Goods and Services

Best place to buy pot[s]

Joe and Shiho Winter’s Ranch
Get ready for a drive. First, head north on U.S. 395 past Stead; take a right on Red Rock Road, and go north 23 miles. Turn right on Gymkahna and right again on Fetlock Drive. Go to 16620 Fetlock Drive, and you’ll recognize the ranch by some large broken ceramic pots near the entrance. This is the kind of drive where you’ll be really irritated if you drive clear the hell and gone out there and discover nobody is home, so call first, (775) 969-3394. Joe Winter is one of the region’s premier potter/ceramicists, and he’s got some pots that’ll blow your mind. That’s not to say Planet X near Gerlach, (775) 557-2500, or Paul Herman’s Great Basin Pottery studio, (530) 827-2706, don’t have a lot to offer, but for the real smokin’ pots, you gotta head to Rancho Haven. What? What’d you think we were talking about?

Best spot on the grass to see live music

Bartley Ranch Hawkins Amphitheater
Not that we’d ever dis Reno’s Wingfield Park, where we’ve had so much success with our Rollin’ on the River concert series, but … Washoe County’s Bartley Ranch Hawkins Amphitheater hosts a lot of high-end Americana-styled music that you aren’t going to hear live for free at Wingfield or anywhere else. The beer is good, the sound and views are unobstructed, and there’s assigned chair and lawn seating. If the weather is mild, Hawkins Amphitheater is so comfortable that it’d be easy to fall asleep and miss the whole show. The limited seating may make for some higher-than-average ticket prices, but local promoters can get in pretty inexpensively and say Hawkins Amphitheater is one of Reno’s best-kept secrets.

Best place to pick up clown makeup in the late spring

House of Black & White Costume Company 22 Martin St., 322-5427
You’re a sad clown. You’re in a panic. Summer is on its way, and you are out of face paint. Halloween is a dream away. What’s a sad clown do to become a smiley clown? Well, if you know the lay of the land, you know to go down to see Janice Carr at the House of Black & White Costume Company because she’s got the sickest clown makeup around. Sure, there are a few costume stores that open up with cheap costumes when October arrives, but, in the off-season, for the high-quality costume rentals that aren’t going to come apart when you pull them over your jacket, Black & White is the place where all the clowns toot their horns.