I love Sparks because…

Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off 

We now have proof that special events in Sparks, Nevada are incredibly important to citizens in the community!

The City of Sparks just finished the first phase of #IgniteSparks, the planning process to develop the 2030 vision statement for the community. The goal of the first round of surveys was to find opinions on what is important to citizens in the community, how the city should grow, and what should be included in the next master plan for Sparks. The initial phase was a year-long collection of surveys with the goal of finding answers to three very important questions.

The questions…

1. I love Sparks because…
2. My biggest concern for Sparks in the year 2030 is…
3. My wish to make Sparks better by 2030…

According to the Sparks Tribune, 743 survey responses were collected.  The results for the first question were no surprise to me.  The responses to I love Sparks because… 15.06% small town, 13.16 % community, and 10.04% events.  These are the main reasons I enjoy working in Sparks! I couldn’t agree with the responses more!

When people ask me about planning events in Sparks I tell them “We have small town charm and big city events.” We truly enjoy working with our friends at the City of Sparks during events season because there is a sense of community, it feels like a small town, and everyone is friendly. This survey really captures the City of Sparks greatest strengths, and something we should continue to grow and nurture.

It is no secret that the great people in Sparks take pride in their special events. I’m glad to see this is important to them and that it leads to civic pride. I hope they will continue to support special events in the future. There are many challenges on the horizon for event producers. Having support from the community is vital. The company I work for is interested in producing more events; we just need the support of the community to make them successful.

The next phase of #IgniteSparks will include a more detailed questionnaire that asks how the city should grow. If people love special events and want more of them it would be interesting to see what type of events they favor and enjoy attending. We look forward to seeing the feedback and hope it will help us as we develop new events and keep the legacy events that Sparks residents take pride in for future generations.

For more information about #IgniteSparks 2030 vision planning process please go to www.IgniteSparksNV.com/

Star Spangled Sparks Event Recap

Following a long tradition, this year the Nugget Casino Resort hosted the 16th Annual Star Spangled Sparks 4th of July fireworks show. This event was a tradition started under the Ascuaga family ownership of the Nugget Casino. The Nugget began hosting the fireworks show after several other shows in the area were canceled due to a lack of funding. Local legend is that John Ascuaga stood up after other fireworks shows were canceled and declared someone needed to provide fireworks, so he volunteered to put on the fireworks show to save the community’s Fourth of July celebration.

The fireworks were a success this year, we shot them at 9:49pm which was only a 4 minute delay. I’d call that show on-time. Not too shabby for a show with 5,000 pounds of fireworks. About 50,000 people filled Victorian Square to enjoy the FREE fireworks show. We had a good crowd this year. The police report for the annual event is usually about three pages long, this year it was only one page. Everyone enjoyed the show and the cooler weather helped keep everyone calm and relaxed.

Lisa Jansen & Lauren Garber talking about Star Spangled Sparks with Bill Frankmore on Fox 11 Morning Show

The weather was a little rough on us leading up to the event this year. Our pyro team had to work around the daily thunder storms. Turns out it is a little dangerous to put together explosives on the roof of a casino in thunder storms. The rain is also an issue. The techs couldn’t put the explosives together if they got wet. So the crew worked around the weather and then at the last minute we had additional pyro team members show up to help finish the last part of setup. It was a challenge but it all turned out well in the end. The event attendees enjoyed the show and were delighted with some of the new types of fireworks.

We are already making plans and discussing next year’s Star Spangled Sparks event. The event has become extremely expensive. It costs approximately $150,000 to host this event. We’ve been lucky to have sponsors help cover some of the expenses over the years, but in the end the Nugget has spent about $100,000 each year to make sure Reno/Sparks has a great fireworks show on the 4th of July. The Nugget plans to continue hosting Star Spangled Sparks, but is looking for more community support in the form of local business sponsorships.

Drone Video:

Director of PR Lauren Garber & Director of Special Events Lisa Jansen AKA Team #NuggLife

Next year the event will look quite different. There are two new housing developments going into Victorian Square that will change the look and feel of Star Spangled Sparks. The Nugget has worked with the City of Sparks on these developments and made a land-swap to guarantee there is still room for special events over the summer.

The community doesn’t acknowledge or appreciate it yet, but at some point they will wake up and realize the new owners of the Nugget are committed to supporting a vibrant downtown area and keeping special events alive in the old rail city. The new owners continue to donate to local causes and support the community, they may not have a public image like the Ascuagas with their involvement of these causes, but they are there in the background supporting area programs, special events, and charitable organizations. Both Star Spangled Sparks and the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off will continue to grow and be events locals can be proud of that make our community a great place to live.

If your company would like to become a sponsor of Star Spangled Sparks please contact me at Lisa.Jansen@NuggetResort.com