Last fall, Incline Village Main Street through IVCBA launched the “Dancing with Daffodils” community beautification campaign with a simple goal: bring more color, joy, and connection to our mountain community one bulb at a time.

Through the initiative, 7,000 daffodil bulbs were donated to community members, businesses, and volunteers throughout Incline Village and Crystal Bay. Residents planted bulbs in neighborhoods, along pathways, near businesses, and throughout community spaces before winter arrived.

Now, with spring in full bloom, the results are appearing all around town.

Bright yellow daffodils are popping up across Incline Village and Crystal Bay, creating cheerful reminders of the collective effort that went into making the community more vibrant and welcoming. Community members have been sending in photos of the blooms, showcasing the many places these flowers are now thriving.

The campaign is part of the broader beautification efforts led by Incline Village Main Street and IVCBA to enhance community pride, strengthen neighborhood connections, and create welcoming spaces for both residents and visitors.

“These blooms are such a great reminder of what small community actions can grow into,” said IVCBA. “Seeing the daffodils come up throughout town after a long Tahoe winter has been incredibly rewarding.”

Thank you to everyone who participated by planting bulbs, sharing photos, and helping bring this project to life.

The good news? Dancing with Daffodils will return again this fall, with plans to distribute even more bulbs throughout the community. Community members interested in participating are encouraged to stay tuned for announcements later this year.

Together, we’re helping Incline Village and Crystal Bay bloom brighter season after season. 🌼

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 04/29/2026, Written by Katelyn Welsh

The Incline Village roundabout at the intersection of Mount Rose Highway and Tahoe Blvd will soon undergo improvements.

Known for its bronze animals, the talent of local artist June Brown, the roundabout was installed in 2012 as part of the Nevada Department of Transportation’s effort to improve roadways on the North Shore.

Over the years, invasive plants have overrun the roundabout and irrigation issues have prevented planted perennials from thriving. The sculptures and the traffic circle, with its low-mound design, have also been subject to car crashes.

Improvements focus on the safety and aesthetics of the roundabout, including raising the mound, adding irrigation, and incorporating elements that reflect the Tahoe East Shore’s natural beauty, such as granite boulders, fir and aspen trees, and a succession of perennials.

The project represents a public-private collaboration with strong community involvement and fundraising efforts to bring the vision to life.

READ MORE >

It’s finally happening! The work on the Gateway Roundabout improvements started on Monday!  This is the cornerstone project for IVCBA’s Incline Village Main Street beautification program. How long have I been talking about this!

FW Carson, the contractor, is raising the mound at the roundabout to make it more visible to drivers. The next step will be to add nature’s own art, with iconic granite boulders, as the focal point of the roundabout. The boulders are donated by Realberry, the owner of the Cal Neva (under revitalization), and SMC/SNC, the contractor moving the boulders to the roundabout. The boulder placement is scheduled for next week. 

The original roundabout was installed by NDOT in 2014 with the bronze animals created by artist June Brown and paid for by various community members. The bronze animals will remain on the roundabout, but in a safer and more visible location. History of the Roundabout HERE

The new design will add irrigation to support a succession of blooming perennials from April to October. A fir tree and aspens, along with some shrubs, will also be installed. 

To address revitalization and beautification projects like this, IVCBA partnered with Main Street America and launched Incline Village Main Street.  It is supported by community members through the Sierra Giving Circle and by the fiscal partner, Incline Tahoe Foundation. Make charitable donations to beautification at inclinetahoe.org. Thanks to the many families and organizations that made the Gateway Roundabout improvements possible. 

INCLINE STAR FOLLIES THIS WEEKEND!

This is arguably the biggest single event to bring community members together with students from all of the schools. It is an hour-long lip-syncing show that will have you wondering, “How can I be in it next year?” And it’s for a good cause. Thanks to Mary Danahey and Sharon Shrage at Incline Education Fund and Kathie Goldberg and the Follies board for making it all happen.

LIKE WHAT YOU READ?

IVCBA is the Community and Business Association that promotes our local businesses and nonprofits, organizes community events, and produces the Weekly SnapShot!  If you are a subscriber and regular reader, please join as a Community Supporter for $50. If you are not a subscriber, do for free! Go to IVCBA.org. We are financially supported by our local agency “investors”, and our business community and residents. Please help! JOIN HERE

The gateway to Lake Tahoe from Reno begins at the intersection of Mt. Rose Highway and SR 28, where a traffic circle installed in 2012 directs visitors east to Incline Village and west to Crystal Bay. Washoe Tahoe is known as the “gem of Washoe County,” and the Gateway Roundabout is home to a collection of bronze animal sculptures created by renowned local artist June Brown.

Fourteen years later, enhancements are needed to improve both safety for visitors and the sculptures, as well as overall aesthetics. The Incline Village Main Street initiative is leading these improvements, with irrigation as a key component to support additional perennials and trees. Iconic granite boulders will be incorporated to reflect the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe’s east shore.

This project represents a true public-private collaboration, with strong community involvement, particularly in fundraising efforts, helping bring the vision to life.

History of the roundabout

In early 2007, the community was engaged in the Incline Visioning Process, where residents could share their ideas and plans for the future. Inspired by his cat Spumoni, resident Don Kanare envisioned a traffic circle as a means to solve the traffic problem at the intersection of Mt. Rose and Highway 28.  The idea was supported by the Infrastructure Committee, consisting of IVGID General Manager Gene Brockman and residents Bill Landry and Jim Nowlin. 

It took many years to bring the idea to fruition. After years of planning and hard work, the roundabout was constructed during the summer of 2012 as part of a major project by the Nevada Department of Transportation to improve roadways on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. 

History of the Bronze Sculptures

“The Gateway Committee, consisting of Jim Clark, Jim Nowlin, and Don Kanare, worked with the Parasol Community Foundation to raise funds to complete the project’s public art display. Together, with the help of Incline Village residents Lee Weber Koch and Janet Pahl, the group raised $110,000. F.W. Carson Co., a family-based Incline Village business, donated all the rocks and boulders on which the bronze statues are mounted today.

The roundabout features a significant public art display of life-size bronze sculptures by world-renowned sculptor June Towill Brown, of Incline Village. Local residents donated funds for the bronzes in honor of beloved pets, such as Don Kanare’s cat Spumoni. 

The most widely recognized bronzes are the black bear, the mule deer, and the bobcat. A coyote, raccoon, stellar jay, and squirrels inhabit the circle as well.

Native perennials were planted to complement the sculptures. 

Maintenance of the roundabout was undertaken by its original founders and subsequently by various community groups, including the Good Neighbors Committee of the Incline Village Realtors and the two Rotary clubs. When it became infeasible for the original Gateway Committee to manage maintenance, IVCBA, the community and business association, was asked to take over. Incline Property Management now does the maintenance clean up every spring pro bono.  IVCBA has responsibility for the bronzes. 

Incline Village Main Street

In early 2022, IVCBA joined the national and state Main Street organization to establish the Incline Village Main Street program. Its goal is to create a stronger identity for Incline Village that instills pride in its residents in this place we call home.  Placemaking and transformative strategies, beginning with beautification, will help revitalize the commercial areas of Incline Village. 

Inclined to Bloom was its first beautification project, adding hanging baskets to shopping centers and terra cotta pots to the bus shelters. The Dancing with Daffodils campaign last fall resulted in volunteers and property managers planting  7000 daffodil bulbs in high-visibility commercial areas.

For the last three years, Incline Village Main Street has quietly worked on a larger project to improve the Gateway Roundabout. Over time, invasive plants have overrun the roundabout. Lack of irrigation prevented the flowers from fully reaching their potential for blooming. The low-mounding design of the roundabout led to cars accidentally crashing into it, making the bronze sculptures an “endangered species”. Hence, the need for improvements 14 years later.

Gateway Roundabout Improvements

Improving esthetics to reflect the natural beauty of the East Shore and safety are the goals of the planned improvements. Iconic granite boulders, fir and aspen trees, and a succession of perennials are part of the new design. Irrigation will be installed to support the new plantings. The entire traffic circle  will be mounded higher to improve visibility. The bronze animal sculptures will be repositioned on the roundabout. 

Community input was gathered through Main Street focus groups and stakeholder meetings. The Incline Village Main Street design team, led by Linda Offerdahl, Christine Karnofsky, and Steve Porten, coordinated public input for the initial sketch. Dale Smith of Smith Design Group and Larry Wodarski of IPM are also on the design team. LA Studio Landscape Architects provided the final design. 

A critical step in the project was to bring Lefrancois Engineering on board as the Project Manager. Structural and engineering plans were developed by Mike Lefrancois. He has expertly steered those plans through NDOT, Washoe County, IVGID, and TRPA to secure permits for installation this spring.  

The construction bid was awarded to FW Carson, a local building contractor with expertise working with NDOT on public property. FW Carson was involved with placing the bronzes on the roundabout in 2012. They are highly engaged in our community and have been very generous with their donations to the project, including the foregoing of their profit. 

Washoe County and other agencies have worked hard and also made in-kind donations to the project.

Irrigation has been an important but troublesome component of the improvements. By working together, Washoe County and IVGID found a cost-effective way to deliver water to the roundabout for irrigation. Nevertheless, the project involves the contractor digging a trench to access the irrigation sleeve in place underneath the road. There is no need to open the road, thanks to NDOT’s foresight in 2012, when the roundabout was originally installed. 

NDOT has been a partner in this project from the beginning. They have had input into the design, ensuring it addresses safety issues. Although these improvements are welcomed by NDOT, they were not enough to justify the cost of making this an NDOT project. However, at the recommendation of NDOT Chief Tracy Thomason, traffic control is being handled by NDOT as an in-kind donation.

Other community donations

Iconic granite boulders are a key feature of the new design. A call to the VP of Engineering of Realberry, owner of the Cal Neva, resulted in the donation of 7 boulders to the project. SMC and SNC contractors on the Cal Neva project are donating the transportation of these boulders to the roundabout. FW Carson is donating the labor to place these boulders.

SIERRA GIVING CIRCLE

Private donations are the key funding source for the Gateway Roundabout improvements and other beautification projects. Charitable donations are given through partner Incline Tahoe Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. A Roots to Revitalization community dinner held last September raised over $230,000 for beautification projects in Incline Village Main Street. Subsequent donations have been considerable, but Main Street is seeking an additional $30,000 for the Gateway Roundabout.  Go to the IVCBA mainstreet page to make a donation: https://ivcba.org/programs/incline-village-main-street/roots-for-revitalization/

Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 10/21/2025, Staff Report

The Sierra Giving Circle is being launched to fund beautification projects in Incline Village. IVCBA’s Incline Village Main Street program spearheads these projects and partners with Incline Tahoe Foundation to accept charitable donations from the community to fund them. Beautification supports IVCBA’s mission of “building cohesiveness for the sustainability of Incline Village and Crystal Bay. Its vision is of a “thriving community that supports and is supported by its agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and residents.”

An inaugural Roots to Revitalization dinner jump-started the campaign, raising over $200,000, which includes a 100% match from one of the donors. The goal is to raise $500,000 over the next two years. Incline Village Main Street is supported by Washoe County and collaborates with NDOT and other agencies as needed to implement beautification projects.

Incline Village Main Street’s premier project is improvements to the Gateway Roundabout, which was originally constructed in 2012. It is located at the intersection of Mt. Rose Highway and Highway 28 and is the “gateway to Lake Tahoe” from Reno, leading to Incline Village/east shore and Crystal Bay/north shore communities. Initial plans have been submitted to NDOT by project manager Lefrancois Engineering. Improvements will address safety and aesthetic issues with iconic granite boulders, vegetation, and a succession of perennial flowers supported by irrigation.

READ MORE >

OCTOBER UPDATE

Incline Village Main Street is a revitalization and redevelopment program affiliated with Nevada Main Street as well as Main Street America. Its strategic priorities are economic vitality, civic engagement, and community initiatives. It is organized under the auspices of the IVCBA community and business organization. Go to IVCBA.org/programs/mainstreet for more information.

“Our community deserves a revitalized look that reflects the natural beauty of our environment….Together we create a thriving community that benefits everyone.” Linda Offerdahl, Executive Director

The Sierra Giving Circle has been launched to fund beautification projects. An inaugural dinner, Roots to Revitalization, jump-started the campaign, raising over $100,000 that was matched by one of the donors, for a total of $200,000+.  This funding will be used for the Gateway Roundabout Improvements and community projects such as the “gathering place” at Crosbys.

A newsbrief about the Sierra Giving Circle will be released shortly, with a call for more donations from the community. Charitable donations are tax deductible as allowed by law through our partner Incline Tahoe Foundation, EIN 27-0823168. 

To join the Sierra Giving Circle, go to inclinetahoe.org/sierracircle. 

Checks may be sent to Incline Tahoe Foundation, 948 Incline Way, Incline Village, NV 89451.

DANCING WITH DAFFODILS

Planting fall bulbs for early spring blooming is the latest project for Inclined to Bloom. Our goal is to plant 15,000 yellow daffodil bulbs. We will be reaching out to our network of property managers and landscapers, but residents are encouraged to buy bulbs and plant them themselves along some of our downtown streets that could use beautification. To volunteer to plant bulbs, please reach out to Linda@IVCBA.org. To help us buy 15,000 bulbs, donate at Incline Tahoe Foundation – Inclined to Bloom.

NORTHERN LIGHTS HOLIDAY LIGHTING

IVCBA installed holiday lighting along Tahoe Blvd in 2021 as part of Northern Lights, a month-long celebration in December. Now in our fifth year, we maintain these lights for Holiday Lighting and look for new lighting opportunities. A lighting contest encourages businesses and residents to decorate! To help us light up the Village, please donate to Incline Tahoe Foundation – Northern Lights

GATEWAY ROUNDABOUT IMPROVEMENTS

Gateway Roundabout Improvements project is moving forward with NDOT. Preliminary(30%completion) plans have met with only minor changes from NDOT!

WALKABILITY

A “gathering place”, complete with Adirondack chairs, has been created below Crosby’s in Christmas Tree Village, thanks to Russell Jones, owner of Crosby’s,  Tony Robinson, property manager for Christmas Tree Village, and High Sierra Gardens.

Inclined to Bloom successfully beautified Incline with hanging baskets and terra cotta pots at the bus shelters(thanks to Rotary.)

I want to thank everyone for their support. When the agencies see community support like this, they want to be helpful. We garnered feedback and ideas for over a year before deciding to move forward with the Gateway Roundabout improvements. Businesses have been so cooperative with Inclined to Bloom; what Crosbys/Christmas Tree Village has done is inspiring others as well.  Stay tuned!