Fall Culture Guide 2024: Family and Festivals

For two days, Southern Nevada’s large but scattered LGBTQ community comes out to march, dance, laugh, eat, drink, and, most importantly, unite. There will be the usual truck-bed floats dominating the parade and local entertainers performing during Saturday’s all-day festival. But if that doesn’t float your boat, you can always turn to the people next to you, extend a hand, and get to know some of Las Vegas’ many queer community members. They’re a lively bunch.

Note: Parade starts at 6p and festival runs from noon-11p. Parade is free.

There’s no richer opportunity to take in Indigenous peoples’ culture than a pow wow, and the Las Vegas Paiutes will do it up big for their 32nd edition of this gathering on the tribe’s reservation just east of Mount Charleston. For three days, attendees can watch and/or participate in the events’ many dance competitions, accompanied by also-competing drummers and singers. Outside the performance circles, vendors will be selling authentic jewelry, regalia and apparel, crafts and artwork, blankets, and other items — as well as must-try food items, such as fry bread and Indian tacos.

Event starts Oct. 11.

In recent years, the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City has put on a fun Halloween event where attendees board a train and take an out-and-back ride filled with spooky occurrences. Now, the Halloween Express is ditching the scares to accommodate all members of the family. A 30-minute, activity-laden ride is followed by a party that includes a costume contest, games, food, a “monster mash” dance party, and more.

It's the 15th annual Aki Matsuri Japanese Festival, presented in partnership with the Japanese Festival Association of Nevada. What you can expect: live entertainment, Japanese food and goods (authentic, of course!) from 50 or so vendors, a haiku contest. ikebana, a sake pavilion, activities for the kids....and more.

If you’ve held off taking Junior to his first concert lest his favorite performer is also a potty mouth, multiple upcoming musical performances merge animated movies and their soundtracks and all but beckon a family outing. Over at The Smith Center, fans of a certain webslinger can watch the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse with a live re-creation of the score — and that includes an orchestra and turntablists on top of the usual instrumentalists. (Note: The Smith Center’s similar program for Avatar: The Last Airbender in November is already sold out.)

Show times are scheduled for 2p and 7:30p.

The state’s biggest literary event is one of the most family-friendly Downtown events of the year, known as much for its storybook readings and illustration demonstrations for kids as it is for its panel discussions and author appearances for adults. Balancing things out is what’s sure to be a boisterous chat with headliner John Waters — yes, the director of shock-and-raw films such as Pink Flamingos, but also the writer of a fat handful of books, including the novel Liarmouth and the auteur’s exercise in cross-country hitchhiking, Carsick. Bilingual options will include a panel discussion headed by writing group Autoras de Vanguardia and an Aztec calendar coloring workshop (also in Nahuatl).

If you’re wondering when this fall you might be able to drink copious amounts of beer while venturing outside of your go-to IPA, two ale fests have you covered. First up: The Downtown Brew Fest returns for its 12th year, promising more than 200 different brews from some 60-odd sudseries, both local and national. (It’ll also have food and bands.)

UNLV will be hosting something live and special for the Pixar classic Coco. With Miguel, Hector, and the whole cast singing and conversing, the Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México will handle the soundtrack live.

Head northwest to Big Dog’s and its beloved Dogtoberfest, complete with both (Nevada and out-of-state) beers and brats — and a costume contest for dogs and their owners.

Honoring those who have passed in Mexican culture is no dour occasion, as the holiday otherwise known as the Day of the Dead has long proved. Besides the ornate family altars (ofrendas) and the colorful skulls (calaveras), revelers beckon the spirits of their deceased loved one with boisterous mariachi bands, poem/epitaph (calaveras literarias) readings, and enough tamales and pan de muerto for both the dead and the living. Día de los Muertos events will fleck the valley, including a pre-Día Sugar Skull Workshop.

Honoring those who have passed in Mexican culture is no dour occasion, as the holiday otherwise known as the Day of the Dead has long proved. Besides the ornate family altars (ofrendas) and the colorful skulls (calaveras), revelers beckon the spirits of their deceased loved one with boisterous mariachi bands, poem/epitaph (calaveras literarias) readings, and enough tamales and pan de muerto for both the dead and the living.

The beauty of Latin American culture and celebrating Día de los Muertos never fails to bring together communities. It'll be doing just that on the Day of the Dead at the Springs Reserve where they will be displaying a colorful celebration of locals' ofrendas (altars) to remember their loved ones. There will be food, dancing, mariachis, even a "People's Choice" award where attendees can vote their favorite ofrenda.

Imagine a big mall that swaps out stores for performance venues and art galleries, kiosks for impromptu dance numbers and poetry readings, and a food court for booths featuring some of the valley’s most well-known restaurants. Art Walk is the UNLV College of Fine Arts’ big fall open house, featuring the work of the art, theater, music, film, dance, architecture, and entertainment engineering and design departments. There isn’t a dull moment because with all on offer, there couldn’t possibly be one.

Geek is king in pop culture, especially when it comes to the dominance of the Marvel Universe and Japanese animation at the global box office. So it’s no surprise that Las Vegas has its own event dedicated to comic/graphic storytelling, representations, and memorabilia. The offerings for this free event include discussions and demonstrations by various comic book authors, illustrators, and other media professionals devoted to the larger comic world; drawing/writing workshops; various film screenings and performances; and vendors hawking comics/graphic novels, collectibles, and food.

For the fourth year, Henderson will mark Veterans Day with a tribute to Indigenous culture. Nuwu Art Gallery + Community Center teams up with the city to present bird singers, Danza Azteca, Paiute storytellers, cultural vendors, and art, art, art. Nuwu’s Fawn Douglas says it will be a great chance for families to learn about the Southern Paiute lands they’re living in, notably Sloan Canyon, right next door to Henderson. Veterans will also be honored.