Top 10 things to do in Las Vegas this week
Psst … looking for Halloween activities? Check out our ultimate guide here.
Here are neon’s top picks of what to do the week of Oct. 31 through Nov. 6:
Celebrate Nevada Day
On Oct. 31 in 1864, Nevada became a state. Can’t make it to Carson City to join the festivities? Celebrate at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City, where kids 17 and younger ride free all weekend; Friday at Springs Preserve, starting at 10 a.m. with a slew of Nevada-related activities (locals get in free); 9 a.m. to noon Friday at Ice Age Fossils State Park with activities for all ages; and all day Friday with galleries, crafting and storytelling at Nevada State Museum.
Garbage
We don’t think you’re paranoid if you’re worried that this might be your last chance to see electronically enhanced alt-rockers Garbage play Vegas: frontwoman Shirley Manson has all but confirmed that the band won’t be touring any more after the current outing wraps. Go, baby, go, go see them at 8 p.m. Friday at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan. Tickets start at $76; ticketmaster.com.
Viva Taco Festival
The 10th annual Viva Taco Festival, presented by Mariana’s Supermarkets, returns Friday through Sunday to Craig Ranch Regional Park, 628 W. Craig Road, North Las Vegas. The festival features more than 40 taco vendors from across the U.S., lucha libre wrestling, a car exhibition with 400-plus vehicles daily, cultural displays honoring loved ones, a chihuahua beauty contest, a mixed-division soccer showcase and more. Tickets/details: vivatacofest.com.
Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival
It’s billed as Las Vegas’ longest-running event for all things geeky. The Library District’s 17th annual Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival promises a day filled with local and national artists and writers, panels and workshops, comic book shops, a marketplace and food trucks. It’s scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Admission is free.
Strong Music Festival
If you prefer your hip-hop to register like a crowbar to the sternum, don’t miss the Strong Music Fest, where the rugged beats will be in abundance and subtlety will be given the heave-ho by the likes of Trippie Redd, Ski Mask the Slump God, Concrete Boys, BabyTronn, DDG and SoFaygo at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, 200 Third St. Tickets start at $36; ticketmaster.com.
Beatty Days
Beatty Days is back, which means a weekend of bed races, root beer belching, a chili cookoff sanctioned by the International Chili Society, the ever-popular Pickle Liquor Hoot-N-Holler and — somehow — more. The festival is scheduled for noon to 7 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Cottonwood Park at the corner of Third and Amargosa streets in Beatty.
Blue Orchid
Blue Orchid Thai Kitchen, 10516 Las Vegas Blvd. South, near Cactus Avenue, has introduced almost a dozen new dishes. Among them are boat noodle soup (beef short rib, beef ball, rice vermicelli), larb salad (shrimp, chicken, pork or beef), barbecue pork pelly skewers with nam jim sauce, five curries (tofu, shrimp, chicken, pork or beef), drunken noodles with chilis and Thai basil, and waterfall beef (grilled New York strip, Thai basil, cilantro lime dressing). Visit blueorchidthaikitchen.com.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
“The Future Is Your Past” doubles as both the title of The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s latest record, and 12th overall, and the kaleidoscopic psych rockers’ mission statement, their reverb-drenched jams seeded in the sounds of the ’60s while blossoming in the present. ”Giving it all you got is the only way to live,” frontman Anton Newcombe sings on opening cut “Do Rainbows Have Ends,” never sounding more alive. See them at 7 p.m. Thursday at Swan Dive, 1301 S. Main St. Tickets start at $35; swandivelv.com.
Dom DeMarco’s
From 2 to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, Dom DeMarco’s Pizzeria & Wine Bar, 9785 W. Charleston Blvd., is offering 50 percent off all pizzas. From 2 to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, the pizzeria’s happy hour features $3 off select beers; 50 percent off select wines by the glass, select wines by the bottle and well cocktails; and a $12 menu of Philly fries, house or Caesar salad, chicken wings or tenders, eggplant pizzette and a 12-inch cheese pizza.
‘The Room’ with Greg Sestero
It’s your chance to see one of the worst movies ever made — with one of the people who made it. Greg Sestero, who played Mark of “Oh, hi Mark” fame and wrote the memoir “The Disaster Artist,” will sit through a screening of Tommy Wiseau’s legendarily awful “The Room” and answer questions about it. Check this one off your bucket list at 9 p.m. Thursday and Nov. 7 at the Beverly Theater. Tickets start at $17; thebeverlytheater.com.
