Las Vegas High School Alum's Wildcat Float

The Helldorado parade was a lot of fun this year!  Despite the fact it was 100+ degrees (always), everyone seemed to have a great time.  Thanks to Doctor Lonnie Hammargren's generosity, Very Vintage Vegas and the Friends of Classic Las Vegas shared a float this year.  Jack LeVine, Mary JOY Alderman, Pam Hartley, Jennie and Zane Donaldson and more came out to help walk and ride the parade route.

We were in the staging area with the Las Vegas High School Alumni Association (and supporters of the FCLV).  They had a terrific float with the school mascot, the Wildcat.  The Wildcat roared as well!

The Wildcat up close

The Las Vegas High School Alumni Association with their float

Judge Lloyd George (LVHS alumni) and the Wildcat

Much to our chagrin, Dr. Lonnie's truck broke down just before we reached the grandstands.  Luckily, his mechanic came to our rescue.  We got to see most of the parade go by while he worked on the problem.  He was able to get us back up and running before the parade ended and we glided down 4th Street.  We reached Fremont Street just as the fireworks went off.

Before heading over to the Carnival and Rodeo, we went to Don't Tell Mama's for a couple of drinks because after all that, we were hot and thirsty!  There was a young woman at the mic singing songs from "Porgy and Bess" (it's always Karoke time at Mama's, it seems) and she was awesome!

It was great fun and we are already looking forward to next May!

The FCLV and VVV float with Mary JOY and Dr. Lonnie

and to celebrate our wonderful month celebrating Historical Preservation:

Do you know these men in the amazing Liberace Technicolor Dream Coat?

Thanks to Dave Williams for the Wildcat Float photos!

Thanks to Uncle Jack for the FCLV/VVV Float photos!

Thanks to Judy Dixon-Gabaldon for the Liberace coat photos!

It's Helldorado Time!!!

Helldorado Celebrations begin this week so here's your easy to find schedule. And yes, we expect to see many of you along the parade route on Saturday evening cheering us on. Drop by Mickey Finnz after the parade and join us for drink!

Wednesday, May 13
Helldorado Roundup Party

Fremont Street Experience
6 to10 p.m.
First Street Stage - Randy Anderson, 8 to 11 p.m.
Third Street Stage - Third Town, 8 to 10 p.m.
Food, drinks and entertainment

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Thursday, May 14
Carnival Midway opens 5 to 11 p.m.

Kids & Kowboys Locals Rodeo, 7 to 9 p.m.

Downtown Rodeo Grounds

Featuring mutton busting, media events, bull riding and local barrel racers
First Street Stage - Scotty Alexander Band, 8 to 11 p.m.
Third Street Stage - Third Town, 8 to 11 p.m.

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Friday, May 15th
Whiskerino Contest Finale 4:45 p.m.

Fremont Street Experience, 3rd street stage

$10 entry fee

Preservation Association of Clark County Yearly Event

PACC is once again holding their annual event. This year it is taking place at the historic 5th Street School. Stoney Douglas from the City of Las Vegas will be giving tours and a brief presentation about the restoration of the building.

6:30 pm

5th Street School

401 S. 4th Street

Admission is free but RSVPs are required.

RSVP to Corinne Escobar at CorinneEscobar@pacc.info

Light Refreshments will be served.

Carnival 5 p.m.to midnight
PRCA Rodeo 7to 9 p.m.
Downtown Rodeo Grounds

First Street Stage - John Encino Band, 8 to 11 p.m.
Third Street Stage - T.J. Weaver Band, 8 to 11 p.m.

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Saturday, May 16th

Helldorado Hold’em Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament
Binion’s Horseshoe Hotel & Casino, 9 a.m.

Helldorado Parade

Once again we are joining forces with Jack LeVine at VeryVintageVegas and Dr. Lonnie Hammagren to celebrate Helldorado! We will be using Dr. Lonnie's truck float filled with some cool Las Vegas historical artifacts.

If you would like to join us along with the parade route and help out, contact me or Jack. Last year we finished the parade and celebrated at Micky Finnz. Look for us to do something similar this year!

7:00 - 9:00 pm

Fourth Street (between Charleston and Ogden)

Fireworks Show, 9 p.m.

Carnival

noon to midnight
PRCA Rodeo 9 to11 p.m.
Downtown Rodeo Grounds

First Street Stage - John Encino Band, 8 to 11 p.m.
Third Street Stage - T.J. Weaver Band, 8 to 11 p.m.

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Sunday, May 17
Carnival

Noon to11 p.m.
PRCA Rodeo7to9 p.m.
Downtown Rodeo Grounds

Third Street Stage - Hazard County Rebels, 8 to 11 p.m.

Rodeo tickets available from noon to 6 p.m:

Elk's Lodge, 4100 W. Charleston Blvd.
http://www.elkshelldorado.com/

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Saturday, May 23rd

Clark County Centennial Day

Clark County Museum

10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Carey Burke and I will be there selling and autographing copies of "Las Vegas Postcard History: 1905-1965"

If you live out of state or can't make the book-signings but would still like an inscribed and autographed copy of "Las Vegas Postcard History: 1905-1965", here's the link for you:

www.classiclasvegas.com/coolstuff/coolstuff.htm

So there is plenty going on! We hope you will join us in celebrating all month long! Check back for added events as the month goes on!

El Cortez opens its new Cabana Suites

From our buddy Katz over at the Las Vegas Sun comes this review of the new El Cortez Cabana Suites.  The Cabana Suites was once the Ogden House.  We love the mid-century modern look of the exterior and the interiors!

It’s as if El Cortez took a look around the neighborhood and said, “I’d better clean up my act.”

Structurally and cosmetically made over after a $20 million renovation effort spanning more than two years, El Cortez is doing its best to fit in with new kids on the block like the Griffin, Don’t Tell Mama piano bar, Beauty Bar and Downtown Cocktail Room. Clearly, Fremont East, where Las Vegas Boulevard meets Fremont Street, is trending younger. So is the El Cortez, which not long ago was about as hip as Archie Bunker’s half-smoked stogie. Older casino-dwellers, with their decades-old club cards, fists full of coupons and loyalties to longtime owner Jackie Gaughan (who opened the hotel in 1955) remain El Cortez’s bagel and butter. But today’s hotel execs, long aware of the neighborhood’s shifting identity, are now aggressively tapping into the younger customer base drawn to the district by the new order of speakeasies and lounges. You never know, the kids tumbling out of Beauty Bar at 2 a.m. -- they might well be flush with disposable income.

Unveiled yesterday at the building once known as the Ogden House at 651 E. Ogden Ave., between 6th and 7th Streets, were the boutique-fashioned Cabana Suites. The new hotel is home to 64 new rooms freshly painted in avocado green with black and white design effects. The bathrooms and showers are laden with new marble tile. HDTVs (42-inch flat screens, even), iPod docks and WiFi are a few of the amenities, and the concept is to mix vintage Miami with vintage Vegas. The reality is, it’s a spot tailored to Las Vegans who get a kick out of visiting downtown to spirit off to faux Miami for a night or two. It’s also a convenient destination for couples who might have arrived separately and became acquainted at the Griffin. The current rates to book a room tonight are a non-fleecing $57 for a standard to $157 for a suite.

The $8 million project is tacked on to the approximately $12 million already spent across the street remodeling the main El Cortez hotel-casino. The project nods to authentic downtown culture, as one of Las Vegas’ more prominent artists and downtown fixtures, Jerry Misko, was commissioned to create an art installation in the Cabana Suites’ art deco lobby. The fusion of established and new downtown Vegas was evident at a ribbon-cutting party that included longtime Vegas resort executive Kenny Epstein (who took over as chief executive of El Cortez after Gaughan semi-retired a year ago) and downtown-savvy DCR owner Michael Cornthwaite.

Epstein, taking a break from chatting up Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada chief Larry Ruvo, likened the Cabana Suites project to playing a hand of poker.

“I’m all in,” he said. “It has to work, whether it’s bringing in a younger customer or appealing to those who are older who already like what we offer. But it has to work, period. I’ve got $8 million that says it’ll work.”

Sounds like a man holding a full house.

Las Vegas: 1905-1965 Booksigning Friday Nite

Our friends at the Nevada State Museum will be hosting a book signing for my new book, Las Vegas in Postcards: 1905-1965 on Friday evening, May 8th.

My co-authors Carey Burke will be there and there is the possibility that Allen Sandquist will be joining us as well.

The book-signing reception begins at 5:30 pm

At 6:30 that evening, Dennis McBride will moderate a talk with us on how the book came about.

We hope you will join us for a fun-filled evening!

Friday, May 8th

Nevada State Museum

700 Twin Lakes Dr

Lorenzi Park

5:30 pm Booksigning/Reception

6:30 pm Discussion