Summer Guide 2011: Dare to seize the season

Way back in March, when we decided to fill our annual Summer Guide with dares, we had no idea just how challenging this summer would turn out to be. We packed the issue with crazy outdoor activities and plenty of ways to beat the heat we assumed was on its way. We rounded up brave models to pose (almost) naked throughout the city—illustrating our theme by daring to bare it all.

Right now, as I type these words, the newsroom is buzzing about a tornado warning in Sacramento. With the weather report predicting showers for a week, the art director is canceling our outdoor summertime photo shoots and hiring an illustrator. (We’ll miss you, naked models!) Hail is a common occurrence these days, and we’re long past the date we can write thunderstorms off as late spring showers.

So, who’s ready for a summer holiday?

You are, now that you’ve got SN&R’s 2011 Summer Guide! There are more than 70 dares in this issue, designed to push you out of your comfort zone and into the best summer of your life. Turn the pages and choose an activity that makes you feel alive! Make out in public. Go out to dinner for $2. Ride the white water. Throw yourself into Aussie rules football. Parade with mermaids, take dirty pictures or volunteer for a science experiment. Get vajazzled, pick wild mushrooms, write a Craigslist mash note or finish a triathlon.

Meteorologists predict the sun will be out by the time this issue hits the stands. We hope you’re drinking an iced coffee on a patio right now and chuckling about that freak tornado watch. But if your coffee is hot and the weather’s not, it’s time to admit that nature has gotten on board with our Summer Guide theme. Consider the hailstorms and tornadoes life’s way of adding a “double dog” to our Summer Guide dares. This is the summer to challenge yourself, rain or shine. We dare you.

2011 Summer Guide staff:

Editor: Becca Costello

Art Director: Miles T. Harley

Illustrations: Mark Stivers

Web: Kelsey Falle

Writers: Laila Barakat, Hugh Biggar, Kimberly Brown, Jeff Chinn, Becca Costello, Alia Cruz, Katie Hanzlik, Lovelle Harris, Rachel Leibrock, Jonathan Mendick, Nick Miller, Kel Munger, Shoka, Melinda Welsh, Kevin Young

Copy Editors: Kimberly Brown, Shoka Shafiee