🐴 Horsin' around | Rat king rave | Yule dance party | Swedish feast | Sweater romance | Jupiter sunset | Dark carnival
WE WENT FULL-ON doorbusters mode and pulled a frenzied smash-and-grab on this week's most happening holiday events. Is it a riot or just a mad seasonal shopping rush? I don't even know anymore! 🤷♂️ But whether you're looking for family holiday classics or you're deeply, secretly stirred by the phrase "Kinky Krampus Party," there's rad stuff in the sack for everyone, naughty or nice. Cheers! – Andrew Kiraly 🤍
The Nutcracker
A mad magician. A sentient nutcracker. A dancing rat king. Can Clara survive the night?
Dec. 14-27 ✦ The Smith Center➤ Also: Seasonal hits score big at Holiday on Broadway Dec. 14 at Windmill Library ✦ The Silver Statesmen croon classics at It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas Dec. 14 at Winchester Theatre ✦ Even Grinches will groove at Sleigh Bells Swing! Dec. 15 with the Swing-It Girls at Clark County Library ✦ Around the World in Music Dec. 15 at Windmill Library sounds like a nice trip ✦ Revenge is salty and sweet in Merry Wives of Windsor Dec. 12-14 ✦ Vegas City Opera wishes you Twisted Tidings Dec. 15 at Majestic Repertory Theatre ✦ Lighten up on a chill drive through tinsel tunnels at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Glittering Lights through Jan. 5.▼
➤ Also: A Christmas Cocktail Carol Dec. 12-14 at Notoriety is a spirited take on Dickens ✦ Don't worry, Holiday Massacre Dec. 13 at Swan Dive will only stab your ears with dubstep ✦ You're bound to enjoy the fetish fun at Dark Carnival Dec. 13 at The Bonfire ✦ Sure to be some demonic deals at Cemetery Pulp's Krampusnacht Market Dec. 14 ✦ The Budweiser Clydesdales Dec. 14 spread holi-neigh cheer at Downtown Summerlin ✦ Harry Potter-themed Fantastic Yule Ball Dec. 14 at Millennium Fandom is sure to cast a spell on you ✦ The Mystic Lodge Circus Dec. 15 freaks up the season at the Masonic Memorial Temple ✦ Midnight madness reigns when the 1230 Clowns Holiday Show Dec. 17 rolls into Vegas Theatre Company.▼
➤ Also: It must be time for rustic rhymes at Cowboy Poetry Dec. 13 at Ahern ✦ Historic homes get lit at Clark County Museum's Heritage Holidays Dec. 13-14 ✦ Power up at charity show A Vegas Stronger Christmas Dec. 13 at Backstage Bar & Billiards ✦ Jazz up your December evening with Nik at Nite Dec. 13 at Whitney Library ✦ Chill out at Desert Breeze's Winter Wonderland festival Dec. 14 ✦ Horn up the holidays with the Pentagogical Brass Quintet Dec. 15 at West Charleston Library ✦ Divas with balls got your number at Jingle-Belles Drag Bingo Dec. 17 at Clark County Library.▼
A Cool Yule
This annual dance-and-sing-along spectacular crackles with seasonal charm.
Dec. 13-14 ✦ Charleston Heights Arts Center➤ Also: Cozy up with cocoa and hideous winterwear at Fleece Navidad Ugly Sweater Party Dec. 12 at The Usual Place ✦ 'Tis the season to be eerie at the Liquid Red Kinky Krampus Party Dec. 13 at The Nerd ✦ Warm up with the sunny optimism of Annie Dec. 13-15 at Las Vegas Little Theatre ✦ Stuff your stocking with creative collabs at the White Elephant Art Party Dec. 14 at Slonina ARTSpace ✦ Women's Wrongs does seasonal improv right Dec. 14 at Majestic Repertory Theatre ✦ "Dreams Don't Die" but they do take a beating at PrideStyle Pro Wrestling Dec. 14 at Swan Dive ✦ Catch a mountain high at the Winter Wonderland Craft Show Dec. 15 at The Retreat at Charleston Peak ✦ Carnival games, raffles, vendors at the Afterlife Market Dec. 15 sound heavenly ✦ Get toasty with bodacious burlesque at The Golden Tiki's Naughty or Nice Holiday Revue Dec. 17.▼
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THE CH33SE 🧀
🥓 The Dish List
Indulge your Swede tooth at IKEA'S Julbord buffet Dec. 13 ✦ Book a dinner with fellow bibliophiles at the Avantpop Potluck Dec. 13 ✦ You have a Rhone to pick with this Dec. 14 wine tasting at The Rio ✦ Ring in the holidays among "festive chaos" at Boozy Bells Dec. 14 at The Charleston ✦ Celebrate North 5th Brewing Co's third beeriversary Dec. 14 with raffles and food trucks ✦ I'm assuming that Cowboy Brunch Dec. 14 at 18bin is for cowboys, not of cowboys ✦ Play "guess the grape" and other games at Wineaux's Holiday Grand Tasting Dec. 14 ✦ Enter the house of the rising fun at Khoury's x Bar Ginza's Japanese whiskey class Dec. 15 ✦ Dough! This Bento Cakes Workshop Dec. 15 at F the Bar sounds hella sweet ✦ Something's fishy about the Tinned Fishionado Holiday Tin Share Dec. 16 at The Silver Stamp ✦ The forecast calls for ugly sweater weather at Crush Pad's Holiday Hoedown Dec. 19.
🏚️ Stripped Mall
For an all-too-brief and shining moment, with cool 'n' quirky spots such as Fort Bedlam and Square Bar popping up, it looked like New Orleans Square in perennially troubled Commercial Center was on its way to becoming an irrepressible node of indie neato weirdness. That dream fades further as the historic strip mall, recently purchased by the county, sees two more closures this week: Core Contemporary and Office of Collecting + Design mark their last day Dec. 13 with farewell parties.
🌚 Jupiter Descending
Nevada has two planetariums, and one of them is quietly situated on CSN's Cheyenne campus. Actually, not quietly at all: The Dale Etheridge Planetarium has boasted a nearly nonstop roster of public events since it was established in 1977, from educational programs to meditation meetups to sight-and-sound spectaculars. In fact, one of its most popular and successful shows, Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" Immersive Planetarium Show – a trippy album-rock flight through the cosmos, no drugs necessary – wraps up its run with a closing blowout show Dec. 19. Talk about a farewell trip.
Quick ask! Got a brand, service, org, or company you want to promote in The List? We offer Supporting Sponsorships as well as alarmingly inexpensive display ads priced for small businesses and indie creators. Hit me up at [email protected]! - AK
🏠 Lease of Your Problems
Yeah, sure, The List is all about shoveling the coolest goings-on in local arts, culture, and entertainment all up into your face's inbox, but you can't enjoy any of that if you're going totally sleep-loss stressballs over some boochit tiff with your slimy corporate conglomerate landlord. Know Your Rights as a Renter Dec. 18 at the West Las Vegas Library is for you – a free workshop led by experts at the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada that will 101 you on leases, repairs, deposits, and evictions. (Disclosure: My awesome lawyer sister Michele works there.)
🧋 Freebies, Alerts, and Dealios
Warm your cheeks with a glass of Ass Nog, now being served at Double Down Saloon ✦ Saddle up for closeout deals when The Plaza's Downtown Christmas Expo ends Dec. 14 ✦ Spike your gift list with cool artisanal art from Cactus Joe's; their Winter Super Sale ends Dec. 15 ✦ Use code ARTSDISTRICT for $5 off PrideStyle Pro's "Dreams Don't Die" Dec. 14 at Swan Dive ✦ Get free entry for a child (presumably your own) with a paid adult admission at Springs Preserve through January ✦ Use code DHHLV25 for 15 percent off the Vintage Vegas Home Tour May 4 as part of Home + History Las Vegas.
