Entertainment

🐶 Dog festival | Sketchy circus | Drum party | Freebies! | Dino playground | Rummage sale | Throat rock

Andrew Kiraly

26 Feb 2025 — 6 min read

New whirl order: Before Mr. Unfun aka Mao Zedong came along and started bulldozing everything under the banner of "Cultural Revolution," China was a pretty happening place. You can get a taste of it through Shen Yun Feb. 27-March 2 at The Smith Center. The acclaimed performance troupe weaves fantastic tales of ancient China with painstakingly elaborate costumes, video projections, and hella crouching tiger dance moves.

I'M JUST GONNA say it: Welcome to spring. Which is weird, and also a little scary. Still, even if temps do happen to dip again before [hysterical scare quotes] real spring starts in late March, consider this week's List a season sampler, with open-air happenings such as Japanese drum concerts, dog-frolic park festivals, and parking-lot circuses offering a taste of more fun to come. Cheers! – Andrew Kiraly 🤍

🔥 Hot ticket: Belly up to the booth for local flavor: Tix for Vegas Unstripped April 27 are now on sale.

Korabo Taiko

Take a free beating from Vegas' homegrown drum outfit.

March 1 ✦ Centennial Hills Park

➤ Also: The Composers Showcase Feb. 26 puts Vegas' finest musical minds on display at Myron's ✦ UNLV Choral Ensembles Feb. 27 give madrigals a modern makeover ✦ Henderson Symphony spins Fairytales Feb. 27 into sound with pianist Alexandria Le at UNLV ✦ Rockabilly Riot Feb. 27 serves punk with a side of pizza at Evel Pie ✦ A dance battle turns rivals into teammates in If You Can't Beat 'Em Feb. 26 at Area 15 ✦ UNLV dancers move feet to the beat in Syncopations Feb. 28-March 1 ✦ Mexico Vivo Dance Company takes flight in 30-year celebration Monarch March 1 at Winchester Dondero Cultural Center ✦ RivetSkull channels metal gods Dio March 1 at The Space.▼

Jurassic Quest

Get Rexed at this playground filled with dinos both daunting and dainty.

Feb. 28-March 2 ✦ World Market Center

➤ Also: VOICE Feb. 27 gives CCSD's young Picassos their gallery moment at Slonina ARTSpace ✦ The Lightning Thief Feb. 28-March 1 turns teen angst into Greek tragedy at Charleston Heights Arts Center ✦ The Dr. Seuss Celebration March 1 brings Cat-in-the-Hat hijinks to Whitney Mesa Nature Preserve ✦ A Night of Expressions March 1 showcases a decade's worth of youth talent at Lorenzi Park ✦ Nevada State Museum March 3-7 drops everything for a Reading Week of litty love.▼

Bark in the Park

You're in for a ruff time at this shaggy frolicfest.

March 1 ✦ Cornerstone Park

➤ Also: Go froth for the gold at this Beer Pong Tournament Feb. 26 at O'Sheas ✦ Death Valley Starcamp delivers galaxies to your eyeballs through May 1 ✦ Night Market March 1 fills Tivoli Village with handcrafted treasures and local vendors ✦ Bird Preserve Maintenance Day March 1 invites you to restore pecking order to this avian resting spot ✦ Feeling prickly? Cactus Joe's Sound Bath March 1 offers succor among succulents.▼

Circo Caballero

Yes, this is one of those totally off-the-chain parking-lot circuses.

Feb. 28-March 17 ✦ Fantastic Indoor Swap Meet

➤ Also: Face Value Feb. 26 turns Pokémon into a drag-alicious guessing game at Hammered Harry's ✦ The Double Down keeps Vegas weird with Freak-o-Rama Feb. 26 ✦ Hilariously Inappropriate Drag Queen Bingo Feb. 27 brings its gender-bending game to The Space ✦ Don't Tell Comedy Feb. 27 keeps a lid on the laughter at a secret DTLV spot ✦ Night time is the right time at Nocturnal Market Feb. 28 at The Nerd ✦ Break out your best Latin dance moves for Mazatlán Fest March 1 at Broadacres Marketplace ✦ The World's Hottest Menopause Party March 1 makes a flashy splash online and in Vegas ✦ The Usual Place March 1 celebrates five reliable years with food, jams, and drinks ✦ 1230 Clowns March 2 bring late-night laughs to Vegas Theatre Company ✦ You've got a billion funny reasons to worship at The Holy Church of Bezos March 2 at Recycled Propaganda.▼

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THE CH33SE 🧀

🍸 The Dish List

It's a lively night when undead brewheads Beer Zombies take over the taps at Golden Tiki Feb. 26 ✦ Spirit Master Fred Jerbis branches out with fresh cocktails at The Treehouse Feb. 26 ✦ Get a sudsy shine on as Neon Desert Brewing pours anniversary suds March 1 ✦ Ferraro's Ristorante welcomes San Leonardo's winemaker for northern Italian elegance March 1 ✦ Chicken out and judge the best poultry parts at Wing Wars March 2 at Hofbrauhaus ✦ DW Bistro rolls out the red carpet for Oscars Brunch March 2 ✦ Crush Pad pops tops at its Mardi Gras bash March 2 ✦ Delilah pairs Screaming Eagle's cult-status wines with a multi-course dream team dinner March 8 ✦ Two James Beard nominees join forces for Latin American flavors at Garagiste March 10 ✦ Todo Bien Tiki Tequileria throws an anniversary celebration of tropical libations March 2.▼

👔

Social fabric: Attention all (thrift) shoppers – the modest-sounding Annual Rummage Sale Feb. 27-March 1 happening Downtown is much more than a glorified garage sale. Rather, it should be a serious scorefest for bargain-hunting vintage hounds. That's because it's put on by The Mesquite Club, one of the valley's oldest and most venerable philanthropic organizations. Started in 1911, the women-driven civic group is tied to the very infrastructure of early Las Vegas: They got their name after planting 2,000 mesquite trees downtown to bring much-needed shade to Las Vegas' newly oiled streets.

👛 Free to Be

From educational opportunities to live entertainment to enlightening discussions, these community events will cost you zip, zilch, zero, nada: Register by March 25 for UNLV GenCyber Camp April 19, which gives tech-curious teens a crash course in ethical hacking ✦ Re-Birth Vol. 2 Feb. 27-28 explores the "Promise Land" through movement at West Las Vegas Library ✦ Dr. Tyler Parry uncovers 1969's forgotten Westside uprising Feb. 28 at Whitney Library ✦ Nevada Chamber Orchestra celebrates Black composers from ragtime to classical Feb. 28 at West Charleston Library ✦ Pokémon Play Day March 1 lets trainers catch 'em all at Rainbow Library ✦ No kidding: The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators teaches children's book writing March 2 at East Las Vegas Library ✦ The Women Composers Concert March 1 gives forgotten female maestros their due at Windmill Library ✦ The Swing It! Girls March 1 celebrate women who rock at Summerlin Library ✦ Alash Ensemble bends physics with otherworldly throat singing March 2 at West Charleston Library ✦ Diné trumpeter Delbert Anderson brings Native American jazz March 2-4 to various libraries. – curated by Ginger Meurer

Promote your brand on The List! We offer Supporting Sponsorships as well as display ads priced for small biz and indie creators. Hit me up at [email protected]. Not ready to splurge? Buy us a coffee to keep us perky! – AK

🍾 Fresh Finds

Matt Hodges explores the intersection of theater and hospitality in "What is a Flaneurd?" March 13 at Historic Fifth Street School ✦ Blush Burlesk turns cheeks red with themed burlesque at Champagne's every Monday ✦ Misfit metal god Danzig brings mayhem with DOWN, Abbath and Cro-Mags March 21 to Virgin Hotels ✦ Dancing with the Stars March 29 spins from screen to stage at The Smith Center ✦ The Tacos and Tamales Festival March 28-30 brings lucha libre and foodie fights to Desert Breeze.

🕐 The Junk Drawer

Wanna completely reset your body's clock? Read these literal notes from underground ✦ "Buffets are where good taste goes to die" and other nommy nugs from a food critic in his farewell column ✦ Current and former federal workers in the shadow of DOGE launched a website dishing on the true perils of dismantlement ✦ This 24-hour film entails literally watching time go by ✦ Anyone wanna go back to the 13th century for a game of cowboy checkers?