Okay, here is the line-up for Saturday, May 17th. Two weeks ago, Jack LeVine and I were joking that May is the busiest month for events and the first weekend in May was a whirlwind of activity.
But this Saturday will definitely be the official winner of cool May events. It is Cultural History Day and so here is your chance to learn about the different facets of Las Vegas history, learn about preservation, listen to music, see a mini-film festival of documentaries on Las Vegas, take tours of some very cool (and not often open to the public without appointment) places and experience the Helldorado Parade.
Plan to get up early, take plenty of water for driving around the Valley to the various events and settle back later in the evening with a Parade. It'll be cool (well, probably not the weather), we promise.
This Saturday, May 17th the line-up is:
The Neon Museum is going to open their boneyard and offer hourly tours on Saturday, May 17th from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Normally tours are $15 but on this Saturday the tours are only $5 a person. So get up early and get to the boneyard to see the wonderful signs they have display and perhaps more importantly, the work on the La Concha (they are doing a wonderful job of putting it back together).
The Neon Boneyard is at the intersection of Las Vegas Blvd North and McWilliams Street. Parking is available across the street at the Reed Whipple Cultural Center.
The very endangered and venerable Huntridge Theater will be open for limited hourly tours from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Come learn about the history of the building, what you can do to help save it and ensure that the community has a voice in what happens to the building. And a chance to see the interior of the building for the first time in over five years. How cool is that?
This event is sponsored by The Friends of Classic Las Vegas and the Save the Huntridge Community Group. The Huntridge Theater is located at the corner of Maryland Parkway and E. Charleston Blvd.
The Las Vegas Springs Preserve is hosting the Cultural History Fair this year. Admission to the Fair, its music festival and its Las Vegas Film Festival is free. The Cultural History Fair runs from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Inside the Learning Center there will the various historic preservation groups, museums and archaelogical groups. The Friends of Classic Las Vegas will be passing out information on preservation, history and lots more.
The Las Vegas Film Festival will offer a variety of documentaries on Las Vegas and Nevada history. Included in the sceenings is our own "The Story of Classic Las Vegas".
At 1:40 pm, there is a showing on the history of Helldorado, "Helldorado Through the Years" which features home movies and more of past Helldorado parades. Directly following that, Dennis McBride offers some very rare home movies of the Las Vegas Strip, historian and preservationist Bob Stoldal follows with two short films on Places that Aren't There Anymore. Our own "Story of Classic Las Vegas" follows Bob at about 3:45.
The Music Festival includes Paiute Pow-Wow dancers and much more.
A great way to experience our history and our culture.
The Las Vegas Springs Preserve is located at the corner of Valley View Blvd and Meadows Lane.
The Junior League of Las Vegas is going to have the historic Morelli House open for free tours between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm. If you have never been inside this wonderful mid-century modern house, don't miss this opportunity. The house was saved by the Junior League from the old Desert Inn Golf Course and Country Club. Restored with many of its original fixtures, appliances and wonderful interpretative book by our pal Alan Hess, be sure to say "hey" to DeeDee Nave for us!
The Morelli House is located at the corner of Bridger and 9th Street, across the street from the Las Vegas Academy (formerly the original Las Vegas High School).
End the day with us (and everyone else) at the Helldorado Parade!
The Parade is free and goes across 4th Street from Gass to Stewart Street. It all starts at 7:00 pm and ends at 9:00 pm. There are floats, cars, musical bands and more. Get there early to get a good seat.
The Friends of Classic Las Vegas is in the parade with our President, Ben Litivinoff and his classic pink Cadillac. Riding with Ben will be former Lt. Governor Lorraine Hunt and her husband Dennis Bono as well as yours truly and some other special guests.
So, plan out your day and don't miss any of these great events.