Nevada city plans 'Blue Genes Jam' next October; festival to celebrate birthplace of denim

Nevada tourism officials are planning a three-day festival in Reno next fall to celebrate and promote the city as the birthplace of what became modern blue jeans.

Reno tailor Jacob Davis created riveted denim jeans in 1871 in a downtown shop. Two years later, he and Levi Strauss patented the pants with the rivets to the corners and pockets that made them the sturdy favorites of miners, loggers and cowboys who helped tame the West.

Tourism officials on Wednesday announced the "Blue Genes Jam" next Oct. 2-4 will celebrate the iconic trousers' impact on popular culture.

Chris Baum, CEO of the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, says the event will include concerts, fashion shows, a retail marketplace and a mini-festival of films that helped make blue jeans a must for Americans.