OLYMPIC VALLEY — This weekend’s World Cup ski race at Palisades Tahoe will get a nice boost from the presence of their musical headliner on Saturday night.
The Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup at Palisades is one of the bigger events you’re going to see on the north side of Lake Tahoe this year and not just because of the skiers that are all vying for World Cup points. It’s because one of their musical acts caught everybody by surprise by playing in the Super Bowl.
Palisades officials were in the middle of planning their World Cup event when, on Super Bowl Sunday, they were surprised by rapper Ludacris.
Fresh off a gig with Usher, the Atlanta-based artist will be at Palisades on Saturday, and even the athletes have taken notice.
“I was definitely surprised,” Tommy Ford said. “I’m definitely going to stop by and check out Luda.”
For business owners like the Dubliner‘s Randy Rogers, it’ll be a big boost.
“It’s a free show so that’s also really, really cool for them to provide that for the crowd,” Rogers said.
Rogers said that his crew is ready for an event like this on any given night.
“When we do big events at night, I get the strongest bartenders in town,” he said. “So we can’t wait for this. We’re excited.”
Loomis residents Katherine and Ian Carter are excited for the weekend.
“We knew he was coming before the Super Bowl, and it was like “How did Palisades get Ludacris? That’s a big get!’ ” Katherine Carter said.
Palisades announcer John Haines says this World Cup has the chance to bring in a new generation of fans.
“A lot of Northern Californians have never gotten to see international ski racing, so we’ll explain what we can and the excitement will get them hooked,” he said.
Ludacris is set to perform from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the KT Base Bar.
