BRETT’S VEGAS VIEW
Date: Sept. 30, 2018
CELINE DION WILL END HER CAESARS PALACE RESIDENCY
The saying is “all good things must come to an end,” and such is the case with Celine Dion’s exceptional Las Vegas-residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, which will end June 8, 2019.
Dion’s first residency “A New Day” played 717 shows from March 25, 2003, through Dec.15, 2007. Her second and current residency, “Celine,” premiered March 15, 2011, and when the production returns on Oct. 30, it will mark the 373 performance of the show. When you combine both shows since March 2003, Dion has headlined 1,089 shows to 4.5 million fans at The Colosseum. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. with tickets starting at $51.
This past summer, Dion toured and played 22 shows in 12 cities in Asia, Australia and New Zealand for 260,000 fans. Dion in 2004 received the Diamond award at the World Music Awards recognizing her as the best-selling female artist of all time. The Billboard Music Awards in 2016 presented the superstar with the lifetime achievement Icon Award.
‘A MOB STORY’ IS A REFLECTION WITH A MODERN TWIST
After a few necessary delays to mount a large-scale production show and refurbish the retro-showroom at the Plaza, “A Mob Story” is up and running with the prospects of being an open-ended run.
The remodeled showroom matches the nod to Las Vegas’ past with the comfortable table and booth layout and chandeliers in juxtaposition to the new projection video walls wrapping-around the enlarged stage with an added side landing with stairs.
The music-dance production also mixes the past with modern day. The past is the mob theme and the show’s compelling charismatic figure Michael Franzese, a real life former ex-mobster with the Columbo crime family. When Franzese speaks frankly and honestly about the mobster life, he draws in the audience and lets them know it’s not a good life. He knows all too well, which is evidenced in the show with him revealing he’s the son of Colombo crime family under-boss John “Sonny” Franzese. His father was in and out of federal prison several times and released last year at 100 years old becoming the oldest individual in federal custody.
On the other hand, the show’s producer and director Jeff Kutash has mounted a high-power musical with today’s songs and styles of dancing and a world-class cast of 22 singers and dancers. The many costume changes have the hint of the past such as a dark zoot suit, but with a jazzy colorful glitzy interpretation. Different periods of the mob’s history are covered from the party life and involvement with Havana to the high life in Las Vegas. The video screens are where the audience watches old pictures while vibrant choreography and music energize the show.
GET READY, LAS VEGAS BIKEFEST APPROACHES
The Las Vegas BikeFest will feature four days of entertainment, contests, shopping, and all things motorcycle. The premier West Coast Motorcycle Rally will be held at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (DLVEC) Oct. 11-14. Rally hours will be 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sunday. Rally passes, which include concerts, are $25 – $70 and will increase on site.
The featured act on Friday night will be Puddle of Mudd with Foghat following as the headliner on Saturday night. Other activities will include four bike shows, the Las Vegas Motorcycle Hall of Fame, poker runs, poker walks, and shopping with vendors for motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel.
8th ANNUAL NF HOPE CONCERT WILL BE HELD AT PALAZZO THEATRE
Prominent Las Vegas entertainers will perform at the 8th Annual NF Hope Concert on Sunday, Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. at The Palazzo® Las Vegas. Benefit organizers Jeff Leibow, formerly of “Jersey Boys,” and his wife Melody, again have united the entertainment community bringing together Las Vegas performers including: R&B Pop group All-4-One; Human Nature; Clint Holmes; Earl Turner; a cappella group MO5AIC; “Cocktail Cabaret” cast members; Broadway’s Ava Della Pietra from “School of Rock;” and others in an afternoon spectacular to raise money and awareness for the Neurofibromatosis Network. Tickets start at $49.
RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL TURNS BACK TO BYGONE ERA
The 25th Annual Age of Chivalry Renaissance Festival will be held at Sunset Park Oct. 12-14. The outdoor three-day, family-friendly event immerses visitors in the Renaissance period with reenactments, villages, different guilds, live performances, jousting tournaments, medieval pageantry, more than100 artisans, and flashback foods and beverages. The day-long festival opens daily at 10 a.m. and runs until 10 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Advance admission is $13 for adults, $8 for seniors 60 and older and ages six to 12. Three-day passes are also available. Visit Ticketfly.
SKYDIVING TUNNEL JAM CELEBRITY CHALLENGE HELPS ANIMALS
The third annual Tunnel Jam Celebrity Challenge competition to benefit the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (NSPCA) will be held at Vegas Indoor Skydiving on Friday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. Local celebrities will compete throwing a ball five times through a custom-made hoop suspended in the 22-foot-tall wind tunnel, with the 1,000-horsepower electric motor attached to the propeller from a DC-4 airplane running at full speed. For every time the ball goes through the hoop, Vegas Indoor Skydiving and Love Hikes will donate $100 to NSPCA.
Tunnel Jam will include music, food, raffle prizes and pet adoptions. The day-long festivities will begin at 2 p.m., with the Tunnel Jam Celebrity Challenge at 3 p.m., and the tunnel competition starting at 5 p.m. Fifteen bodyflyers beyond will compete for thousands in cash and prizes.
Entry to Tunnel Jam is free and guests of all ages are welcome. To receive a raffle ticket, guests are asked to donate a needed pet item at the door.
SECOND YEAR FOR ‘VIVA LAS VEGRASS’ BLUEGRASS MUSIC FESTIVAL
The second “Viva Las VeGrass” Bluegrass Music Festival hosted by the Southern Nevada Bluegrass Music Society (SNBMS) will be held at Craig Ranch Park Friday-Sunday, Oct. 12–14 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. The festival features non-stop music performed by local, regional and national bluegrass groups on a solar powered stage. The event will also showcase artisans and craftspeople focused on recycled art, organic products and crafts, food trucks and a beer garden.
Tickets are $20 per day or $50 for a three-day pass; children under 12 receive free admission.
Note that last year’s event, which was the inaugural, was marred by the Oct. 1 – Route 91 mass shooting on the Strip just days before. SNBMS donated 100 percent of the ticket proceeds to the Las Vegas Shooting Victims Fund. The Southern Nevada Bluegrass Music Society is the second oldest bluegrass club in the United States, founded in 1975 as a nonprofit organization for the preservation and furtherance of Bluegrass and Old-Time music.
QUICK TIDBITS
The Chinese-themed Lucky Dragon, which opened in November 2016 with a hotel and casino, already closed the casino and will shut the nine-story hotel on Oct. 2, with a foreclosure sale expected at a later day.
Justin Timberlake was spotted recently attending “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace after he performed for a sold-out T-Mobile Arena at the iHeartRadio Music Festival. He visited after the10 p.m. show with The Gazillionaire.
Magician Murray Sawchuck, who has been headlining an afternoon show at the Sin City Theater at Planet Hollywood, is opening Oct. 3 at the Laugh Factory at the Tropicana. His show is six days a week at 7 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, and 5 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday. Many folks will remember him from appearing on the fifth season of “America’s Got Talent,” and as the resident magic historian on “Pawn Stars.”
Renowned stand-up comedian David Attell is returning for two performances at the Comedy Cellar in the Rio on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 22-23 at 8 p.m. Tickets are 45. Attell is best known as the host of Comedy Central’s “Insomniac With Dave Attell.” Actor Attell can be seen next on Netflix’s, “Bumping Mics” with Jeff Ross, set for release in 2019. He starred alongside Amy Schumer in her hit films, “Trainwreck” and “I Feel Pretty.”
YOUNG PATIENTS WILL PARTICIPATE AT SHRINERS HOSPITALS TOURNEY
The 2018 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open with many of the top golfers in the world will be held for the 36th consecutive year from Oct. 29–Nov. 4 at TPC Summerlin to help support the mission of Shriners Hospitals for Children®.
Patients, ranging in age from 13-19, from each of the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children will get to represent their local hospitals as standard bearers at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open during the tournament’s final two rounds Nov. 3-4.
As standard bearers, they will carry the scores of the PGA Tour players during the final two rounds for an “inside the ropes” experience. To help defray the costs of sending 22 patients to Las Vegas, Shriners Hospitals are conducting their second #FundraiseFORELove campaign, which includes each patient’s biography.
THE DREAM AWARDS HONORS VEGAS ENTERTAINERS
The second Dream Awards is set for Sunday, Oct. 21 at the Suncoast in the showroom at 7 p.m. and will be hosted by entertainer Earl Turner and KTNV Action News anchor Tricia Kean. Honorees will include Clint Holmes, Kelly Clinton-Holmes, Paris Red, Jerry Lopez, Phil Flowers, Helen Green, and Bobby Rose. The Jimmy Payton Visionary Award will go to Frank Woodbeck and Lifetime Achievement Award to Skip Trenier. There will be special tributes to Colleen Cluster, Serena Henry, Dennis Edwards, Jimmy Castor and Aretha Franklin. Tickets start at $29.95 for the cocktail evening entertainment event.
TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR SPEAKS AT ITALIAN AMERICAN CLUB
Timea Nagy is a trafficking survivor and founder of “Timea’s Cause,” which was created to benefit other survivors of human trafficking in North America and Canada. On Sunday, Oct. 7, Nagy will be the featured speaker at The Italian American Club from 5:30-8:30 p.m. for “Healing Notes…Brought to you through AIP (Awareness is Prevention).” She will be accompanied musically by international pianist Baléza Éry, who is coming from Budapest, Hungary. Tickets are $75, which includes an Italian buffet dinner, music, raffle prizes and no host bar.
BOK BOK CHICKEN OPENS SECOND LOCATION
Bok Bok Chicken, a family-owned, fast-casual restaurant, is opening its second valley location Friday, Oct. 5 at 725 S. Green Valley Parkway in Henderson. During opening weekend Bok Bok Chicken will serve its Mediterranean flavors free of charge from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6–7. The restaurant will donate five percent of its first month’s sales to local charity Project 150, which serves homeless, displaced and disadvantaged high school students throughout Nevada.
Bok Bok Chicken plans to open two other locations this year. A fifth site will open next year in Town Square. Hours are daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with seating between 36 to 55 guests.
DINING ITEMS
Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar is opening its patio for a new late-night, all-you-can-eat grilling al fresco event called Sotto le Stelle, Italian for Under the Stars, every two weeks beginning Saturday, Oct. 6 from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Cost is $25. Each event will feature new dishes, one complimentary featured beverage, 50 percent off wines and 25 percent off spirits. Ferraro’s regular Mezzanotte late-night dining menu will also be available at 25 percent off. For reservations phone at 702-364-5300.
National Dessert Day will be celebrated on Sunday, Oct. 14. A number of outlets will celebrate with a special offering such at Therapy downtown will combine two fan favorites into one creating the Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding for $10 or the Trevi Italian Restaurant inside the Forum Shops at Caesars offering a slice of Italian Cream Cake that day for $10.
Sharky’s Modern Mexican Kitchen with two locations, one in the Summerlin area and the other in the Southwest, will celebrate National Taco Day and National Seafood Month, with a complimentary Baja-style Wild Fish Taco with any purchase on Thursday, Oct. 4.
FREED’S BAKERY DEBUTS ‘SPOOKTACULAR’ DESSERTS
Freed’s Bakery is in the Halloween spirit offering an array of spooky treats throughout the month of October. The selections include: a fondant-wrapped mummy cake with candies and festive sprinkles; a smoking cauldron cake, prepared with bubbling green fondant, complete with instructions for a smoky, do-it-yourself dry ice effect; and a candy corn cake, decorated with swirls of orange and yellow buttercream frosting and topped with a waterfall of chocolate ganache, candy corn pieces and festive sprinkles. Each cake may be purchased with a choice of Freed’s signature flavors.
PAHRUMP VALLEY WINERY HOLDS GRAPE STOMP FESTIVAL
The 26th Annual Grape Stomp Festival will be held in Pahrump on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6 – 7 from11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Pahrump Valley Winery & Symphony’s Restaurant. The event will offer the stomp competition, wine tasting, food, live music, artisan/craft booths, raffles, and the biggest wine sale of the year. General admission is $10 at the door.
The Grape Stomp competition will have two-person teams vying to stomp or crush the greatest amount of juice in half barrels of grapes. Fruit-smashing action will start at noon every hour on the hour until 3:45 p.m. in two-minute stomping heats every 15 minutes and points are earned for most juiced within two minutes. Cost is $50 per team and includes complimentary t-shirt and certificate.
SHOW AT WINDMILL LIBRARY WILL COVER BROADWAY JOURNEY
Native New Yorkers Michael Kessler and Melinda Jackson are a husband and wife song and dance team who have shared 30 years of producing, choreographing and performing internationally including on Broadway and in Las Vegas Strip. They are the founders of M&M American Dance Theatre known as M&M, and with their music director and composer Keith Thompson and a group of young talent will present “Broadway Love Songs, Dances & Backstage Stories,” on Friday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Windmill Library Theatre, 7060 W. Windmill Lane. Tickets are $25.
ABOUT TOWN
In recognition of the service first responders provide, the High Roller at The LINQ Promenade is offering free rides for the month of October to all U.S.-based first responders with valid professional credentials as a “thank you.” Friends and family of first responders can receive 50 percent off the regular ticket price with the code: HRFR50.
The Las Vegas Fashion Council’s (LVFC) fourth annual artLIVE! will be held on Friday, Oct. 19 from 6–8 p.m. downtown at Zappos. A collective of top Las Vegas artists and designers will debut 10 one-of-a-kind hand-painted mannequins during a silent auction with proceeds to benefit the LVFC’s scholarship fund. The showcase with DJ entertainment and light refreshments will feature live activations including sand art, body painting and art in action. Tickets start at $25 online.
The Venetian Resort will change the colors of their tower signs at nighttime in honor of upcoming awareness days: Oct. 12 purple for Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Oct. 19 pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Remember Oct. 1, two blood drives will be held at Remedy’s and Distill, which will each provide donors with a gift certificate for a free pint of beer to be redeemed at a later date. The Wednesday blood drives will be held 2 p.m.–8 p.m., first at Distill Summerlin Oct. 10 and next at Remedy’s St. Rose Oct. 17. Visit bloodhero.com to reserve a spot.
Dr. Thomas O. Hunter, former Sandia National Laboratories director, will be the guest speaker at the National Atomic Testing Museum’s Distinguished Lecture Series on Friday, Oct. 5 at 6:30 p.m. The topic is “Killing the Wild Well of the Deep Water Horizon Disaster: The Pivotal Role of NNSA Labs,” regarding the April 2010 incident where the underwater well at the depth of 18,000 feet had a massive explosion resulting in 11 people dying. Event is free for members and $5 for non-members; RSVP by calling 702-794-5151.
Life Time Athletic Green Valley is holding a complimentary public Puppy Run starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6. The semi-annual fun run will begin outside the club’s entrance. Biscuits, dog treats and water bowls will be provided as well as healthy snacks, coffee bar and water for owners. All breeds are welcome.
UNLV College of Fine Arts will hold Art Walk on Friday, Oct. 12 from 5-9 p.m. Exhibitions will open at The Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery, Grant Hall Gallery, and Jessie & Brian Metcalf Gallery. At The Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, there will be a performance at 6:15, opening remarks at 6:45 p.m., and Art Walk begins at 7 p.m. This event with champagne, wine and hors d’oeuvres is free along with parking.
The Providence Master Planned Community, located in northwest Las Vegas north off I-215 North Beltway and Hualapai Way, will hold its annual fall community yard sale on Saturday, Oct. 13 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. with several hundred homeowners participating. The event is free. For information, call 702-216-2020.
