The Pirates of the Mississippi will take the stage at Don's Celebrity Theatre in the Riverside, April 12-15. Tickets are $25, call 800-227-3849.
Beginning as a five-man band, the Pirates signed to Capitol Records in 1989, the same year Garth Brooks made his debut on the label. As musicians with deep country roots, they scored their first hit with an electrifying version of Hank Williams' "Honky Tonk Blues." Over the next few years, they populated the charts with hit tunes and made their signature song in 1991 with "Feed Jake." Ostensibly about a dog, the sometimes-cryptic song ultimately became a plea for tolerance. Even more surprising was its accompanying music video. The Pirates didn't even appear in it, relying instead on actors to convey the story.
The Colorado Belle and Edgewater Hotel and Mark Vranesh Studio of Las Vegas will host the 4th Annual Riverwalk Art Festival, Saturday and Sunday, April 14-15. The event will be held outdoors, on the riverwalk between the two casino properties. Free and open to the public, the art festival begins at 10 a.m. and concludes at 5 p.m. each day.
More than 50 artists from Nevada, California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico will be featured at the juried art festival. Vranesh says festival visitors can look forward to seeing and purchasing fine art including painting, ceramics, photography, wearable art, glass, sculpture and jewelry as well as unique crafts.
Each year Vranesh, renowned Las Vegas watercolor artist, is commissioned to paint a watercolor for the event. This year, "Colonial Mexico," a colorful rendering of a city street in Mexico, will be featured in prints, posters and on commemorative t-shirts. Posters and t-shirts will be included in room packages for the weekend. In addition, guests will have a chance to win signed, hand-numbered, framed lithographs of the painting each night in a 6 p.m. drawing held at the casino's Grand Staircase. The drawing winner will take home $500 and one framed, hand-numbered and signed lithographs from their choice of the first through fourth Riverwalk Festivals. Drawing tickets may be earned by joining the One Club and when gaming.
During the festival, art show browsers will be entertained by Tucson-based Léo Gosselin, a pioneer and master of the unique Chapman Stick, a stringed instrument and member of the guitar and bass family. Gosselin's musical style ranges from relaxed melodies to laid back jazz. Gosselin has released five albums, four of which are available as CDs.
The 4th Annual Riverwalk Art Festival will feature a number of returning artists from the previous year, and many exceptional artists are looking forward to their first opportunity to exhibit and sell their work.
The national Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour presented by B&W Trailer Hitches will make its first-ever stop in Laughlin on April 14 and 15 at the Laughlin Event Center for the Laughlin Xtreme Bulls. Forty of the world's top bull riders will converge on the Laughlin to take their shot at a $60,000 purse.
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