Chang's Before I Die consists of murals that are approximately 40 feet wide by eight feet tall. Walls are painted with black chalkboard paint. Stenciled on the walls is the phrase "Before I Die I want to __________," dozens of times. Using the chalk provided, people may write in their response to the prompt. The resulting completed phrases vary greatly, reflecting the diversity of the participating individuals. The phrases are playful, somber, hopeful, healing, joyful, introspective, humorous, moving, and everywhere in between, but all hold the commonality of poignant honesty.

"This is the sixth art installation to come to Reno through the collaboration of the Civic Art Program of the Black Rock Arts Foundation, the affiliate non-profit art organization of Burning Man, and The City of Reno Arts and Culture Commission. Through their funding, generous support by the Sierra Arts Foundation and collaborations with the Nevada Museum of Art and the Black Rock Design Institute, Before I Die" supports the mission of the Reno Arts program to involve its citizens in the community's cultural life and encourage artistic excellence," said Maria Partridge, Reno project liaison for BRAF and Advisory board member.

"We believe the exhibition of Before I Die" in two different locations in downtown Reno will serve the community by enhancing civic space through the temporary transformation of a chain link fence into an interactive community art project." said Crimson Rose, Board Member for the Black Rock Arts Foundation and Art Director for Burning Man.

One location will be at the McKinley Arts Center, the other downtown.

Would you like to learn more about the project and meet the artist and talk about her project directly? Candy Chang will talk to a public audience at the Nevada Museum of Art about her work, her life experiences, and the meaning of the project. The lecture will be tailored specifically to the audience to the Nevada Museum of Art, and to the themes emphasized at the Center for Art and Environment.

Black Rock Arts Foundation and Black Rock Design Institute Presents:

Candy Chang Before I Die
May 17, 2012, 5:00 P.M 7:00 P.M.
Nevada Museum of Art
160 West Liberty Street
Reno, NV 89501

To purchase tickets, and for more information about the event, visit www.nevadaart.org/visit/eventcalendar

The Baker's Dozen - $1300
They are looking for 13 people to give at this level.
Benefits include: physical recognition in their new home, Season Tickets to their 2013 season and a special thank you event to open their new space. Click here to give at this level securely through PayPal.

Baker's mini-Dozen - $130
Benefits include: physical recognition in their new home, and a Flex-5 Pass to their 2013 Season. Click here to give at this level securely through PayPal.

Or give whatever you can, by clicking here. They also invite you to mail a check to Good Luck Macbeth, PO Box 2729 Reno, NV 89505 or leave a little something in one of their donation envelopes included with their show programs.

I was surprised though not find a word about it on RTC Washoe's web site. You'd think it would warrant a little news release or something.

So on the eve of my seven-year anniversary of promoting downtown and now midtown, it's only proper I take this gig to the next level! So I present to you, one of the coolest apps to hit Reno in a while - Downtown Reno for iOS.

This app was born out of a necessity to push downtown and midtown on a new platform and appeal to the iGeneration. Click here to get the app!

Much to the disappointment of downtown's harshest critics and curmudgeons, after ten years of consistent downtown redevelopment, downtown Reno and the midtown corridor are now the go-to-places for the most creative drinks, the best eats, and some of the best shows in the region. Whether you like comedy, punk or the Reno philharmonic, they're all within the biggest little downtown.

Designed and maintained by people who have lived and worked downtown for over 10 years, this app features all of the core neighborhoods to explore including downtown Reno, the Riverwalk, California Avenue, East 4th Street and Midtown. This isn't a generic pay-to-play guide that lists any business willing to pay up; these are places we have been to, frequent, and would take our friends to. Some of the app features include;

• Almost exclusively locally owned businesses! Are you new to the area or visiting and like to shop local? Discover the best shops, eats, and drinks. Skip the fast food this time, I'll show you where Reno's foodies gather.

• Calendar! Add each event to your personal iPhone/Google calendar. See where each event is happening with map features, and you can share each event on Twitter/Facebook without leaving the app. It's the same calendar that is on downtownmakeover.com. If you add the event to my web site, it will be pushed to the app to. Want to add an event? Use my form here! Event-approval is moderated of course, but I check at least once every two days for new events.

• Be an adventurer! Designed with the urban explorer in mind, our color-coded icon map guide will help you easily differentiate restaurants, bars, attractions and entertainment venues. Discover the hottest concert venues, where they are, and what's happening at them in just a couple clicks. A fully integrated calendar and guide shows you what's happening at each venue as you browse through the guide.

• Transit Map to guide you to the best parking spots, bus stops and downtown bike racks. There are three main bus routes to connect you to all of Reno's downtown districts. For visitors, we'll direct you to downtown's primary transit station where you can catch the RAPID line to Midtown for some of the best boutique shopping in town. This is the newest section of the app, and might be a bit thin on map locations but I'll be adding new content weekly.

• Weekly and daily content updates – No need to update the app to see what's new and hip, venues are added to the map as we (or you) discover them.

This app was born out of a love for this beautiful community we live in, work in and visit, and as a big thank you to the businesses this development team knows and loves; the places that make this community so cool. It's designed by locals for those who wish to discover the underlying current that makes Reno special.

Features:
• Designed and maintained by local Renoites
• Retina ready for crisp images on retina ready devices
• Multitask support
• Optional landscape support
• Metric/Imperial unit support
• Share calendar events on Facebook and/or Twitter
• Save calendar events to iCal
• Readability mobilizer support
• 100% dynamic content
• Completely Ad-free

Attention Business Owners

If you are located in midtown/downtown and would like to be featured in my guide, it doesn't cost you a thing! Just contact me and then be prepared to send me a few high resolution photos of your business when I reply back. I'll probably end up stopping by as well, say hi, make sure you really exist etc.

There will be hand made crafts from local artisans, raffle prizes, and local seedlings for your garden from local farmers. It will be the healthiest block party in town!

Before I get into how cool the visitors center is, a special hats-off to Scott, whom unbeknownst to many, did most of the work hands-on, both politically and physically, including construction of fixtures and the wicked-cool Airstream photo booth.

The Reno Tahoe Visitors Center is located at 135 North Sierra Street. You can't miss the bright orange sign and Reno-Tahoe logo.

Upon walking to the rear of the visitors center, the first thing I noticed was the shiny silver Airstream trailer which serves as a fun campy photo-opp for the traveling explorer or explorer-at-heart. Lining the walls and display cases are everything northern Nevada. Seriously. From ghost tours to free bike maps for the Reno area outlining bike routes, to zip line tours in Tahoe, there is a lot do experience see and taste in this region. Thumbing through the various brochures, I was amazed at how much I have missed out in right on my own backyard. This goes way beyond your standard rack of sightseeing brochures. Want to go on a self-guided tour of some of Reno's coolest art installations? No prob, there's info on that. How about boarding on some sand dunes? Ever wonder who the tour companies are who drive people up to Mayberry to raft down the Truckee River? You can find them here. If you think Reno is out of touch with hipness, then you obviously haven't discovered downtown's Segway tours, which you can also find info for in the visitors center.

Beyond brochures, you can also find Aces and Wolfpack gear, Reno Envy's high quality clothing lines, and Nevada-centric books for sale on all subjects, from Native American history to scenic Tahoe guidebooks.

If you're new to Reno, stopping by the visitors center is a must ....because it's not just for visitors. Stepping into this center and being surrounded with so many entertainment and adventure possibilities, I was reminded of why I love living exactly where I'm at; walking distance to the Riverwalk Dining District and midtown, a 45 minute drive to some of the best ski resorts in the country and the most beautiful lake I've ever set eyes upon, and then just a short drive to explore historic Fort Churchill, or Virginia City, or scouting out the perfect desert hot springs.

In a recent post, I introduced you to the Reno Dining District, formed by the Riverwalk Merchant's Association to highlight the new dining options along the river corridor. One of the first events they are rolling out as an official dining district is the Dine the District Food Tour on Saturday, June 9th 2012. Not only will you have an opportunity to enjoy a variety of culinary delights from the best restaurants in the Reno area, you will be supporting continued development of the Riverwalk District. Just like the Wine Walk, redeem tickets by presenting receipt to a participating merchant during the day of the event, you will receive a food tour map as your formal admission to the self-guided tour.

PARTICIPATING MERCHANTS AS OF MAY 3:

Wild River Grille, Java Jungle, West St. Wine Bar, Pie Face Pizza Company, Old Granite Street Eatery, 5 Star Saloon, Campo, Fuego for Tapas & Vino, Bumble Bee Blooms, Imperial Bar & Lounge, Sierra Tap House, Beaujolais Bistro...and more to come!

Events like the Food Walk, and forming a real dining district that transcends hype, are positive steps that solidify downtown as a neighborhood and a place you want to check out. Make sure you follow the dining district on Facebook for more information on this event as June nears.

The Hill Street Grill is being branded as 'Charlie Palmer 2.' I kid, though that is not far from the truth. The quaint little restaurant located on Hill Street located a block west of Old Granite Street Eatery is in the midst of a major makeover. The restaurant has new partners, including two longtime Charlie Palmerites Joel Giandalia and James Bukowski, plus a new chef, David Stern. With a new menu and name in the works as well, keep an eye on the corner of Ridge and Hill Streets, lots of good things happening.

Food Truck Friday

Food Truck Friday is tomorrow! Join all your favorite food trucks at the corner of 4th and Center Streets for an evening of family fun including the Tumblebus for the kids, your fave food trucks including GourMelt, DishTruck, Sauce Wagon and more. The fun starts at 6pm, get there early to avoid the lines!

The Montage

The Montage has closed on its second penthouse sale with another one in escrow, which would make three penthouse sales. The 'Tage has now sold 161 units and more and more people move back to the center of the city.

Liberty Street RAPID Station

The Liberty Street RAPID station in front of the Nevada Discovery Museum on Center Street is looking good!

South Center Station Landscaping Complete

The South Center Street RAPID station across the street from Junkee's shows off its new drought-tolerant landscaping. While some might have preferred the large circular flower bed that was once here surrounded by grass, the new landscaping is more appropriate for the region.

New Dollar Store for West of Wells

Just south of Holcomb and Burns, and odd little renovation project has been going on. What used to be a code-nightmare 4-plex is being converted into a small neighborhood dollar store that won't be selling packaged liquor or crack pipes. Yay! No crack pipes is always a bonus. The store is being described to me as a 'true convenience store for the neighborhood, selling various items for the home.'

New Stewart Street Duplex Gets Landscaping

The multi-colored fence is an interesting Arts & Crafts touch, and I like the metal accent grid on the structure. The two units have true lofts and super tall living room ceilings that stretch up two floors.

And below are a couple shots of the new duplex on Stewart Street in the West of Wells area. The two units have actual lofts.