Museums, Entertainers, Chefs and More Help Las Vegans Stay Virtually Connected, Entertained and Informed
Las Vegas museums, resorts, entertainers, celebrity chefs, and more are rising to the challenge of keeping Las Vegans entertained and informed during the
COVID shut-down by providing virtual access to their buildings, art collections, home-based kitchens and creative minds offering many ways to stay connected to the city’s plethora of incredible offerings.
And, media outlets like KTNV-TV and the Las Vegas Review Journal are doing a wonderful job of keeping everyone updated on what’s available. Here’s a quick overview curated from numerous articles!
Museums, Animal Parks and Historical Sites Take to Internet to Entertain and Educate
Home to many of Las Vegas’ iconic historical signs, the Neon Museum is offering free virtual tours and gallery talks through its app and Facebook page (Use the password NEON.) You also can experience the museum from afar, thanks to its selection of video content.
The Mob Museum has several virtual tours where history buffs can experience the museum’s world-class interactive journey of organized crime and law enforcement in Las Vegas and throughout the country. Check out their website or follow the Mob Museum on social media to access exclusive new content including virtual tours and educational outreach presentations for students in grades K-12.
The kids will love these virtual field trips at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, which include two-way question and answer sessions with expert guest speakers. Recent tours included Dinosaur Tours and Critter Connections.
Ozzie the painting giraffe over at the Lion Habitat in Henderson is becoming an internet sensation along with the lions, birds and tortoises. The nonprofit group is posting educational and fun videos on their Facebook page and offers fun activities for kids to enjoy virtually.
Now’s the perfect time to take an in-depth virtual tour of Hoover Dam considered one of the wonders of the industrial world. Built during the Great Depression to control flooding the dam provides irrigation water and electricity to the southwestern United States. It is named after our 31st president, Herbert Hoover. Click here to take a virtual tour.
Wynn Las Vegas is uploading daily virtual tours and behind-the-scenes videos to its Twitter account. A recent post features a sculpture titled Smiling King Bear by Spanish contemporary artist, @okudart, that has found a permanent home in the hotel-casino’s new outdoor area meetings and convention expansion.
Las Vegans Up Their Culinary Skills with the Help of Celebrity Chefs
Many of Las Vegas’ renowned celebrity chefs are offering virtual cooking classes. Recently the Las Vegas Review Journal’s Al Mancini, who has covered the local dining scene for 17 years opined about a few of his favorites in “Las Vegas chefs use Facebook, Instagram to connect to fans.” “For food TV fans accustomed to seeing chefs working in luxurious studios with virtually unlimited supplies, there’s something kind of charming about watching them improvise in their homes or in an understocked restaurant,” said Mancini. Here are just a couple of chefs to check out!
The Great Chef Vicente, aka Chef Vincent Pouessel (@the_great_chef_Vicente at Instagram, facebook.com/vincent.pouessel.9), walks you step-by-step through the creation of everything from a loaf of bread to a lasagna to a chocolate tarte in this series of videos.
Cooking Lessons With Chef Vic Vegas (www.facebook.com/StJudesRanch). After appearing in more than 50 episodes of various food TV shows, including a season on “Food Network Star,” Sinful Subs chef/owner Vic Vegas (Vic Moea) takes it old-school with these DIY videos for St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. He’s hosting a cooking lesson every Saturday during the shutdown, transitioning to a monthly series afterward, with plans to compile all the recipes in a St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Cookbook.
Las Vegas Entertainers Keep Us Singing, Laughing and Dancing
Cirque du Soleil fans can enjoy high-quality entertainment from its new digital content hub CirqueConnect, available at cirquedusoleil.com/cirqueconnect featuring a breathtaking 60-minute special, virtual reality experiences, tutorials from top Cirque artists, music, and much more. You also can go backstage at the various Las Vegas shows with the company’s “Behind the Curtain” series.
The Park MGM and On the Record are bringing their Industry Nights into homes every Wednesday. “The Wednesday Spin” will video broadcast live from Park MGM’s Instagram account beginning at 7 p.m., featuring three hours of nonstop beats by a weekly rotation of The Strip’s best turntable talents, all representing Park MGM venues. Anyone can join in the party’s conversation by using the hashtag #VegasFromHome.
“The Las Vegas Strip may be dark, but Las Vegas performers are still shining bright from their living rooms and sometimes from their streets,” said Joyce Lupiani of KTNV. Here are few that will help you enjoy a hearty laugh or sing along! For the full list check out 13 Ways to See Vegas Entertainers From Your Home During Coronavirus Pandemic.
Singer and songwriter Cameron Dettman, who was once part of the Las Vegas band Play for Keeps, takes requests during a virtual open mic almost daily on his Facebook page and Instagram account and Lorena Peril, host of “Fantasy” at the Luxor hotel-casino, is holding safe distance dance parties on her block every Saturday night at 5 p.m. Watch the fun on Facebook.
Las Vegas Strip headliner Jeff Civillico is giving juggling lessons on Zoom every Tuesday and well-known magician and Las Vegas headliner Murray Sawchuck and Lefty teaches magic tricks on his Facebook page.
Get Outdoors
For an amazingly unique experience, you have got to try this! Las Vegans are jumping on their bicycles to freely ride up and down the Strip and throughout a Downtown that is sans car and pedestrian traffic. Plus, the spring weather is ideal for an outing. So don that bicycle helmet and enjoy the empty streets – this opportunity, we hope, will never come around again!
