‘Passport’ presents the awesomeness of Carson City

Just in time to celebrate the awesomeness of Nevada, Carson City decided to give residents a taste of just how great the capital city is.

Friday, to kick off Nevada Day festivities, the Downtown Business Association hosted its second Passport to Downtown Carson City event. This event brought residents downtown to visit all of the local businesses.

You start off the tour by getting your own passport booklet and the goal is to get a stamp from all 48 businesses in the downtown area participating. So I went on a hunt to get my ticket punched at all the businesses participating.

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful fall day, warm enough for just a sweater as you strolled the streets with hundreds of fellow Carson City residents.

As a woman who gets out into downtown fairly regularly I thought I knew all that the area had to offer, but I was wrong. That was the best part about the Passport event: getting to discover new or “new” businesses that I hadn’t ever been to, let alone even heard of.

One of my favorite new finds was the Treasure Mountain Apparel, a little shop near Curry and Sophia.

I went in to find a cute little boutique filled with clothes, jewelry and handbags in the main room and a printing shop in an adjacent room. As I browsed (fell in love) and chatted with the owner, I found out this shop had been here for nearly four years, but I would have never discovered it if not for this tour.

But I think that’s exactly what the Passport event was meant to do, it was meant to get people to go to more than just the same three shops and restaurants we are all accustomed to going to and showing us how expansive the downtown area has become.

And for new shops it was a way to show people that they are now in Carson City. The DV8 hair salon had only been open for three weeks before the event Friday, yet they had potential new clients coming into their doors making appointments right away.

Samantha Smith, co-owner of the new Neon Salt shop — a DIY store never seen in Carson before — said people were looking specifically for her shop on Telegraph because the passport books directed them to her store.

“We needed to get our name out there and make sure people knew we were coming and hopefully get excited about it,” Smith said.

Many Carson City residents wouldn’t know that her store used to be the Nevada Day store and may not see it if they didn’t frequent Telegraph Street. But now they do.

“I think it’s awesome that Carson City gives people the opportunity to do this,” Smith said.

(P.S. if you want to check out their shop, it opens Nov. 11.)

And even if you were one of the more informed Carson City residents and did in fact pay attention to everything coming to Carson, one, props to you. But more importantly, hopefully it gave you the chance to take in and appreciate how much growth has happened downtown over the last year.

For some residents, that was the best part of the stroll.

“We got to check out some new stores and some new galleries ... but I think its awesome that Carson City and downtown have come a long way,” said Jennifer Summers. “It is a great and welcoming place for families but also a great nightlife for adults too.

So, hopefully those who participated enjoyed the weather, the people and the free goodies along the way and those who didn’t get a chance to come out, I would definitely recommend it next year.

Because this weekend is all about celebrating the greatness of Nevada and the greatness of the little capital city nestled in the valley and there is no better way to do that than to just get out and explore.