Volunteer Event: Garden Cleanup
2026-04-10 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Gertrude’s Garden, 1450 Hwy 88, Minden, NV, 89423, United States
Come volunteer with us! We will be preparing the garden for the upcoming season. Tasks will include weeding, pruning, and general grounds cleanup.
UNR Extension will demonstrate the proper care and techniques to use while maintaining the garden through the spring and summer months. Anyone interested in volunteering in the garden is highly encouraged to attend this event. Please wear comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes, and bring your own gardening tools (gloves, pruners, trowels, etc.).
NEW VOLUNTEERS: If interested in volunteering for this event, please call the office at 775-783-9417 or email us at director@dangberg.org. Douglas County encourages all volunteers to comply with a standard background check. That process can be initiated here: Volunteer Interest Form.
CURRENT VOLUNTEERS: If interested in volunteering for this event, please let us know by contacting the office or on SignUp.

Volunteer Event: Spring Cleanup Day
2026-04-11 10:00 - 16:00 | Dangberg Home Ranch House, 1450 Hwy 88, Minden, NV, 89423, United States
Volunteer with us! Let’s get the house ship-shape for the upcoming season. We’ll be cleaning the house, inside and out, from top to bottom!
The Dangberg Home Ranch will provide cleaning rags, buckets, brooms, and mops. Tasks will include: Dusting, sweeping, mopping, carpet cleaning, and window washing. Volunteers are welcome to bring whatever cleaning tools they would like to contribute. Please, no chemical cleaners! Please also wear comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes. Assignments will be given out upon arrival.
NEW VOLUNTEERS: If interested in volunteering for this event, please call the office at 775-783-9417 or email us at director@dangberg.org. Douglas County encourages all volunteers to comply with a standard background check. That process can be initiated here: Volunteer Interest Form.
CURRENT VOLUNTEERS: If interested in volunteering for this event, please let us know by contacting the office or on SignUp.

Volunteer in Gertrude's Garden
2026-04-22 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-04-29 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-05-06 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-05-13 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-05-20 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-05-27 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-06-03 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-06-10 08:30 - 09:30 and 4 more dates | Gertrude’s Garden, 1450 Hwy 88, Minden, NV, 89423, United States
Come volunteer with us in Gertrude’s Garden! Master Gardeners from UNR Extension work with us every week, on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 to 9:30. Bring your gardening gloves and come join them!
This weekly garndening effort includes such tasks as watering, weeding, and pruning. Please bring your preferred gardening tools with you and wear closed-toed shoes. There is no potable water on site, so please also bring a water bottle.
NEW VOLUNTEERS: If interested in volunteering in Gertrude’s Garden, please call the office at 775-783-9417 or email us at director@dangberg.org. Douglas County encourages all volunteers to comply with a standard background check. That process can be initiated here: Volunteer Interest Form.
CURRENT VOLUNTEERS: If interested in volunteering for this event, please let us know by contacting the office or on SignUp.

Open House
2026-05-02 10:00 - 16:00, 2026-06-06 10:00 - 16:00 | Dangberg Home Ranch House, 1450 Hwy 88, Minden, NV, 89423, United States
Drop in to visit the Dangberg Home Ranch house! The Home Ranch house, which was built between 1857 and 1917, was home to four generations of of the Dangberg family. Come see how they lived and what home on the ranch was really like.
The house will be open from 10am to 4pm for self-guided tours, and docents will be onsite to answer your questions. Visitors are welcome to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the grounds after visiting the house. This event is free and open to all.

Youth and Family: Kite Flying Weekend
2026-05-16 10:00 - 14:00 | Festival Tent
“Go Fly a Kite” takes on an entirely new meaning when you join our Kite Flying Weekend which has been a Youth and Family Event for well over a decade here at Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park.
Professional kite flying enthusiasts, Reina and Cameron Kauffman return to the park once again, to bring their colorful, big, bright and beautiful assortment of kites to share with the community. That’s right, they want YOU to fly them yourselves!
You can bring your own kites to fly however, kite kits will be available to youngsters to decorate and fly themselves. We’ll also have crafts and big bubbles for youngsters to “blow” into the calm atmosphere.
Bring a picnic lunch and plan to stay awhile. Sometimes Mother Nature can be tricky, but we have a Plan B for no wind!
If you can’t make it today, don’t worry, we’ll be holding the same event tomorrow from 10am- 2pm.
Cost: Free

Youth and Family: Kite Flying Weekend
2026-05-17 10:00 - 14:00 | Festival Tent
“Go Fly a Kite” takes on an entirely new meaning when you join our Kite Flying Weekend which has been a Youth and Family Event for well over a decade here at Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park.
Professional kite flying enthusiasts, Reina and Cameron Kauffman return to the park once again, to bring their colorful, big, bright and beautiful assortment of kites to share with the community. That’s right, they want YOU to fly them yourselves!
You can bring your own kites to fly however, kite kits will be available to youngsters to decorate and fly themselves. We’ll also have crafts and big bubbles for youngsters to “blow” into the calm atmosphere.
Bring a picnic lunch and plan to stay awhile. Sometimes Mother Nature can be tricky, but we have a Plan B for no wind!
Cost: Free

Youth and Family: Gertrude's Summer Garden
2026-06-06 10:00 - 12:00 | Festival Tent
This summer we are happy to once again include the gardeners from the Heritage Park Garden Committee, to share their gardening expertise with our local youth and their families.
Garden kits, a scavenger hunt and other activities, and a visit with 4-H youth of “Home Means Nevada”.
Please join us to learn about gardening practices that Gertrude Dangberg and her daughters Margaret and Katrina used, and to view the beautiful gardens that you see today at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park.
Cost: Free

Chautauqua - "Sally Ride"
2026-06-10 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
“Celebrating the American Spirit”

SALLY RIDE- REACH FOR THE STARS! Award-winning actress and Smithsonian Scholar Mary Ann Jung returns to Dangberg Historic Park to present her show SALLY RIDE-REACH FOR THE STARS! This lively program has delighted audiences at the Kennedy Space Center and the National Air and Space Museum. Blast off for adventure with Dr. Sally Ride, America’s first female astronaut, and learn about her journey and its challenges.

Cost: $15, 16 years and younger – Free

The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua Workshop
2026-06-11 10:00 - 11:30 | Festival Tent
$50 (all ages)
Includes tickets to all Chautauqua events. Please register in advance by contacting events@dangberg.org.
Mary Ann Jung, award-winning actress, Chautauquan and Smithsonian scholar will present a workshop designed to help Chautauquans and re-enactors add animation and personality to their characters, helping bring them alive and make them memorable.
This year Ms. Jung will also focus on blocking as well as other ways to make a character come to life and engage the audience.

Concert - Old West Trio
2026-06-18 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
Old West Trio returns to the park to play songs of the cowboy: three voices, two guitars, and a stand-up bass bring Western harmonies and plenty of fun.
Cost: $20, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Speaker - "Virginia & Truckee Railroad from Carson City to Minden"
2026-06-20 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
CLG, National and State Register of Historic Places Coordinator – Architectural Historian, Jean-Guy Tanner Dubé will talk about the V&T Railroad Branch Line between Carson City to Minden with its associated depots and stops such as Stewart School. He will also include a short discussion of the National Register Program and how the public can nominate buildings.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Ranji Smile"
2026-06-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
“Celebrating the American Spirit”
Ranji Smile was an immigrant to the United States who came from British India and quickly rose to great heights as a flamboyant and talented chef. He introduced Indian flavors to the Western palette in the early 20th Century and was the darling of high society for a few years. He may have been America’s first celebrity chef!
Roopa Mohan trained as a volunteer storyteller and docent for school groups at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco where she tells folktales around objects in the museum’s extensive collection. Mohan has expanded her repertoire, and now enjoys sharing personal narratives, tall tales, portrayals, myths, and legends she heard growing up in South India. She enjoys engaging her audience and enhancing her often braided stories with mudras, Indian dance gestures.
Cost: $15, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Mary Preston - Part 2"
2026-06-26 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
“Made in Nevada”
Nancee Goldwater returns to the park to share the second half of her grandmother’s story. Her grandmother Mary Preston grew up in the mining town of Bodie. She will share her experiences during the 1920s census in Bodie. Goldwater is a long-time member of Douglas County Genealogy Group and an enthusiast of local history.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Speaker - "The Donner Party: Weathering the Storm"
2026-06-27 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
Author and historian Mark McLaughlin returns to the park to speak on his book The Donner Party: Weathering the Storm and the history of the ill-fated pioneers.
Educated as an historian and cultural geographer at the University of Nevada, Reno, Mark McLaughlin has lived at Lake Tahoe since 1978. He has more than 650 articles published in regional and national publications such as Sierra Heritage, Wild West, Skiing Heritage, Nevada in the West, and Weatherwise. His work has also been published in the Reno News & Review, Issues in Science & Technology, and the Grolier Educational Science Annual encyclopedia.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Youth and Family: Young Chautauqua Camp
2026-06-30 10:00 - 12:00 | Festival Tent
Children can learn how to bring their favorite historical character to life with help from Mary Bennett of the Brüka Theatre in Reno. Local adult Chautauquans will also share research tips and costuming tips too.
Cost: Free

Concert - First Take featuring Rick Metz
2026-07-09 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
Jazz music featuring Rick “The Saxman” Metz on his saxophone.
Cost: $20, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Virginia City Watchman Alex Coryell"
2026-07-10 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
“Made in Nevada”
Watchman Alex Coryell: Virginia City Police Department was a watchman from 1873 until June 25, 1891. Coryell was a Civil War veteran who left the state of Virginia after the war and moved to Virginia City, Nevada. His family became well known and prominent in Virginia City. He was the sixth Storey County law enforcement officer to die in the line of duty and the sixteenth in the state of Nevada.
Wes Francis is a Douglas High graduate, a 10-year Veteran of the United States Air Force and Desert
Storm Veteran, and a retired 25-year law enforcement officer. In law enforcement, Francis has
held positions on county, state and federal levels in Nevada and Florida during his career.
Francis has lived and worked around northern Nevada since 1975, except the 10 years of
Military Service. He gives historic walking tours of Virginia City, can be seen blacksmithing at
the Donovan Mill, is a Founder of the Virginia City Silent Riders historical non-profit group and
performs old west style weddings in and around the area. He has also appeared on Ghost
Adventures and in several movies.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Speaker - "The History of the USS Nevada"
2026-07-11 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
Historian and Nevada Sate Museum volunteer, Dave Pierson, will share the history of the United States Navy battleship which survived the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.
