It’s officially summer in Las Vegas. While the solstice may not be for another few weeks, temperatures in Sin City are nearing 100 degrees, pools are open at all hours and frozen cocktails are getting their moment in the sun. If you find yourself wandering the Strip with nothing to do this June, check out one of these Vegas events which will be sure to fill the time.
Sundown in Downtown, June 2nd
The Las Vegas Natural History Museum is celebrating 26 years with its annual Sundown in Downtown fundraiser and outdoor soiree just for grown-ups. You have to be 21+ to attend, but you can channel your inner college student with flip cup, beer pong and more in a beer garden filled with 90s music. Appetizers, refreshments and entertainment is donated by Downtown Las Vegas businesses and all proceeds go towards the history museum. Bonus: you can finally see the really cool bones (like the 35-foot Tyrannosaurus rex) without tripping over pint-sized fans running under your feet.
Tickets are $44 each, $80 for couples, $220 for a six pack and $420 for a 12 pack. Call the Las Vegas Natural History Museum at 702-384-3466 for more information. Tickets are available here.
Location: 900 N Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas.
Reggae in the Desert, June 10th
Las Vegas has a lot of “the largest” things, and this reggae festival is no exception. Some of Jamaica’s best performers will play while attendees bargain with vendors for Caribbean-style arts and crafts and sample flavorful dishes. A beer garden will provide the booze, and the tunes will run from noon to 10 p.m. California-based group Common Kings, Alborosie and Tanya Stephens from Jamaica and Eljai, a performer from Belize, will headline the festival.
Tickets are available here, starting at $27.
Location: 500 S Grand Central Pkwy, Las Vegas.
Electric Daisy Carnival, June 16th – 18th
It wouldn’t be a list of Las Vegas events without this staple. Commonly known as EDC, Electric Daisy Carnival is one of the biggest electronic dance festivals in the world (if not the biggest) and regularly draws over 100,000 people to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Rain or shine, the festival will go from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. all three days and neon-clad 20-somethings will love every minute of it.
Tickets are pricey – $335 for all three days – but the pass gets you to all 11 stages of music, onto the carnival rides and into the carnival square which features free wi-fi and phone charging stations, carnival games, photos with performers, food and drinks, merch booths and more. Attendees must be 18 years old to attend and 21 to buy VIP tickets.
Location: 7000 N Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Restaurant Week, June 19th – 30th
For the 11th year, local restaurants will lower their prices and serve up some of their favorite dishes for the annual Las Vegas Restaurant Week. More than 170 restaurants participated last year, serving up prix fixe menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner. To kick off the week, celebrity chef Robert Irvine will host a cookout at Tropicana on Friday, June 16th. The event will take place at the Sky Beach Club, and Irvine will whip up summertime classics and cocktails.
The best part? A portion of the proceeds goes to Three Square Food Bank, and since 2007, more than 3.6 million meals have been provided for those in need through Restaurant Week. Visit www.helpoutdineoutlv.org for a full list of participating restaurants starting June 6th.
Location: Various.
Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con, June 23rd – 25th
The official Comic Con is in California, but the Las Vegas spinoff will give San Diego a run for its money this year with stellar guests like creator of the Marvel universe Stan Lee, Rob Liefeld (creator of Deadpool), Ray Park (actor, Darth Maul), Adam West and Burt Ward (actors, Batman), Veronica Taylor (voice actor, Pokemon, Sailor Moon) and Kevin Eastman (co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Hundreds of exhibitors and artists will fill the Las Vegas Convention Center, delighting members of all fandoms. On Saturday night, a costume contest will parade through the Main Theatre Room. Sunday, June 25th will serve as Kids Day.
Single-day tickets start at $45, with VIP and “Ultimate Fan” packages available for additional purchase. A full schedule of panels and programming will be available here closer to the event. The Westgate Resort is the convention’s official hotel.
Location: 3150 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas.
Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival, June 24th
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Tommy Castro and The Painkillers, and the Bill McGee Blues Band will provide entertainment while attendees drink local and craft beers and snack on a selection from BBQ vendors at the “Red-hot blues and ice-cold brews” Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival. Tickets are just $5 and food will be provided by Road Kill Grill, Breast of Vegas, Rollin’ Smoke BBQ and more. Over a dozen microbrews, craft beers and ciders will be on hand to quell the spice.
Location: 2121 E Craig Rd., Las Vegas.
Featured photo credit: Tony Nungaray (flickr) [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0].
