Classical music - and people, lots of them - invade Genoa

Parking spaces were a scarce commodity in Genoa on Tuesday.

As early as 8 a.m., blankets and chairs reportedly began sprouting on the lawn at Mormon Station State Park in Genoa. Around the same time, volunteers from the Sierra Philharmonic League arrived to prepare for their big Fourth of July event.

To many people, the Fourth of July is about barbecues and fireworks.

For more than 2,000 people, the Independence Day holiday was an excuse to head to Genoa for the 16th annual Pops in the Park.

"The atmosphere is so nice," said Tiffany Blakeman of Reno. "It's something different to do other than hang around the house barbecuing."

The red-white-and-blue clad, flag-carrying crowd, estimated between 2,000 and 3,000 strong, enjoyed classical and patriotic tunes from the Reno Philharmonic.

"It's like a Norman Rockwell painting - very typical of Americans," Renate McFarland, of Genoa Lakes said of the large number of families gathered at the event.

The shady park overflowed with families sitting on blankets, in chairs and on the grass, many enjoying a picnic.

Richard and Patricia Eisenberg brought their son, John, from Reno to experience "the old-town park atmosphere."

"This is so peaceful and beautiful," Patricia said. "It feels patriotic, and it's an easy family experience."

"This was the most appealing, relaxing and unique thing we could do today," Richard said.

The Sierra Philharmonic League was founded in 1983 in an attempt to bring a little musical culture to the Carson area and to provide support for the Reno Philharmonic. Before a crowd of 700 in 1984, Pops in the Park was born, bringing the tunes of Hayden, Brahms, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Beethoven to the Carson Valley. Tuesday, the event started with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the Star Spangled Banner and more stirring patriotic and classical tunes. A prayer offered gave thanks for peaceful communities, the freedom to "speak, worship and complain as we please. For each of us who enjoy these gifts, there are a thousand who do not."

"This is the stuff our nation is made of: families and song," said Katie Durbin, of Gardnerville.

Her granddaughter, Makenzie celebrated her first Fourth of July mostly by chewing on her fist and smiling at parents Bruce and Toni McDaniels of Carson City. This is the fifth year the McDaniels have headed to Genoa for the holiday.

"It's tradition," Toni said. "It's in one of the prettiest settings in Nevada. It's about families and you don't have to fight the crowds like you do at Lake Tahoe."

"This gives us a chance to celebrate America's freedom with everyone else who's doing it, too," Bruce said. "Besides, we get to have caviar, Brie and good wine."

Lynne Owens, of Gardnerville, said there wasn't "one damn thing she'd rather be doing."

"I love being outside. Where else can you get this much culture on the Fourth of July?" she asked.

Megan Lambert has been going to Pops in the Park in Genoa for almost as long as she can remember.

This year, the 13-year-old Gardnerville resident got to play two tunes on her violin with the Reno Philharmonic.

"I came here as a little kid and I got interested in classical music," she said. "This is wonderful. I feel excited, but a little nervous to play."

It costs the Sierra Philharmonic League about $20,000 to put on the free concert. A silent auction with 180 gifts from free violin lessons to beauty product-laden baskets help the group recoup the cost of the event.