Live at Lakeview has been a cherished part of the summers in South Lake Tahoe for the past four years. It brings the community together to celebrate music, food, beer, local businesses and taking a break to enjoy the beautiful place everyone calls home.

The best part about Live at Lakeview is that this weekly party is put on for free every week, so everyone has a ticket to attend. But while the event is free, putting it on certainly is not. From four to six months of planning with bands, renewing contracts with vendors and supporters, to the day-of hassles of putting on an event, Live at Lakeview is a colossal undertaking that requires a lot of time, money, hard work and support from the community to organize and execute. We want to open the hood of Live at Lakeview and share how the community comes together to create such a spectacular event that has elevated from a whimsical vision to a centerpiece of summer.

Live at Lakeview started four years ago when Rob Giustina suggested to the City of South Lake Tahoe about having a concert series at the newly renovated park at El Dorado Beach. With a goal of putting on weekly, family-friendly concerts the community could enjoy, Giustina rustled up a dozen local sponsors to help organize and fund the event. His vision has come along way and Live at Lakeview has been going for four strong years and has been given an additional five-year contract with the city.

And the City of South Lake Tahoe has been the primary sponsor and host of Live at Lakeview since its inception. In addition to providing monetary donations, the city also provides the event with a free venue to hold the festivities, helps coordinate with Cal Trans for road closures, procures the South Lake Tahoe Police Department to provide support and helps promote the event. Live at Lakeview wouldn’t be a possibility without the gracious support of the City of South Lake Tahoe.

The event would also never be a reality without the contributions of over 30 local sponsors, who all squeeze together on the colorful Live at Lakeview banners like friendly neighbors. The sponsors are willing to help out however they can, whether it be from a monetary donation to offering their services, like Sprouts Cafe feeding all the bands that appear at Live at Lakeview.

With so many people and organizations from the community helping to put on Live at Lakeview during the summer, Live at Lakeview finds it important to make sure to give back to the loving community. In addition to providing an awesome way to spend a Thursday on the beach, Live at Lakeview donates a percentage of its beer garden sales to benefit the South Tahoe BMX Association. This organization is working closely to help build the Bijou Bike Park  and they are saving up for a new starting gate at the current track. These donations are bringing them closer to their goal every week! Essentially, every beer you drink goes right back into helping the community.

Live at Lakeview is an event that is given life by the community and it is the hope of Live at Lakeview it injects a little life into everyone that attends.

Written by: Garrett Bethmann