600 cars to cruise Minden for Hot August Nights event

MINDEN - Six-hundred custom cars participating in the 19th annual Hot August Nights Poker Run, are scheduled to make a lunch stop in Minden today.

The event will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Minden.

Classic cars will be parked diagonally up and down Esmeralda Street for viewing.

"We are excited to bring Hot August Nights to Carson Valley," said Lisa Voss, tourism manager for the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Authority, which is sponsoring the event. "We know Hot August Nights participants will enjoy a chance to spend time in the magical Carson Valley."

Carson Valley Inn, Historian Inn and the town of Minden are co-sponsors of the event.

The Valley Cruisers Car Club will assist with parking, the Lions Club will be serving food and drink, the Douglas High School Varsity Cheer Squad will be selling ice cream and The Bank Parlor & Pub Restaurant will feature a chili dog special. Barone & Reed will have shrimp cocktails, as well as their regular lunch menu.

Bill McClain's Mobile Music will provide music throughout the day.

Esmeralda and Fourth streets will be closed throughout downtown Minden from Fourth Street to the Minden Park.

Classic cars will make their way to the Carson Valley as part of the more than 5,000 entrants in the nationally recognized Hot August Nights, an annual event that takes place this year July 30 through Sunday at various locations throughout Reno.

The 110-mile, five-stop poker run begins at the Atlantis in Reno, goes through South Lake Tahoe, making a stop for the second card at the Hard Rock Café in Harvey's and then parades over Kingsbury Grade to Minden where the lunch stop will take place in Minden for the fifth consecutive year.

The custom rods head back to Reno for the fourth and fifth stops to complete their poker run hand. More than $5,700 will be awarded to the top three hands including a $3,000 first prize.

For information, call the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Authority at 782-8144 or go to visitcarsonvalley.org