Surf’s up at ‘Casino Beach’ for Dirtybird BBQ festival

The Dirtybird BBQ festival in downtown Las Vegas is easy enough to find. Just head to the corner of Casino Center Boulevard and Carson Avenue, look for the 100-foot long wading pool, and you’re there.

The staging for the first Dirtybird BBQ event, set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center is well underway. Today, workers from DLV were filling the 100-foot-long, 22-foot-wide pool with 65,000 gallons of water.

The aquatic attraction is four feet deep and can handle upwards of 200 revelers.

If that seems excessive, it shouldn’t. Organizers from events company and co-presenter Collective Zoo are expecting a crowd approaching 3,500 for the event, set to end at midnight. Around the DLV perimeter are nine cabanas, a 25-foot-long water slide, several life-guard stands, a half-dozen food vendors (three of which are operating open barbecue “smokers”) two food trucks, and circular bar next to the big pool. Piles of sand and dozens of roles of artificial turf are being set down, too, as DLV is converted into Casino Beach.

Is it all necessary? Probably not, says Jeff Victor, vice president of Derek Stevens’ D Las Vegas and his downtown Las Vegas empire. Stevens has been buying up Fremont Street hotel-casinos as if playing a real-life game of Monopoly, and one those famous properties is Las Vegas Club.

“We wanted to Vegas-size Dirtybird in some way, and we’re having all of these conversations about the Las Vegas Club, what we’re doing there, which will include building a pool with cabanas,” says Victor, referring to the now-closed hotel that is due for demolition by the end of this year. “I go to cabanas all the time, two in the last three weeks, and have gone to two dozen around town in the last year. We’re learning, but going to a cabana is not the same as hosting a cabana in a pool.

“A lot of this is internal learning for us.”

Meantime, headlining the 18-and-over event are Dirtybird artists Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, Eats Everything, Shiba San, Ciszak and Dateless. Collective Zoo Chief Operating Officer Michael Uriarte says he hopes the event returns in 2018. Regardless, its impact will be felt in downtown Las Vegas for years to come.

Paisley’s park

John Fogerty returns to Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on Friday for a five-show run ending May 28. Brad Paisley is joining Fogerty during the run, but reportedly just for one show and we’re not being informed which show it will be. Paisley and Fogerty co-wrote the new single “Love and War,” dedicated to military veterans, and are expected to play that song.

Haps at Westgate

The Court, the new deli at the Superbook at Westgate Las Vegas, opens within the month. The food court’s options are franchises Nacho Tacos, Cordovano Joe’s and Draft’s Express. This place is open 24 hours, so you’ll find me there in a Kats! Bureau at like 3 a.m.

Also, as of May 31, new showtimes are set for Vinnie Favorito’s “Unfiltered” stand-up show and Jennifer Romas’ “Sexxy” revue. Favorito will start at 8 p.m. and Romas, who just launched her “Summer of Sexxy” marketing campaign at the hotel, moves to 10 p.m.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.