Christmas Light Displays Around the Las Vegas Valley

 Note:  Over the weekend, the information for the New Year's Eve Firework Displays will go up.  Stay Tuned!

Take a tour of holiday lights and decorations around the Las Vegas Valley. The area is divided into quadrants by using Sahara Avenue to divide north from south and Interstate 15 to divide east from west.

NORTHEAST

Address: 3164 Mclennan Ave., North Las Vegas, 89081
 Description: 5 - 11 p.m. Perfectly straight house lights and multiple yard decorations. Decorations are accompanied by music.

Address: 1343 Villa Park Court, Las Vegas, 89110
 Description: 4 - 10:30 p.m. Sun-Thurs; 4 - 11 p.m. Fri-Sat. 10,000 lights that are synchromized to music. Music can be heard on station 106.1 FM. Currently 14 various song/light shows are programmed.


NORTHWEST

Address: 8117 Chestnut Hollow Ave., Las Vegas, 89131
Description: Entire house decorated from top to bottom. Various lawn ornaments, blow ups, reindeer and santas! Lights galore!

Address: 6759 Rowena Circle, Las Vegas, 89131
Description: Anytime after 5:30 pm. Themed as the Peanuts visiting the North Pole!

Address: 6601 Brandywine Way, Las Vegas
Description: 7 - 10 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday; Monday-Tuesday, all day. My parents' home, always decorated every space you can imagine ... from the roof to the whole front yard! My Dad does this himself everyt year. He is 80 years old! Climbs up that roof, etc. Then goes to my sister's house & helps her! Every year! Needs to be recognized.

Address: 6313 Bristol Way, Las Vegas, 89107
Description: My sister's house says: Happy Birthday Jesus. Everyone seems to forget what Christmas really means & her display says it all ... a must see!

Address: 4205 Via Vaquero Ave., Las Vegas 89102
Description: 5 - 11 p.m. More than 25,000 lights, dancing characters, handmade Santa, lots of intricate details. Features Christmas music.

SOUTHWEST

Address: 7040 Darby Ave., Las Vegas, 89117
Description: 5 p.m. to at least 10 p.m., weekends until 11 p.m. Our display includes, of course, a Nativity scene, There is Santa in his sleigh with 9 flying reindeer suspended in air. Flying Sopwith Camel airplane with Snoopy. Mega tree. Animated polar bears and penguins. There are several lighted trees throughout the yard. We are approaching 100,000 lights.

Our lights are sound activated by controllers, with Christmas carols (Mannheim Steamroller, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kitaro, David Arkenstone) playing through outside speakers and the lights flash to the tempo of the music. Animated pink flamingos, carousel. Large U.S. flag on the roof (9' x 13').

We also have the obligatory gaudy plastic figures; Mickey, Minnie, Santa, Mrs. Santa, choir people, elves, candy canes, snowman, Santa waving in a train, toy soldiers, drummers and windows have animated lighted figures. Sometimes Santa appears, especially Christmas Eve and hands out candy canes."

Address: 2757 Grande Valley, Las Vegas, 89135
Description: 5-10 p.m. My favorite TV show of all time is "Star Trek." The recent "Star Trek" movie was OK, but I much prefer the original cast. As a tribute to the show I have decorated my front yard to represent some of my favorite episodes with a holiday twist. Kirk and Spock in hand-to-hand combat armed with candy canes and dressed as elves, red, white and green animatronic tribbles and much much more. A true Trekkies holiday delight! Come one and all and join for a Romulan ale as we boldly go where no man has gone before!

Address: 10878 Milbank Ave, Las Vegas, 89135
Description: 4 to 10 p.m. daily. Tune your car radio to 103.9 FM. Thousands of LED lights set to music. THX opening, Carol of the Bells, Linus and Lucy, Jingle Bells, TSO Wizards of Winter. Picture on this web page is this house. Featuring 16 mini trees out front. Merry Christmas.

Address: 346 Maddalena, Las Vegas, 89183
Description: 6 - 8 p.m. My 14-year-old stepson Ryan Knepp loves Christmas decorations. With every dime he gets he buys blow-up decorations to place in the yard. Over the last month he has spent countless hours setting up his display.

He has about 40 blow ups plus countless lights and other displays. Last year he had blow ups stolen. He now attaches each one to plywood and puts a cable around all of them to prevent them from being stolen. He is very meticulous and makes sure every wire and string is just right. This 14-year-old does this all by himself and with his own money. Truly an inspiring story about Christmas and youth.

Address: 3308 Surfline Dr., Las Vegas 89117
Description: 5-11 p.m. Deer, trees, lights, music and lots more!

HENDERSON

Address: 3018 Scenic Valley Way, Henderson 89052
Description: 4:30 - 11:30 p.m. Lots of lights, inflatable airplane on roof, nativity scene, snow globe and lighted animals, angels and more. Live Santa appearing on Sundays.

OTHER EVENTS AROUND THE VALLEY:

Holiday Events Town Square
More info: townsquarelasvegas.com
Snow in the Square featuring snowflakes and holiday music will be featured through Dec. 23 in the park at Town Square, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Hours are 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 7 and 8 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

Photos with Santa Claus will be available through Dec. 24. Hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays. Pet photos will be available for dogs and cats only 6-9 p.m. Wednesdays.

The Holiday Nights & Lights community concert series featuring local choirs and music groups from Las Vegas area schools and community organizations will be at 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Dec. 23.

Ice Skating Rink
The rink is located on the Floating Stage at MonteLago Village, 15 Costa di Lago, Henderson. Hours are noon-9 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays and 3-9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Admission is $15 for adults and $12 for children 12 and younger (564-4766).

 16th annual Bagel Ball
When: 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Dec. 24
Where: Blush, Wynn
Tickets: $18 in advance for JCC members, $25 in advance for non-members, $35 at the door
More inf: 702-794-0090
Presented by the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada in cooperation with Blush Boutique Nightclub, the Bagel Ball is open to all adults (must be 21). Nightclub attire is suggested. Complimentary cocktails courtesy of Southern Wine & Spirits and hors d'oeurvres from Wynn Las Vegas' Society Cafe will be provided between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Attendees bringing a $5 grocery gift card will receive a free raffle ticket. Gift cards will be donated to the Jewish Family Service Agency Food Pantry which provides temporary assistance for nutritious food and hygiene products to Clark County residents. Other raffle tickets for a variety of fabulous prizes are available for $5 each. Proceeds also benefit the JFSA Food Pantry.

Complementing the Bagel Ball festivities, Wynn Las Vegas is offering several special deals. A "Taste of Wynn" full course dinner is available at Society Cafe before the Bagel Ball at a discounted price. Call 770-3463 for reservations. A discounted room rate of $119 is available to Bagel Ball attendees. For reservations, call (866) 770-7555 and ask for promotion code 8JCC1209. Reservations must be made by Dec. 17, 2010.

The Springs Preserve:

The Holiday Spectacular will transform the Springs Preserve into a winter wonderland. Bathed in the glow of thousands of colorful, eco-friendly LED lights, the family-friendly celebration will feature tasty treats, holiday arts and crafts, photos with Santa Claus, train and reindeer (pony) rides for the little ones – and snow! The merriment begins the first Saturday evening in December and runs December 4-5, 11-12 and 18-23, from 5 - 9 p.m.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $4 for children 5 to 12 and free for kids 4 and under. Visitors bringing canned or nonperishable food items will receive $1 off admission; food items will be donated to local charities including: Shade Tree Shelter, Catholic Charities, The Salvation Army, Lutheran Social Services of Southern Nevada, and the Las Vegas Rescue Mission. Springs Preserve members receive 50 percent off admission. Tickets will be available at the gate or may be purchased in advance at www.springspreserve.org. (Price does not include $1 per ticket fee when purchasing on-line.) All activities are included with the full admission price. The Holiday Spectacular is made possible in part through the generous contributions of MGM Resorts International.

Ethel M. Chocolates:

For the 17th consecutive year, Southern Nevada residents and visitors from around the world will celebrate the season strolling through a chocolate wonderland with the official public opening on November 17, 2010 of Ethel M Chocolates’ Annual Holiday Cactus Garden. This year, Ethel M invites visitors to experience the Holiday Cactus Garden like never before – in 3-D. Visitors can purchase 3-D glasses inside the Ethel M store located next to the garden. Located in Henderson, adjacent to the Ethel M Chocolates’ factory, the three-acre Holiday Cactus Garden is free of charge and open to the public Wednesday, November 17 through Saturday, January 1. Visitors can wander down the garden’s illuminated cacti pathways and enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of a chocolate wonderland from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Throughout the season, local school choirs will perform holiday favorites in the garden and Santa will make appearances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings through December 23. Magical Forest: Rides and attractions include the Forest Express passenger trains, an authentic carousel, the Alpine Slide, Santa’s Speedway (a new attraction this year), hundreds of decorated trees, a gingerbread house display, photos with Santa, hot cocoa, plenty of holiday food and nightly entertainment. Hundreds of local businesses and community organizations have come together to make the Magical Forest one of the longest running holiday spectaculars in Las Vegas. This is Opportunity Village’s largest annual fundraiser, generating more than $1 million for the organization’s most profoundly disabled adults in Project PRIDE (People’s Right to Independence, Dignity and Equality). Tickets can be purchased in advance at all local CVS/pharmacy locations or online at www.magicalforest.org.

CITY OF LAS VEGAS ACTIVITIES


Ward 5 Tree Lighting and Holiday Movie (all ages)
Friday, Dec. 17, 5 to 8:30 p.m.; tree lighting 5 p.m.; movie at 6 p.m.
Fee and open to the public.
Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza in Lorenzi Park, 720 Twin Lakes Drive. Join Councilman Ricki Y. Barlow and chorus singers to light the holiday tree in Lorenzi Park. Children from 14 elementary school in Ward 5 have been invited to decorate the tree from 2 to 4 p.m. with ornaments they make. After the lighting, caroling and carriage rides, enjoy the family film, “Christmas with the Kranks,” inside Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza, with hot cocoa, cookies, hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy, while supplies last. Please plan to bring your favorite lawn chair or blanket for the movie.

La Posada Festival Traditional Hispanic Holiday Event (all ages)
Saturday, Dec. 18, 5 to 8 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
East Las Vegas Community/Senior Center, 250 N. Eastern Ave., (702) 229-1515.
Join Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese to celebrate the holidays with traditional Hispanic customs involving friends, family and the whole community. All are welcome to enjoy live entertainment, traditional Posada, food vendors, children’s raffle and a special visit from Santa Claus.

Nevada Ballet Theatre's "The Nutcracker"
When: 8 p.m. Dec. 18; 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 19; 1 and 5 p.m. Dec. 20; and 1 p.m. Dec. 24
Where: Paris Las Vegas' Les Theatre de Arts, 3655 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Tickets: Prices start at $50.50. Dinner packages available
More info/tickets: (877) 374-7469 or 946-4567 or www.nevadaballet.com.

Celebrate Louis Prima's 100th birthday

Hard to believe that Tuesday marks the day that Louis Prima was born 100 years ago.  A renowned bandleader, musician and songwriter (Sing, Sing, Sing) are all well known.

In the 1950s, he teamed with female singer, Keely Smith, and fellow New Orleans sax player, Sam Butera and hit the road.  They lit up theaters and clubs where ever they played.

In Las Vegas, Entertainment Director Bill Miller was working for Milton Prell at the Sahara Hotel with a mandate to bring in customers.  Miller had at one time been the booking agent for Louis Prima. 

In 1954, Prima called Miller looking for work.  "How would you like a seven-year deal?" Miller asked.  Prima thought it was a good idea and so he and his wife, Keely Smith moved to Las Vegas just before Christmas.  After a few nights of playing the Casbah Lounge, Prima knew their act wasn't working.  Traditionally, the week between Christmas and New Years was a slow time but Prima was afraid that the hotel might cancel their contract if things didn't improve.  He called an old friend and saxophone player in New Orleans.  

"He called me on Dec. 24th and said 'Sam, you want to come to Vegas?' and I said when and he said tomorrow.  I told him it was Christmas and I got my kids and I can't leave on Christmas but I could be there on the 26th.  He said good, see you then."  Sam Butera told me in an interview in 2003.  "I brought along my drummer and my piano player."

The drummer and piano player barely had time to meet Prima and Smith before going on stage that night.  Louis Prima introduced Keely Smith, Sam Butera and the Witnesses.  The audience liked the name and it stuck.  The lounge entertainers performed sets between midnight and 6:00 am, every night.   They rotated generally with a comedian so that there was always entertainment in the lounge.

"And there was no one, ever, in the history of show business, that did the business that this man did from midnight until 6 in the morning. You could not get into that club. That was really one of the biggest things that happened in Vegas," says Miller. "It created people like Shecky Green. All the lounge acts started with Louis Prima." 

Prima, Smith, Butera and the Witnesses kept the joint jumping all night long. 

"We were the hottest act in the world." remembers Butera. 

"People like Frank Sinatra, Sophie Tucker would be there, 5:00 in the morning,  just to watch this act." remembers Carme, a venerable performer from those by-gone days. 

Performing five shows a night, three half hour shows and two forty five shows, Prima brought his raucous New Orleans style of entertainment to Las Vegas and it made not only them famous but the Sahara became the late-night place to be.

On Tuesday, Dec. 7th, Las Vegas celebrates Louis Prima's birthday with his son, Louis, Jr leading the band:

Louis Prima Jr. is performing a celebration tribute concert in honor of his father, Louis Prima’s 100th Birthday.

Tuesday, December 7 6:30 to 8pm on the First Street Stage at Fremont Street Experience.

The Swingin’ Pedestrians follow with 3 sets from 8 to 11pm.

Thirty Years Gone: The MGM Grand Fire

MGM Grand Hotel (now Bally's)

When the original MGM Grand Hotel opened in 1973, it was the most lavish hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.  Every facet of the hotel oozed with class from its casino that was the size of three football fields, to its MGM themed high-end gourmet restaurants such as Gigi's, Barrymores and Tracey's.  Chandeliers were everywhere.  The shopping area, located downstairs from the main casino floor, was filled with high-end stores and at the end, a movie theater that played classic studio era MGM films.  It was a hotel to remember.

But in 1980, an early morning fire changed forever the way we remember that beautiful hotel.  There were, by estimates, 5,000 guests staying the luxury hotel on the morning of the fire.

It was the deadlist hotel fire in Nevada history and the second deadlist in American history.  On November 21, 1980,  early in the morning, a fire, that had started hours earlier, broke through a wall soffit in The Deli and roared into the casino.

The fire had been sparked by wiring inside the soffit.  That wiring powered the refrigeration unit for a nearby food cabinet display.  The vibration of the rotating cabinet had caused the wiring to fray and the wires rubbed together.  The fire began there and burned for a while, undetected.  Had the Deli still been open around the clock like it had been when the hotel originally opened, the fire would likely have been spotted and contained easily.

Unfortunately, the Deli no longer was open 24/7 and the fire began while the Deli was closed for the night.  One of the workers on a marble and tile replacement crew entered the Deli to check for broken tiles and noticed a flickering light.  On closer inspection, he discovered the fire.  He immediately called security and went looking for a fire extinquisher.  He tried to contain the fire but as it grew bigger he realized that not only was his life in danger but casino patrons and other workers were as well. 

He opted to warn as many of them as he could.

Firefighters from nearby stations had arrived and were making their way to the Deli which was now enveloped in black smoke.  They were barely 40 feet inside the hotel when  a fireball  roared out of the Deli and through the casino gaining speed as it raced across the three football fields burning everything in its path. 

Later estimates by the Clark County Fire Department clocked the speed at 15 to 19 feet per second! Many of the elegant touches like the wall paper, the paintings of famous MGM characters, the carpet and more fueled the fire as it raced.

It finally roared out the front doors of the hotel destroying everything from the slot machines inside to the cars parked waiting for the valet.

Seven people were killed inside the casino area.

The fire fueled with toxic smoke had only one place to go and that was up.  Due to faulty smoke dampers, the fire was able to get into the hotel ventilation system.

Don Feldman was a baker on duty that morning.  Along with John Scott and Clarence White, he had stayed behind when word began to spread of a fire.   As he explained at a panel discussion on the subject that I moderated two years ago as part of "Untold Stories", he felt that staying behind to continue working wasn't putting himself in danger because, after all, it was the MGM and surely they would take care of the problem before it got too big.

As the smoke intensified and the lights began to flicker, Feldman realized that staying behind perhaps wasn't the best choice.

The three men sought refuge in the walk-in freezer.  As time passed, Feldman would go out and try to raise someone on the phone to let them know where they were.  The phone line was dead.   Clarence White finally decided to go for help.

While White was gone, Feldman wrote a message on the back of pie liner.  He began to think they might not make it out alive.  When they could take the cold no longer, Feldman and Scott decided to try and find a way out.

As they inched down the dark and smoky hallway, they found White's body.  He had died of a heart attack.

They made their way to the stairs and up to the casino area.  The casino was covered in water and windows were blown out.  Bodies were strewn about.  But, luckily, firefighters saw them and helped them to safety.

Elsewhere, the toxic smoke was making its way through the ventilation system.  Hotel guests were roused by other guests in the hallway or by knocks on the door.  The fire alarms were strangely quiet.

Many guests opted to take the elevators down to the casino.  Of those that did, many died in those elevators.

Others ran towards the stairs and began the descent down.  Many encountered thick black smoke and had to turn back.  While some returned to their rooms (those who had their room keys could, those who left them behind on nightstands and in purses found themselves locked out), others raced up the stairwell for the roof.

As the fire raged on, guests could be seen on balconies and at windows begging for help.  Helicopters from around the valley, including Nellis Air Force Base, helped rescue rooftop guests.  Some 2,000 guests made their way to the rooftop hoping to be rescued.

Fire ladders only went as high as the 9th floor but the hotel was 26 stories tall.  Guests on higher floors screamed for help.  Some jumped. Hotel workers used scaffolding to try and reach and rescue guests on higher floors.

Less than two hours after the alarm was sounded, the firemen had the fire in the casino under control and were busy evacuating people floor by floor.  It became a race against time.

The thick, black smoke, filled with toxins, moved swiftly and quietly throughout the air conditioning and ventilation systems.  Guests who were sleeping through the fire died in their sleep of smoke inhalation.

84 people died on that tragic day with another three dying later of injuries sustained during the fire. 

The MGM Grand fire led to lawsuits and trials.  As the pictures above show, the casino area was destroyed.  Smoke and water damage on the lower level destroyed many of the fabled shops.  The hotel closed and was rebuilt.  But the damage couldn't be repaired to the psyche of the American conscience.  Kirk Kerkorian, the owner of the hotel, sold the hotel to Bally's.

The fire changed the way hotels were built in America.  Now every room is equipped with fire sprinklers, each room comes with a binder that explains evacuation routes in case of fire, elevators are now disabled when the fire alarm sounds.

Much of the original MGM Grand still stands, its lovely bones still there amid all the remodeling that Bally's did.  For more on that, click here.

The Las Vegas Strip is very different today than it was 30 years ago.  But because of the tragedy of the MGM Fire, hotels in Las Vegas and around the country are now safer to stay in.

Show Producer Breck Wall has died

Ernest Borgnine, Karon Kate Blackwell, Marty Allen and Breck Wall

He made his mark on the Las Vegas Strip by creating and defining the afternoon comedy revue.  Breck Wall has died at 75.  He had been suffering from Alzheimier's Disease and was in an assisted living facility.

He was born Billy Ray Wilson in Jacksonville, Florida.  He had a colorful life that included a brush with infamy.  He played nightclubs in the South including two owned by Jack Ruby in Dallas, TX.  He testified before the Presidential committee investigating President Kennedy's assassination.

In 1958, he created "Bottom's Up!" after being inspired by the 1938 Broadway revue, "Hellzapoppin".

He arrived in Las Vegas in March of 1964 and the Castaways Hotel was open to his idea of an late night comedy lounge revue that incorporated old vaudeville routines with pop music, modern dancers and blackout sketches.  After a successful run, he hit upon the idea of an afternoon comedy revue and moved the show to the Thunderbird.

"Bottom's Up!" had many homes including the Aladdin, the Hacienda, the Mint, the Flamingo, the Sands and perhaps its most succesful residence, Caesars Palace, where the cast was headed by Nancy Austin.

Breck Wall was many things but he never lost his love of showmanship and his talent for surrounding himself with the best creative talent he could find helped change the afternoon lounge scene of Classic Las Vegas.

Reports are that he will be cremated.