Alpenglow Sports and Tahoe Cross Country will present the first annual Lake Tahoe Nordic Festival, Friday through Sunday, February 8th - 10th, 2013, with a full weekend of parties, presentations, demos, clinics, tours and competitions.

The Lake Tahoe Nordic Festival is a three-day event that will highlight one of the fastest growing cross-country regions in the United States. While it is no secret that Lake Tahoe is a famous alpine skiing destination, the region is also home to world-class Nordic skiing. With multiple cross-country ski resorts and hundreds of kilometers of groomed trails, Lake Tahoe serves up some of the finest Nordic skiing in the United States.

Friday evening, December 8th kicks off the festival with a community-oriented party and film presentation by local athletes. On Saturday, nordic enthusiasts of all skill levels can participate in an on-snow demo day with all the latest Nordic equipment from numerous industry brands. And, on both Saturday and Sunday, there will be technical and health clinics, group ski events, historical snowshoe tours and races. All events are FREE and open to the public, and take place at Tahoe Cross Country.

The festival organizers have invited notables from the local nordic ski and snowshoe community to lead its clinics, groups skis and races, including olympians Marcus Nash and Glenn Jobe, Far West Nordic Head Coach Ben Grassechi, Tahoe Peak Endurance’s Colleen Connors-Pace, Andy Pasternak and Julie Young of Silver Sage Sports Performance, Tim Hauserman of Tahoe Cross Country, Kara LaPoint of NTHS Nordic, and Peter Fain of Atlas Snowshoes. Local organizations Tahoe Institute for Natural Science and Tahoe Rim Trail Association also lead a Natural History Snowshoe Tour and Snowshoe Hike, respectively.

"We are excited to partner with Alpenglow Sports to host this first annual event at Tahoe Cross Country," said Kevin Murnane of Tahoe Cross Country. "The festival will offer something for everyone, from the complete beginner looking for a first lesson, to the veteran racer looking for the best equipment available, to the trail runner looking for a great snowshoe to help them stay fit in winter."

The Lake Tahoe Nordic Festival has been made possible through a grant from the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, as well as the partnerships with Atlas Snowshoes, Fischer, Leki, Madshus, Rossignol, Salomon, Swix, Toko, Silver Sage Sports Performance, Tahoe Peak Endurance, Tahoe Rim Trail Association, Far West Nordic, Sugar Pine Cakery, Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships, Tahoe Institute for Natural Science, and Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue.

For details, registration, and a complete event schedule, stop in to Tahoe Cross Country or Alpenglow Sports, or visit www.tahoenordicfestival.com.