s the information a little more detailed:

Do you have an epic vacation story you’re willing to share? If so, you could win a free trip to South Dakota’s Black Hills this summer.

The Black Hills visitor industry and Kodak are sponsoring a contest called “Vacation Makeover: Destination Mount Rushmore.” All you have to do is tell us your best vacation tale – it can be funny, touching, adventurous or amusing, and from anywhere at all – and post it with photos or video at the Vacation Makeover website, www.blackhills.travel.

“We hope to bring out the inner travel writer in everyone. Over the years, we in Black Hills tourism have heard great stories from our visitors about their road trips, family vacations and outdoor adventures. We thought it would be fun to gather great tales like these into a single website,” said Brian Boyer, contest chairman. “And no matter what your story, we think the Black Hills can give you a more memorable travel experience. That’s why we’re offering a Vacation Makeover.”

The Black Hills, a million-acre playground in western South Dakota, is home to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Crazy Horse Memorial, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park and a number of other parks and attractions. It’s a magnet for mountain bikers, hikers, kayakers, family vacationers, RV campers and sight-seers.

For four lucky storytellers, we’ll not only tell you about the great opportunities here, we’ll show you. Online voting will determine the four best vacation stories. (We’re not averse to campaigning and influence peddling among friends. In fact, we’ll help bribe them. Everyone who votes will be eligible for a separate drawing to give away one additional Black Hills vacation.)

All five winners – the four top storytellers and the sweepstakes winner — will receive a free trip to South Dakota’s Black Hills this summer. They’ll also be given a Kodak Zx1 Pocket Video Camera, which they will use to film their Black Hills adventure. Back home, the winners will edit their Black Hills videos and post them on www.blackhills.travel. The winners’ videos could be shown on the Kodak Jumbotron giant-screen TV in New York City’s Times Square and on various social networking sites.

The contest is sponsored by the Black Hills Digital Strategies Group, the South Dakota Office of Tourism and Eastman Kodak Co. For details about Vacation Makeover: Destination Mount Rushmore, visit www.blackhills.travel.

…hope I haven’t spoke too soon… but, YEAH, spring is here! The weather hit the 70s last week, and weather in the 50s this week – it’s downright balmy! Snow is disappearing fast, and while we do love winter activities, winter can stay during its designated months.

So, yes, the meteorologists are predicting some wintery weather today through Friday – a little more snow, but the temps are going to be nice. And it’s really no surprise that a winter storm in the spring will hit us… but we’d like to see just one!

At any rate, weather is something we can’t control – but Deadwood is really hopping this spring. Lots of great things happening, and we are planning for another first-class summer. Get on out here!

Oh, and if you haven’t heard, Blood, Sweat & Tears will play the Deadwood Jam on Sept. 17. They join Collective Soul, John Eddie, John McEuen and many others on the stage this year, the 20th anniversary of the Deadwood Jam.

Add those great bands into our others lined up – Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand and John Michael Montgomery for Wild Bill Days; and The Platters and Sha Na Na for Kool Deadwood Nites; and music interests of all types will be in for a real treat this year in Deadwood! Visit www.deadwood.org for more information.

Until next time,
Lee

The weather was perfect, and the celebration drew thousands to Deadwood to participate in the annual St. Paddy’s weekend celebration. A poker run, pub crawl and parade highlighted the day, but live entertainment all over town throughout the day was not overshadowed!

And it’s not over yet!

Tomorrow (Wed., March 17, ST. PATRICK’S DAY) will be another, the official parade, starting at 5 p.m. The weather will again be gorgeous (60s!) so we can’t complain – come one, come all! It’s going to be a great day – and too Mother Nature – spring, you are very much welcomed!

Have a great week,
Lee

An odd combination, but both things are happening this week! St. Paddy’s Day celebrations kick-off on Saturday at noon, with the parade at 7 p.m. On St. Patrick’s Day proper, March 17, the parade will proceed on Deadwood’s Main Street beginning at 5 p.m. And if you want to be in either parade, we got room!

And Blackjack you say? We have got just the game for you — it’s all through text messaging (it’s free, but your carrier will charge you for the text messages you send/receive, unless you have unlimited texting – the game if free to play though!) .
Text the word PLAY to 88188. Follow the prompts and get to playing! At the end of the month, whoever has the highest amount of money in the bank (don’t worry, it’s not real money), will win great Deadwood prizes! The highest bank in March will win a free season ski pass to Mystic Miner!

Good luck and hope to see many of you this weekend!
Lee

Howdy!
Just a note to remind y’all of Chinese New Year in Deadwood!

The Chinese New Year Celebration in Deadwood on Saturday, March 6, 2010 traces its origin back to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. At that time Deadwood had the second largest Chinese population in the United States, second only to San Francisco, thanks to the opportunities such as work in the gold mines and on the railroads.

Today the culture of these proud people lives on in legend and memory in an event such as the Chinese New Year celebration, which has been held each year since 1990 at Miss Kitty’s Gambling Saloon/Chinatown Café at 649 Main Street in Deadwood.

Because the Chinese Lunar Calendar is 2,637 years older than ours, this is the year 4647 and it is the Year of the Tiger. People born in this year or in 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, or 1998 are forthright and sensitive, possess great courage.

There will be various demonstrations by nearby martial arts groups in Miss Kitty’s Casino at 1 p.m. Chinese cuisine will be available during restaurant hours (11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.) at the Chinatown Café.

Howdy:
It was a busy weekend in Deadwood! People from all over came to partake in Mardi Gras festivities – the parade was top notch and definitely a crowd pleaser! As were all festivities (which were led by King John Bonnett and Queen Carmella Biesiot) -

Winners of Saturday night’s parade:
Best Overall: Saloon #10
Best Mardi Gras Theme: Iowa’s Swamp Krewe
Best Lights: Mad Mountain Adventures
Best Business: Deadwood Gulch Gaming Resort
Community Spirit: Gold Dust/Hampton Inn-Four Aces
Mayor’s Choice: Towelie and Kenny

The Cajun cook-off was held at 8 locations around Deadwood, and the food was phenomenal – winners are:
1st: Four Aces Hotel and Casino
2nd: The Lodge at Deadwood
3rd: Gold Dust

There was also a Mardi Gras cake contest. Those winners:
Buttercream
Best Representation of Theme: Peggy Cook
Best Presentation: Peggy Cook
Originality: Mallory Everett

Fondant
Best Representation of Theme: Crystal Murray
Originality: April Brennan
Best Presentation: Desire Desimone

Next up is St. Patrick’s Day festivities! We’ll have a pub crawl, poker run, live entertainment and much more on Sat, March 13, and a parade at 7 p.m. On St. Paddy’s Day March 17, the annual parade will be held at 5 p.m. Don’t miss out!

Have a great week,
Lee

Wow, Mardi Gras is here! And the weather looks good, the floats are starting to come together, and beads are starting to come out of the wood work…

Allright! It’s Mardi Gras time!

We sure hope you can attend – if not be sure to watch it on the Web cams and show your support from afar!

Well, back to preparations – happy Mardi Gras week all!

Lee

Many of us here in South Dakota just returned from the South Dakota Office of Tourism’s annual conference, and we’re ready for 2010 even more!

Here in Deadwood, the return was greeted with a little snow, but for winter recreationists, the snow was needed – trails were getting a little bare. But now we should be set!

And MARDI GRAS is fast approaching too. We are gearing up for this wildly entertaining event – and we’re still looking for parade entries, so let us know!

Have a great week all,
Lee

It’s almost Mardi Gras time in Deadwood!!! This year’s event is Feb. 5-6, 2010, and registration is now open for the parades, Cajun cook-off and the Mardi Gras Cake Decorating Contest. Info on each event is below. Events are free to enter and open to everyone. Thinking about entering? Go for it!!!
A schedule of Mardi Gras 2010 events can be found at http://www.deadwood.org/DeadwoodEvents/MardiGras/ .

Parade Entries:
Mardi Gras parades will be held Friday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 6. Participation is open to everyone, it’s free and anything goes, so long as your float, vehicle, wagon, bike, or whatever you decide to decorate, is lit. The Saturday, Feb. 6 evening parade draws nearly 15,000 spectators annually, and it’s a great opportunity to showcase your business, or your individuality. The People’s Parade, which is held on Friday night, Feb. 5, is also open to anything, where floats for Saturday night are welcome, as are people simply walking down Deadwood’s Main Street.
Line-up for each night’s parade begin at 6:15 p.m. in the lower Main Street parking lot in Deadwood, with the procession beginning at 7 p.m. The parades will finish by 8 p.m. each evening.
All entrants in the parade are eligible to win over $1,500 in prize money.
Enter today by calling the Chamber at 578-1876 or email event coordinator Sarah Anderson at sarah@deadwood.org.
Cajun Cook-off:
Think you got the touch for Cajun cuisine? Register your property for the 2010 Mardi Gras Cajun Cook-Off! Open to all businesses and restaurants/executive chefs Deadwood-wide, this year’s cook-off will be held Saturday, Feb. 6 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Deadwood Chamber will provide each participating business with a box for small donations. All donations will go to a local charity.
Winners will be determined by anonymous judges. These judges will taste all of the dishes and will judge the creations on a variety of factors, including authenticity, presentation and overall taste. The judge’s votes will determine the winners.
Businesses should plan to prepare a minimum of 400, one-ounce samples of each dish.
Call the Chamber at 578-1876 to register or email Megan Sarratt at the Deadwood Chamber at megan@deadwood.org.

2nd Annual Mardi Gras Cake Contest:
Dazzle Deadwood with your cake decorating talent! The 2nd Annual Mardi Gras Cake Contest will be held on Saturday, Feb. 6 at the Lucky Nugget Gambling Hall.
Cakes need to be decorated to tie in to a Mardi Gras theme; they must be homemade and must be edible and they must be in a disposable container. They are also asking that no ice cream cakes be entered.
All cakes need to be brought to the Lucky Nugget on Main Street in Deadwood between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Judging will begin at 2 p.m. and winners will be announced at 4 p.m. The contest is open to everyone and participants will be divided into two categories – amateur and professional. There will be 3 winners in each category – Best presentation, best representation and most original. Winners will receive cash and ribbons.
To enter, contact Karen Everett at the Lead/Deadwood Arts Council at 584-1461.