Downtown Las Vegas streets to close for 2 events Saturday

Call it two for the price of one.

Two sections of streets in downtown Las Vegas will be closed for separate events Saturday.

Downtown's Las Vegas Spring Festival Parade to commemorate Chinese New Year will close Fremont Street between Seventh and 11th streets and other surrounding streets from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Then, from 1 to 3 p.m., one traffic lane of several downtown streets will be closed for the charitable Cupid's Undie Run.

There have been several celebrations marking the beginning of the Year of the Monkey, which technically began Monday, but only one involves downtown street closures.

In addition to Fremont, streets will be blocked during the parade on Las Vegas Boulevard, Sixth Street and Seventh Street between Carson and Hoover avenues, and 10th Street from Carson to Garces Avenue.

Bands, floats, dancers, lions and dragons are expected to be part of the parade, beginning at 11 a.m.

The Cupid's Undie Run is a benefit to raise money for the Children's Tumor Foundation for research to fight neurofibromatosis, an incurable disease that causes tumors to grow over the nervous system, resulting in blindness, deafness, learning disabilities and severe chronic pain.

Major street closures for the 1-mile run will include Fourth and Sixth streets between Clark Avenue and Fremont as well as the Clark and Fremont crossings of Las Vegas Boulevard.

The event is part of a series of runs in 39 U.S. and Australian cities. Organizers encourage participants to run in their underwear — but it's not an event requirement.

The event is scheduled to begin at noon with the run occurring at 2 p.m.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find him on Twitter: @RickVelotta