Entertainment

🍕 Pizza riot | Ultra brunches | Ice frolic | Anime fest | Arty party | Tape loop laffs

Andrew Kiraly

13 Nov 2024 — 8 min read

Upper crust: No matter how you slice it, pizza is always a people-pleaser, and the Las Vegas Pizza Festival Nov. 16 at The Industrial will showcase the countless styles and flavors of the culinary miracle that is cheese on dough. Above, Dani Garcia-White of Yukon Pizza shows off one of their signature wood-fired pies, which are literally old-school: They're made with 125-year-old heirloom sourdough.

BACK FROM HONEYMOON break, I've dutifully consumed the last of the slightly smooshed, leftover Halloween Snickers, swallowed my vertiginous post-election ick, and got my full-body gravy slanket pressed and ready for Thanksy season. And what a feast lies before us: epic pizza parties, brunchapaloozas, barbecues, wine tastings – not to mention music, theatre, comedy and more. The buffet is open. Cheers! – Andrew Kiraly 🤍

Rock Rink

Time to triple duct-tape those ankles for seasonal flail-skating.

Daily ✦ Downtown Summerlin

➤ Also: This open-air Encanto sing-along Nov. 13 sounds enchanting ✦ Chew on fun animal facts at the Beaver Moon Walk Nov. 15 at Wetlands Park ✦ Shakespearean tricks are for kids at Rainbow Company's Twelfth Night Nov. 15-24 ✦ Conjure a musical whirlwind for the fam at Avatar in concert Nov. 16 at The Smith Center ✦ Kids' curiosity is the engine for the Mighty Motor Mania Nov. 16 at Desert Breeze ✦ It's cosplay all day at Teen AnimeFEST Nov. 16 at Sahara West Library ✦ Cha-ching is the thing for young entrepreneurs at the Children's Bazaar Nov. 16.▼

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet

The sons of the famous cool-jazz magician have some tricks of their own.

Nov. 16 ✦ Myron's

➤ Also: Take a gamble on the rompin', stompin', rollickin' rock of Hillbilly Casino Nov. 13 ✦ Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters Nov. 14-15 is a killer opera at UNLV ✦ Retro garage stylists The Black Lips drop the balm on Backstage Bar & Billiards Nov. 15 ✦ Rock-opera axe god Aldo Nova scorches the frets Nov. 15 at The Golden Nugget ✦ Indie anthemists Manchester Orchestra and Thrice perform acclaimed albums Nov. 16 at Virgin ✦ Island vibes shine from Taverna Costera's rooftop with the sunny reggae of The Goodies Nov. 17 ✦ Warm up with vivid voices at UNLV's Winter Choral Concert Nov. 19.▼

Shameless Plug Arts Festival

A two-day, cross-valley fest of eccentric music, film, and markets.

Nov. 16-17 ✦ Fergusons Downtown / UnCommons

➤ Also: Magical meets mundane in digital artist Homero Hidalgo's Goldmining Nov. 14 ✦ Bizarre talent is on Public Display Nov. 14 at Hammered Harry's ✦ Tug some fresh vintage threads at The Las Vegas Exchange Nov. 15 at Area 15 ✦ Scrambled Eggs puts Sketch Party on the drawing board Nov. 15 at Fremont Photo Co. ✦ Painter Eri King reimagines hideous casino carpets in Scripted Spaces Nov. 15 at ASAP ✦ You're sure to make the cut at Avantpop's Hot Collage Night Nov. 16 ✦ Get unholy deals on pagan products at the Heathen Season Night Market Nov. 17 at Cemetery Pulp ✦ Mingle, browse, and buy art and artisanal crafts at the JCC Festival of Arts Nov. 18 at Tivoli Village.▼

The Minutes

A sharp, dark play about, lol, get this, civic democracy going off the rails.

Nov. 15-18 ✦ SST Studio Theater

➤ Also: Poet and multimedia artist Diana Khoi Nguyen weaves words at the Breakout Writers Series Nov. 13 ✦ Confess your interest in The Origin of Catholic Guilt Nov. 15 ✦ You're dead to me if you miss the last Scream'd shows Nov. 15-16 ✦ UNLV faculty and students make moves at Nexus Nov. 15-16 ✦ A cozy vacation home becomes a discomfort zone in comedy-drama The Long Weekend Nov. 15-16.▼

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Vegas PBS ✦ The Writer's Block ✦ The Firm Public Relations & Marketing ✦ Inside Style ✦ Honey Badger Arsenal ✦ Taboo dot Vegas ✦ Pink Pelvis ✦ Piecing It Together Podcast ✦ A Public Fit Theatre Company ✦ Majestic Repertory Theatre ✦ UNLV Performing Arts Center

THE CH33SE 🧀

🍗 The Dish List

Take your best shot (of bourbon) at Makers and Finders' High West Whiskey Dinner Nov. 15 ✦ The flavors are all over the map at The Rio's World of Wine Tour Nov. 16 ✦ It's a hootenanny of handcrafted vino and hard ciders at the Country Wine Down Nov. 16 ✦ Tenaya Creek brews up a 25-year anniversary celebration Nov. 16. ✦ Talk turkey about perfect pairings at Crush Pad's Thanksgiving Wine Tasting Nov. 16 ✦ Meat up with motorheads at the Las Vegas BBQ Festival Nov. 16 at Red Rock Harley-Davidson ✦ Pickleball and poultry take flight when sporty "eatertainment" plex Chicken N Pickle opens Nov. 19 in Henderson ✦ The brews are bella at The Silver Stamp's Italian Beer Showcase Nov. 20 ✦ This Ice Warriors wine-tasting Nov. 23 to benefit youth hockey isn't pucking around.

🍹

Spent the weekend catching up on an experiential backlog of newish DTLV spots I've been wanting to check out. Enjoying the ad hoc back alley/backyard party house vibes of Voodoo Brewing Co. (try the punchily sour Lacto-Kooler) ✦ The Craft Creamery Speakeasy's generic decor belies a surprisingly schmancy menu of apps, entrees, and cocktails. Hella recommend the birria bao buns and Beef Wellington bites paired with their potent Vieux Carré ✦ Gobbled up Chicago dogs and Cable Cars between dart rounds at neo-dive Jive Turkey; its "shady" slogan refers to the patio setup, but it's sure to look more lived-in as locals flock to this spot in an old music shop on Charleston and Maryland.

🥂 Champagne Bishes

As a dutiful brunch apostle who has happily consigned his liver to the Cult of the Sixth Mimosa, I'm always on the lookout for new and novel brunchables around the valley. Here's a buzzy bloc of the valley's best brunches fizzing on our radar. (A tipsy shout to curator Ginger Meurer for the finds!)

Eggs over sleazy: Drag brunches have sashayed into a category all their own these days. Check out the weekend brunch bashes at Hamburger Mary's, Queen Bar, Señor Frog's, and Dust Las Vegas for high-cholesterol glam.
Ear candy: Spirited stalwart Gospel Brunch at House of Blues, soul-infused Carmen's Love Brunch at The Composers Room, the yacht-rockin' Yuppiest Brunch on Earth, and '90s themed Brunch of Broken Dreams serve up live sounds as part of the menu.
Bubbly personality: Feelin' extra? These brunches pop with party energy and distinct personality: The long-running Lavo Party Brunch is legendary for its lavish debauchery; brunch inside a magic tree at the hobbity Garden Table at Bellagio; nosh 'n sip to oontsa-licious dance beats at the always-poppin' weekend brunch at 18bin or Therapy's weekend Day Club Brunch. Lastly, the powerfully pink girly brunch at Mrs. Coco Cafe is sure to deliver a sugar rush to all your senses.

☢️ Nuclear Family

If you catch a glimpse of brutish mutants and wasteland raiders wandering the valley this weekend, it's not the end of the world – it's Fallout Fan Celebration weekend. Ground zero for the game-inspired fan fest is at the Pioneer Saloon Nov. 16-17, but there'll be lots of (radio)activity in the valley, from party bus caravans from photo tours at the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort to a Nov. 16 after party at (where else?) Atomic Liquors. (Also, unpopular opinion, fight me, sorry not sorry, etc.: Fallout 4 > Fallout New Vegas.)

🏚️ Chopping Center

The wildly oscillating fortunes of troubled Commercial Center are currently in a bummer spiral: indie bookstore Avantpop recently launched a GoFundMe to find a new location; Core Contemporary announced its closure, which happens December 13 with a New Orleans-style jazz wake; and quirky micromuseum Office of Collecting + Design closes its doors Dec. 13, with details on a big liquidation sale to be announced. All of which is particularly bummery given that the county seems to be finally making moves to revamp the long-neglected plaza with its recent building purchases.

🤖 Aiyee, Robot

If you've been planning on pregaming our imminent collective enslavement to AI by making nice with our robot overlords, Shockfest Nov. 14-15 at the Clark County Library looks like a good place to start ingratiating yourself. The AI film festival and symposium (free Thursday, ticketed Friday) will also feature the unveiling of a "powerful and life-changing" AI named LEELEE3.

🚨 Freebies, Dealios & Alerts

Got the urge to Purge? It's a free crime day for locals at The Mob Museum's Kefauver Day Nov. 15 ✦ Use LVLOCAL for $5 off TSTMRKT's manic tapeshow Nov. 15 ✦ Veterans and active military get free entry to Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Glittering Lights Nov. 18 ✦ Your last chance to bug out at Springs Preserve's seasonal Butterfly Habitat is Nov. 25 ✦ Tickets to Majestic Repertory Theatre's January production of Cabaret go on sale Nov. 28. ✦ The season's beatings continue as Abandon straps in for an indefinite run of late-night Saturday shows at Vegas Theatre Company.