Free music concert highlights weekend
Enjoy A Free Concert: You're all invited to a concert by the Brass Roots quintet at Reed Whipple Cultural Center on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 2 p.m. This free concert will offer an eclectic mix of music that ranges from classical to contemporary. The five musicians are longtime Las Vegas professionals who are opening their 12th season and include trumpeters Gary Cordell and Rocky Lombardo, trombonist Walter Boenig, Doug Beasley on French horn, and Dan Uhrich on tuba.
Boenig toured with the Glenn Miller and Harry James orchestras before performing in local showrooms and forming his own band more than 20 years ago. Cordell has performed with the Nevada Symphony, Nevada Chamber Orchestra and Nevada Opera Theater in addition to his work in hotel orchestras. Lombardo has played with numerous brass quintets, symphonies and opera companies and on several television specials. He also was one of the musicians on the soundtrack for the movie "Casino." Beasley is member of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Symphonic Band and Uhrich is a veteran Las Vegas musician who has performed with local symphonies, showroom orchestras and with the musical Chicago. So all of these guys are heavy hitters.
Seating is limited and reservations are required. The Reed Whipple Cultural Center is located at 821 Las Vegas Blvd. North. For concert reservations and directions, call the center at (702) 229-6211.
A Chili Chowdown: The Tropicana will host the World's Championship Chili Cookoff on Oct. 10-12, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, and will name the 2008 World Chili Champion. The event will be in the northeast parking lot and include live music, chili tasting, retail vendors, food, drink, guest participation contests and more. The event is free and open to the public. However, guests who wish to participate in chili tasting must purchase tasting tickets. Chili tasting will take place 1-3 p.m. daily or until the chili runs dry.
You can also join in the action by participating in the following events: Miss Chili Pepper Contest, Mister Hot Sauce Contest and the Shoot N' Holler Contest. For more info go to www.chilicookoff.com.
Blackjack tournaments: Jerry's Nugget is hosting a series of blackjack tournaments on the first Tuesday of the month through December. There's some good cash prizes up for grabs with the first-place winner receiving $1,000 and second place picking up $500. The third- and fourth-place prizes are $300 and $100 respectively. Fifth and sixth places will receive $50 each.
Tournament spaces are limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. All entrants must be More Club members and at least 21 years of age. Check-in at the pit for each tournament will start at 6:30 p.m. and the first round will start promptly at 7 p.m. If you want to take part, you can register at The More Club for an entry fee of $15 per tournament. Registration will close at noon on Friday before the tournament date. Those dates are Oct. 3, Oct. 31 and Nov. 28.
Expand your culinary knowledge: On the first Saturday of every month, VOX Wine Lounge offers you the opportunity to learn how to prepare one of its Executive Chef's special creations.
For instance, in the last session, Executive Chef David Nayfeld showed all those participating how to create a three-course masterpiece of chilled Avocado Soup with Mexican Crème and Fresno Chili Relish, Pan-Seared Scallops with a Sweet Corn Coulis and roasted Tomato Vinaigrette, and Warm Apple Galette with topped with vanilla bean ice cream and apple caramel sauce. If that doesn't make you want to take a class, you're obviously a McD's customer.
Each Saturday school costs $40 to attend. The class runs from noon to 2 p.m. and includes instruction and a complimentary lunch. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling (702) 407-7780.
To Be Or Not To Be: The City of Henderson Cultural Arts & Tourism Department is presenting its annual Shakespeare in the Park series with three productions of "Romeo and Juliet," Oct. 3-5, at Sonata Park, at 1550 Seven Hills Dr. Admission and parking is free.
"Romeo and Juliet" will be performed by Shakespeare At Play, a national traveling theater company featuring award-winning actors, directors, writers and producers. As one of the greatest tragic love stories written, "Romeo and Juliet" follows the lives of two young lovers forced to hide their romance from their feuding families while tempting fate together. Hey, this could be a new reality show on one of the cable networks.
Here is the schedule for performances: Friday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 5, 4 p.m. For more info, call (702) 267-2171 or visit www.HendersonLive.com.
Good luck and I'll see you on the Strip. And don't forget to check out eNeon each Thursday by subscribing (free of charge) to the Review-Journal's weekly newsletter. If you have a question or a Las Vegas experience you would like to share with my readers, please e-mail me at lennylv@netzero.net. Please include your full name and the city or town where you live.
