Fallon’s tourism director focuses on future

Since she became Fallon’s tourism director in early 2017, Jane Moon has been bullish on the Oasis of Nevada and what this small, but quaint county seat can offer to the rest of the world.

Moon has been directing the city’s tourism and marketing plan to make it a must-stop location. Fallon can be easily accessible not only from the Reno area but also Northern California and other directions north, east and south.

Moon spoke at the Fallon Rotary Club last week to outline Fallon’s tourism strategy and its involvement with special events. One thing on Moon’s mind was the successful opening of the ice rink across the street from City Hall and the Christmas tree lighting.

“The ice rink … that has been planned before I was appointed,” said Moon, who received the state’s Excellence in Tourism award in only her second year of service with the city.

Since she has been tourism director, Fallon hosted the Rural Roundup, which brought many visitors to the area who specialize in tourism, and the Nevada League of City’s retreat in 2022. The city has also increased the number of youth events such as youth football jamborees and regional baseball tournaments, to name a few. Now, Moon’s attention is focusing on the rink. The ice rink opened almost 10 days ago and will be operational until early January.

“The mayor and city council wanted something like that for a long time,” she said.

Moon described the rink’s operation and programs, and she said the city is booking for parties through the Fallon Convention Center. Additionally, she said there’s Fallon on Ice swag available for sale to support the city’s future events.

Moon said tourism focuses on special events, which in turn brings visitors to the area. If they decide to stay overnight, she said the room tax also benefits the city. Moon, though, said on different occasions, most of the city’s room are posting no vacancy.

“We’re topped out with accommodations,” she said, pointing out the area has only 536 available rooms.

Discussion from both the city and county occasionally focuses on the need for more motel and hotel accommodations, especially during the special events such as Fallon Cantaloupe Festival and The Fastest Gun Alive-World Championship Fast Draw. With the completion of the Rafter 3C Arena in June 2022, Fallon is busy hosting events.

Compared to the larger urban areas in Nevada, Moon said the rural areas of the Silver State recovered faster than Las Vegas after the coronavirus pandemic, for example, due to tourism.

“The rurals didn’t slow down with the people coming through (Churchill County) during the pandemic,” she added.

Now, Moon has been working on the annual tree-lighting and Winter Wonderland events for this weekend. The annual tree-lighting on Maine Street has been a longtime custom since the late 1920s. Fireworks will light up the December sky, and the Lahontan Valley Choir will sing afterward at the Fallon Theatre. Prior to the tree-lighting, the city will welcome residents and visitors alike to an open house at Fallon City Hall and the Douglass House across Carson Street.

“It will be even prettier this year because it (the Douglass House) is next to the ice rink,” she said.

Moon said activities are planned on Saturday, and at the end of the month, both the city and county will ring out the old year with fireworks near the Rafter 3C Arena on Dec. 31, and the annual New Year’s Run will allow runners and walkers to shake out the cobwebs from the previous year.