Top 10 things to do this week in Las Vegas
FESTIVAL
1. Great Las Vegas Taco Festival
Even if you skipped Taco Tuesday this week you can meet your taco quota Friday through Sunday, Nov. 5-7, at the Great Las Vegas Taco Festival, at Craig Ranch Regional Park, 628 W. Craig Road in North Las Vegas. Besides the obvious — tacos all the time, from 25 shops — there will be food trucks and michelada and margarita bars. Entertainment will include a Dias de las Muertos celebration and taco-eating and costume contests Friday, car show and car audio throwdown on Saturday and chihuahua beauty pageant and mariachi spectacular on Sunday. There also will be carnival rides, craft vendors, face painting and more. Tickets are $12 daily (free for kids 48 inches and shorter); go to projecttaco.com.
— Heidi Knapp Rinella
BOOK EVENT
2. Joshua Jay and Teller
This’ll tug at your brainstrings: Teller, a widely acknowledged prestidigitatory genius, talks with Joshua Jay, whose new book “How Magicians Think: Misdirection, Deception, and Why Magic Matters,” is based on years of working with Teller, David Copperfield, and on his own. Tickets are $27.50 and include a copy of the book. Vax proof required. 7 p.m., Nov. 8, at the Writer’s Block, 519 S. Sixth St., thewritersblock.com
— Scott Dickensheets
THEATER
3. “Doonesbury: The Musical”
While we’ve all gotten to know Mike and B.D. and Zonker and Joanie and the other inhabitants of “Doonesbury” pretty well over the past five decades, one question has gone unanswered: Can they sing? Now the answer is revealed in the affirmative in “Doonesbury: The Musical,” based on Garry Trudeau’s Pulitzer-winning comic strip, which runs Saturday, Nov. 6, through Nov. 21 at The Super Summer In City Studio 3 Theatre, 4340 S. Vallley View Blvd. Tickets start at $25. supersummertheatre.org/doonesbury
— John Przybys
MUSIC
4. Kevin Costner & Modern West
OK, so we could gorge on that delicious, delicious low-hanging fruit and make the easy joke about actor Kevin Costner’s country music career — “Line Dances with Wolves,” anyone? — but we’re totally above such childish behavior, so we’ll graciously give the guy credit for being a quality bandleader and earnest-voiced presence on the mic with a quartet of albums under his belt. “The Mailman” delivers at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, when Kevin Costner & Modern West play the Sunset Station Amphitheater, 1301 W. Sunset Road. Tickets start at $50; ticketmaster.com.
— Jason Bracelin
MOVIE
5. ‘Eternals’
The newest members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are among the oldest. “Eternals,” from Oscar-winning “Nomadland” director Chloe Zhao, follows a group of aliens who come out of hiding after thousands of years on Earth to battle an ancient enemy. “Eternals” opens Friday, Nov. 5, only in theaters.
— Christopher Lawrence
FESTIVAL
6. Super Sunday Jewish Food Festival
Food from Kosher Chinglish, Burnt Offerings, Bagelmania, Pinkbox Doughnuts, The Joy Pop Co. and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be on the menu for the annual Super Sunday Jewish Food Festival from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at Tivoli Village. Admission to the event, which showcases Jewish arts, culture and community as well as food, is free and there will be a kids’ area with a Boy Scouts climbing wall, sand dig, art projects and more. jewishnevada.org
— Heidi Knapp Rinella
MUSIC
7. George Thorogood & The Destroyers
They’ve sold more than 15 million albums and played more than 8,000 live shows over the past 45 years, and along the way have perfected the fine art of making even the largest venue feel like a roadhouse on a sweaty Saturday night. Now George Thorogood & The Destroyers bring their hard-earned rock ‘n’ roll skills to the Fremont Street Experience for a free concert Saturday, Nov. 6, on the Third Street Stage. Showtime is 9 p.m. vegasexperience.com
— John Przybys
MUSIC
8. Mac Sabbath
Would you like fries with your sore neck? Headbanging and hamburgers are officially united at last, thanks to “drive thru metal” innovators Mac Sabbath. As the band’s name telegraphs, Mac Sabbath combines McDonald’s characters with Black Sabbath parodying jams, hence “Children of the Grave” becomes “Chicken for the Slaves,” “Iron Man” turns into “Frying Pan,” etc. Sink your teeth into a Bic Mac of knowing ridiculousness at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Space, 3460 Cavaretta Court. Tickets are $20; thespacelv.com.
— Jason Bracelin
CULTURE
9. UNLV Art Walk
Beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5, this event is a four-hour sample platter of the university’s cultural life. The centerpiece is a 40th anniversary celebration of “The Flashlight,” the school’s iconic sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen. But all the creative departments get involved, from the sculpture folks pouring molten aluminum to the dance department performing ballet in a rose garden, as well as theater, music and Indigenous presentations. Free, unlv.edu/calendar
— Scott Dickensheets
HOLIDAY
10. Holiday Cactus Garden
Ethel M Chocolates, 2 Cactus Garden Drive in Henderson, will illuminate its 28th holiday display with thousands of lights at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5. The botanical gardens will keep the lights glowing until Jan. 2, from 5 to 9:30 each evening, with Santa in attendance through Dec. 23. In an effort to reduce COVID-19 risk, the company is requiring $5 reservations, which will benefit Three Square Food Bank and HELP of Southern Nevada. Each reservation will cover up to six people; go to ethelm.com/holiday.
— Heidi Knapp Rinella
Looking for more things to do? Check out our searchable database of events, exhibits and restaurants around the Las Vegas Valley.