Go wild at Nevada Wild Fest

The Nevada Wild Fest will offer three days filled with entertainment and activities that appeal to people of all ages.

The family-friendly festival will feature carnival rides, live music from big name artists and food representing the culinary landscape of the Las Vegas Valley, from Friday through Sunday at the Henderson Pavilion, 200 S. Green Valley Parkway.

This is the first year for the event, which is sponsored by the Lili Claire Foundation. Proceeds will benefit the foundation and its mission of providing support to families of children with genetic disorders, according to Keith Resnick, president of the organization. Resnick hopes to make Nevada Wild Fest the primary fundraising event for the foundation, as well as an annual tradition for the valley.

Wayne Newton will serve as the festival's official host. Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell (both on Friday), Lonestar (Saturday) and Montgomery Gentry (Sunday) are among the entertainers who will perform.

Among the attractions are a carnival with 25 rides; 80-plus vendors selling food and crafts; and a cowboy poetry theater. A kids area will take over a third of the park surrounding the amphitheater, Resnick says, offering educational entertainment such as hands-on panning for gold, rope-making classes and lessons in how to use a lasso. There also will be a haunted pumpkin patch, costume making and face painting.

Adults will have activities to choose from, too, such as mechanical bull-riding, line dancing, and beer and wine tasting.

The Food Expo, open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature demonstrations from local celebrity chefs such as Rick Moonen of rm seafood at Mandalay Bay and Stephen Hopcraft of Seablue at MGM Grand. Both chefs have been featured on Bravo's "Top Chef" series.

Tickets for the festival cost $7; admission is free for kids 3 and younger. Concert tickets cost $25, $45 and $65. If purchased in advance, they will include free admission to the festival, Resnick says. Tickets are available by phone through the Henderson Pavilion box office at 267-4849 or at the South Point casino box office, 797-8055. Concert gates open at 5 p.m. on all three days.

Hours for the festival are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, visit nevadawildfest.com.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@review journal.com or 702-380-4564.