Truckee’s October 2011 Historical Haunted Tour raised more than $9,000: $4,640 was donated to the Truckee Donner Historical Society and $4,640 to Trails & Vistas. This was possible based on record ticket sales and proceeds from a prize packed raffle that took place at Moody’s Bistro, the tour’s host sponsor.

Photo by Scott Thompson

The Historical Haunted Tour is an entertaining fundraising event that celebrates town history with a fun and spooky twist. During the walking tour, residents and visitors are guided to interesting sites where they hear engaging tales performed by talented singers and performers. The tour, scripted by the event beneficiaries (Trails and Vistas and the Truckee Donner Historical Society) skillfully weaves together previously untold stories from the past with dramatic and funny twists.

“The Historical Haunted Walking Tour has been successful in bringing
together two organizations with completely different missions and
molding their goals and philosophies into a wonderfully entertaining
program that brings Truckee’s sensational historical headlines
together with arts and culture to create an event that has people
coming back year-after-year,” explains Chelsea Walterscheid, President
of the Truckee Donner Historical Society. She adds, “The money raised
helps with our on-going preservation efforts.”

Trails and Vistas founder Nancy Tieken Lopez echoes Walterscheid’s
sentiment, “The tour offers a creative peek into Truckee’s rich
historical past. Proceeds support our mission to create the region’s
only art-hike, an exquisite experience that takes places in nature
every September.”

The Historical Haunted Tour began as a three-year experiment by
Sunshine Tahoe to build support for the two nonprofit organizations as
well as provide an economic boost to historic Truckee. In 2009, 70
tickets were available. The tour sold out three weeks in advance. One
hundred and forty tickets were offered the next year, and once again
the tour sold out weeks in advance. In 2011, all hands were on deck,
every resource was stretched to the max, and more than 290 tickets
were sold and there was a 60 person waitlist. More than $6,000 in
donated raffle items from The Richardson House, River Street Inn, Squeeze
In, KidZone Museum, The Pour House, Mark McLaughlin – The Storm King,
Scraps Truckee, Dorinda’s Cafe and Johnstone Studios significantly
contributed to the 2011 fundraising effort and provided exposure for
local businesses.

Stefanie Olivieri, owner of Cabona’s, the oldest retail store in
historic downtown Truckee, said, “It was a great experience personally
and a good opportunity for our business. Lots of people came in after
the tour and told us how much they enjoyed learning the history of our
business.” Olivieri confirmed that the event brought shoppers to her
business. Additional sites included Tourist Club, International Order
of Odd Fellows and Masonic Hall, Train Depot and Art Obsessions at
Truckee Mercantile.

Over 60 community volunteers make the tour possible. “Even our most
gracious thanks would not be enough to show them our appreciation to
help promote the dying art of oral history to help promote historic
preservation, local arts, dance and land stewardship,” explained
Walterscheid.

Event organizer Christina Stoever-Young of Sunshine Tahoe attributes
much of the tour’s success to the collaborating nonprofit
organizations and incredible talent and dedication offered by all of
the volunteers including performers and tour leaders. “We captivate a
crowd and tell them stories in a way they can hardly forget,” she
says.

Photo by Scott Thompson

Attendee Mary Taitano, a Reno resident, shares, “I’ve never thought of
Truckee as a historical exclamation point. However, the tour was
enlightening, engaging and entertaining. Who knew Truckee had as
sordid a past as the rest of us!? This quaint little town harbors
stories and family histories that would widen even the most unenthused
eyes.”

Volunteers, donors and attendees are encouraged to save the dates for
the next tour: Thursday, October 18 and Friday, 19, 2012. Tickets will
go on sale in August.

I must admit, he’s right.  LED screens are everywhere, selling products and promoting restaurants.  Even the local museums display dark booths that once held cashiers, only to be replaced by computer kiosks.   The technology is so vast that you need a user’s manual to navigate the toilet (no joke).

Now, according to a recent CNN Japan story, “Ads that Watch You” advertising is on the move – once again.  Imagine stopping to take a look at an advertisement, all the while the advertisement is looking at you.  The following is from a CNN Japan transcript:

“Here is how this works. When you walk up to the ad, a camera captures your image. The computer figures out if you are a man or a woman and your age. Meanwhile, an age and gender-specific ad rolls. This shows that I’m in my 30s and I like seasonal pasta. The computer then determines how interested you are, how long you stay. That data is then recorded for the company. NEC engineer Junko Amagai says the facial recognition technology is accurate to within 10 years of your actual age, and the next-gen system they are testing out is even more age accurate.”  CNN Business 360

It sounds as though we can expect testing to begin in the United States this spring.  As a marketer, I suspect this new technology will continue to reinvent modern media.  As an individual, I can only hope Christian Dior will not ‘guess’ my age to be older.  Hopefully the techie’s behind the beta’s will remember the old saying, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”