Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 9/22/2026, Written by Victoria Mastrocola

Spencer Cox, Parker Burnell, and Matt Zupan are a group of friends who decided to put their shared joy for trail running and their love for the Sierra Nevada into a new guidebook highlighting 50 of their favorite trails across eight sub-regions in the Northern Sierra. 

The trio began running together in Tahoe three years ago, but before that, it was thanks to a youth nonprofit organization called SOS Outreach that they would meet. While volunteering as a mentor, Zupan was introduced to Cox who worked at SOS Outreach full-time. 

“We had a couple of connections,” said Zupan. “And [Cox] was good friends with Parker, the other author and he introduced us.” 

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Photo: Spencer Cox, Parker Burnell, and Matt Zupan are the authors of “Tahoe Trail Runs”, a guidebook highlighting 50 trails in the Northern SierraProvided / Matt Zupan

The Reno Jazz Orchestra will celebrate the legendary women who helped shape jazz with “Divas of Jazz” on Oct. 11, 2026, at Nightingale Concert Hall at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The two-hour performance will pay tribute to iconic vocalists including Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, while celebrating the artistry and enduring influence of women in jazz.

“The concert is designed to showcase the profound influence these divas had on the jazz genre,” said Dr. Greg Johnson, music director of the Reno Jazz Orchestra. “We’re excited to bring our guest vocalist, Kathleen Grace, to the stage to capture the spirit and artistry of these extraordinary artists.”

Grace, a vocalist, songwriter and educator, brings a distinctive style that bridges jazz, folk and Americana. Her expressive vocals and authentic approach make her a natural fit for an evening celebrating some of the most influential women in music.

“Kathleen Grace is a perfect fit for this concert and complements the talents and legacy of the legendary divas of yesteryear,” Johnson said.

The evening’s setlist will include such favorites as “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “Pennies From Heaven,” “Time After Time,” “Chega de Saudade” and “Almost Like Being in Love.”

Johnson will lead the 17-piece Reno Jazz Orchestra in an evening designed for longtime jazz fans and newcomers alike. The performance begins at 4 p.m. Oct. 11. Tickets are $50 to $60 and include reserved seating. Student tickets are $10 with a current student ID.

Founded in 1997, the Reno Jazz Orchestra carries forward the big band tradition shaped by musicians who have performed with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Luciano Pavarotti. The orchestra’s mission is to present exceptional big band performances featuring jazz standards, contemporary works and selections from the Great American Songbook.

“Divas of Jazz” offers an opportunity to hear these timeless songs performed by a full big band while celebrating the remarkable women whose voices continue to define jazz.

Forty years ago or so, I recorded portions of a Nevada textbook, Battle Born Nevada, for the blind. That excellent little book by Don Lynch and David Thompson, surfaced today, and I took great delight in reviewing the inspiring words of Sarah Winnemucca, as she described a courting ritual of the Paiute…

“The courting is very different from the courting of the white people. He never speaks to her, or visits the family, but endeavors to attract her attention by showing his horsemanship.

As he knows that she sleeps next to her grandmother in the lodge, he enters in full dress after the family has retired for the night, and seats himself at her feet. He does not speak, but if the young woman wishes him to go away, she rises and goes and lies down by the side of her mother. He then leaves as silently as he came in. This goes on sometimes for a year or longer, if the young woman has not made up her mind.”

Wow, that is so different from my courting experience. I met my future wife at a backgammon tournament. As news director of WOCB Radio in Cape Cod, I was covering the tournament with a remote broadcast on a very slow Sunday, and there she was! But as I approached her with my microphone she waved me off as though I were a 150-pound wasp.    Once I put the microphone away, she allowed me to approach her, introduce myself, and invite her to a Bruins game that night. She tossed her hair, informed me she already had a date for that game, and turned her attentions to the backgammon tournament. I was defeated, and my heart, as I knew it, was broken…

While watching the Bruins on TV with some friends that evening, I shared my heartache with them, then stepped outside to flip some burgers. That’s when I heard the shouting, “McAvoy, get in here!” I stepped inside too late to see what they told me was a pretty girl in the crowd holding up a sign that read, “Hello, WOCB News!” Had my heart been a frog, it might have leaped clear across the room.

She had told me she worked in a dress shop in Hyannis, so the next day I went looking for her, and was ever so happy to find her…

“That was really something that you did last night.” I stammered.

“And what was that?” she asked. 

“The sign!” I almost shouted.”

“What sign?” she asked with a sympathetic smile.

It then occurred to me that I had been bamboozled by my own dear friends.

I apologized, excused myself, and went for a run to vent my misery. Then the unexpected happened… 

While running along my training route for the Boston Marathon I saw a handwritten sign in a garden on the side of the road. It read, “Hello, WOCB News!”

She had found out that I was training for the marathon, had gone out there herself, and placed several signs along my route that read, “Hello, WOCB News!” And the last one was adorned with a blood red heart.

So, though different in procedure, a Paiute courtship and a WOCB courtship both ended up in blissful marriages… 

Audio: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Fhv4PrH1UuwlhbnTT23zO