Las Vegas
No May showers for this bunch of festivals!
We started with a few festivals in our April edition and now May is jam-packed with so much more outdoor fun and frolicking!
There is a freebie every Saturday night starting at 7 p.m. from May 7 through June 4 at the Clark County Amphitheater. It’s called Jazz in the Park and there is free seating and parking for this outdoor event. The gate opens at 5 p.m. for the best seating with the show starting at 7 p.m. You can purchase food and beverages on site or bring picnic baskets, low-back chairs and blankets to sit on. People have brought in gourmet meals, and others stop at sub shops and bring in sandwiches. A nice time to sit back and relax those muscles!
The semi-annual San Gennaro Feast runs May 4th through the 8th at Craig Ranch Park in North Las Vegas. It is located on Craig Road bordered by Martin Luther King Boulevard on the west and Commerce Street on the east. The Feast opens on Thursday and Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon. The general admisision price is $10, and you can obtain coupons for $2 off each adult in advance. With the 70-plus vendors they have available you should be able to find something to suit your taste. They also feature live bands, performers, amusement rides and games. Ride Coupons are $25 for Thursday and Friday and $30 for Saturday and Sunday. This is for all day riding. You can also purchase individual tickets or sheets of coupons starting from $1 up to $70 for a sheet of 80 coupons
The Art Festival of Henderson is always a must on my to-do list to visit the artists and their creations while enjoying the weather and walking around the downtown area of Henderson on Water Street. The free event takes place the first weekend of May, 5/7 & 5/8 starting at 10 a.m. Don’t forget to stop in at the newest brewery, Lovelady Brewing Co., just a few blocks north of the festival on Water Street. Owner Richard Lovelady is a veteran brewer who worked at Gordon Biersch.
Las Vegas Helldorado Days at the MGM Resorts Village for the Rodeo, Last Cowboy Standing and festival is May 13th through May 15th. The events Downtown will feature a parade (May 14), the Whiskerino Contest in front of El Cortez (May 12 at 7 p.m.) and the pub crawl around Fremont Street (May 12 right after Whiskerino).
The Brews & Blues Festival is on Saturday, May 28, from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Springs Preserve. General admission is $35 in advance or $40 at the door and includes a commemorative mug (for the first couple of thousand guests) and unlimited beer samples.
To round off the month a trip to the Best Dam Barbeque Challenge in Boulder City the Saturday and Sunday (5/28 & 5/29) of Memorial weekend is a great time. Just walking around and being enveloped by the various BBQ aromas will get your body moving to try anything and everything offered at this great event. And, this is just the kick-off for a terrific summer! Let’s get moving!
— Pauline Cimoch
Fast Cars and Super Superbooks
Since Diamond Jack lives in the fast lane, SpeedVegas, a $30-million motorsports complex featuring a 1.5 mile Formula One-inspired course, is a dream come true. It just opened on Las Vegas Boulevard South and features 60 feet of rising elevation, banked corners, and a half-mile straightaway that compares to the top circuits in the world. There are indoor and outdoor observation decks, a café, meeting space, and the opportunity to drive such exotic supercars as Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Corvettes and Ford Shelby Mustangs. All have an “automatic mode” where the clutch and gear selection is handled by a computer. You can also choose the F1-style paddles to operate gear changes. Some also use “sequential manual gearboxes” or triptronic shifters. This new E-Gear technology is a manual gearbox where the clutch and gear selection is handled by a computer when you pull the gear change paddle. Kia? Smart Car? Go away. 888-261-4925.
The world’s largest Race and Sports SuperBook just got bigger at Westgate Las Vegas. The 25,000 square foot SuperBook has been completely renovated and is now home to the most technologically-advanced sports book anywhere. That means, among other things, 4,488 square foot HD video screens measuring 240 feet wide and 20 feet tall making it the world’s largest indoor LED video wall and the highest resolution screens in the state. Also, more than 400 seats, 19 wagering windows, private booths, and Interactive Player Terminals wagering, where players have the convenience of betting from their own seats, as well as access to track pools and even video replays of past races. Then there is the Ultimate Fan Cave where fans can enjoy sports in a custom-built room that that is smoke-free with three 120” HD screens with the capability of showing 12 HD events simultaneously.
Fast cars and Super Superbooks. And people still ask me why I live here?
— Diamond Jack Bulavsky
The Scintas Extend Their Run at the Plaza through November!
Las Vegas’ first family of entertainment, the Scintas, is extending their limited engagement performance schedule of their highly regarded music and comedy show through November 2016 at the Plaza, where they opened last February. Their schedule will be to perform at 7:30 p.m., two select Friday and Saturday nights every month. Upcoming dates include May 6-7, 13-14 and June 3-4, 24-25.
The Scintas, brothers Frankie and Joe, “honorary Scinta” Peter O’Donnell and newest addition, Janien Valentine, have become a fixture in Las Vegas for the past 16 years. Tickets start at $29 for general admission and $49 for VIP. A special “dinner and a show” package is available for $99, which includes a three-course prix fix dinner at Oscar’s steakhouse.
Neon Museum Presents Family Road Trip Lecture
On Wednesday, May 18, the Neon Museum will host a Times of the Signs lecture,“Are We There Yet? Remembering the Family Road Trip.” Presented by Susan Sessions Rugh, the discussion at 6:30 p.m. will cover Rugh’s research on motels and the evolution and impact of the family vacation on society as part of the museum’s Times of the Signs Series held in the Neon Boneyard. She will sell and sign copies of “Family Vacation” following the presentation, which is free but advanced registration is required online.
THRIVE Cannabis Marketplace Holds First Friday Preview Event
THRIVE Cannabis Marketplace, downtown’s newest and largest medical cannabis dispensary, will host a one-time-only opportunity for the public to visit the facility and learn about the benefits of medicinal marijuana on Friday, May 6 from 4-9 p.m. The event will feature food and drink, live entertainment, raffle prizes and free parking. There will be no cannabis products on the premises that day so everyone can tour the 10,000-square-foot facility.
THRIVE will open for business on Friday, May 13.
RMS Titanic Artifacts On View at Luxor To Be Retired July 18
Seven priceless artifacts recovered from the RMS Titanic wreck site will be retired from public view and returned to its conservation facility after a three-month special engagement April 15-July 18 at the Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition inside at the Luxor.
These treasures will be displayed for a final time after the accident that happened 104 years ago and took the lives of 1,523 passengers and crew. This is nearly 30 years after the artifacts were brought from the wreck site to the ocean’s surface. All seven artifacts, which include textiles, personal goods and paper documents, will be housed in a special conservation case. Textiles and paper products are incredibly rare as they usually deteriorate in the marine environment.
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition is open daily from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. with the last admission at 9 p.m.
— Jackie Brett
