10 best things to do this weekend in Las Vegas, Aug 4-6
Your weekend is full of surprises, Las Vegas.
Check out Downtown’s newest bar, Corduroy, when it opens on Fremont Street on Saturday afternoon.
On the Strip, see the dolphin habitat’s newest occupant at the The Mirage, a newborn calf.
For a more peculiar surprise, Blackout serves meals in a pitch-black restaurant. It’s so mysterious, you’re not even told what you’ll be eating.
Here are your top picks for what to see, eat and do this weekend in Las Vegas.
Grab a bite
It seems there’s nothing restaurants won’t capitalize on these days. Hence “The Mooch,” a “front-stabbingly delicious” special from Villa Italian Kitchen. The meal is only available for 11 days. Learn more about what’s included here.
High on a scale of 1 to 10 is this black sesame taiyaki with Nutella filling, vanilla frozen custard and cookies and cream crushed Pocky stick. Recess Italian Ice Desserts sells numerous flavor combinations. Read more here.
Get a drink
In a restaurant named Lucky Penny, a drink dedicated to Abe Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, is only fitting. Abe’s Favorite Mary is a twist on the bloody mary. And ingredients like tomatillos in the mix offer a bright, fresh flavor to match the color, while serrano and green Tabasco provide the color-coordinated kick. Learn how to make it here.
Rock out
In the six years since the release of his 2011 debut studio album, “Section.80,” Kendrick Lamar has rocketed to commercial and critical acclaim. He’s won seven Grammys, made Time’s list of “100 most influential people in the world” and dropped the top-selling album of 2017, “DAMN.” You can see Lamar at T-Mobile Arena at 9 p.m. Saturday. So, what makes Kendrick Lamar so special? Cue up this introductory playlist and find out.
With close to 43 million monthly listeners, Ed Sheeran ranks as Spotify’s second-most-popular artist in the world. You can catch him at 7:30 p.m. Friday at T-Mobile Arena. Here are five things you need to know about the chart-dominating singer-songwriter.
See a show
To be, or not to be, a musical.
That was never the question for the creators of “Something Rotten!” It was more like the answer. After all, the Elizabethan-era musical romp — which opens an eight-performance run Tuesday at The Smith Center’s Reynolds Hall — focuses on the production of the very first musical. It’s called “Omelette: The Musical.” You can see “Something Rotten” at 7:30 Tuesday through Saturday at The Smith Center. Read more about the show here.
Catch a movie
As a movie, “An Inconvenient Sequel” doesn’t feel as alarmist as its predecessor. Sure, Gore is still presenting that darned slideshow from “An Inconvenient Truth.” But it’s a little jazzier now, and he’s showing it in front of thousands of trainees representing more than a hundred countries at sessions around the world. Find out more about “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” here.
Meet a baby dolphin
With the arrival of a baby dolphin — so far unnamed — at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage, there are three generations of the beautiful ocean-going animals at play there. The female calf, born July 17, is “doing well.” You can see Huf n Puf and her calf in the birthing and research pool at The Mirage. See more photos here.
Head downtown
Downtown Project will open its newest watering hole, Corduroy, at 4 p.m. Saturday. The vibe is a nod to great dive bars, while the music will be heavy on rock. Cool touches include a DJ booth decorated with refurbished classic audio equipment, restrooms decorated with ‘80s hair-metal magazine art, a photo booth room and a tiny smoking “lounge,” complete with vintage cigarette machine. Corduroy is at 515 East Fremont St. Find more things to do Downtown this weekend.
Dine in the dark
Talk about a blind date: Take someone to the new Blackout restaurant, and you’ll both be in the dark in more ways than one. A server with night-vision goggles guides guests, conga-line-style, through the coal-black door and into the dark abyss, they don’t know anything except that they’ll be eating and drinking during the next few hours. Eating and drinking what? Well, that’s part of the mysterious experience. Blackout Dining in the Dark is open from noon to 11 p.m. Read more about the experience here.
Star Trek
Sure, the Official Star Trek Convention offers fans of “Star Trek” in all its iterations panel discussions and presentations and autograph signings and meet-and-greets with the people who’ve spent the past half-century bringing the future’s favorite starship crews to life. But it’s also a central meeting place where fans of the iconic sci-fi series can meet like-minded fans. The convention continues through Sunday at the Rio. Find out more here.
First Friday
This week, “Hot August Nights” is more than a description of the local weather. It’s the theme for this month’s First Friday gathering in the downtown Arts District. August’s featured artist, Las Vegas-based Justin Lepper, will paint during the event, which runs from 5 to 11 p.m. See the full lineup here.
