See Hear Do: Culture Chase

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.

Announcing the inaugural Best Friends Forever Festival, taking place Friday, October 11th through Sunday, October 13th at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. Over the course of three days and nights, some of the most beloved emo / indie rock acts originating in the '90s and early aughts will gather along with present-day torchbearers to play on two stages — 13 bands a day, with no schedule overlap. Headliners include Sunny Day Real Estate, Cap' N Jazz, and The Blood Brothers.

If you’ve never seen an opera combined with comedy — and then combined with fantasy — now’s your chance. Based somewhat on The Theatrical Illusion by Pierre Corneille, Opera Las Vegas’ staging of Again and Again and Again takes viewers to 18th century France through a turbulent story of romance, time, and parental love.

Shows start on Oct. 11.

He’s the man behind the movie soundtrack bangers of the last 30 years. “Time” from Inception. “Cornfield Chase” from Interstellar. And “The Battle” from Gladiator. All of them can fill the largest of rooms, which partly explains why the German composer is following a September show at Resorts World Theater with a T-Mobile Arena performance a mere two weeks later.

But the other important quotient: the way those sweeping songs bring us right back to the movies they score — and where we were in our lives. Just ask anyone of Generations Y and Z their earliest musical memory. If they don’t say Zimmer’s “Circle of Life” from The Lion King, dinner’s on me.

Politics fatigue this time of year is palpable, so you’re forgiven for feeling hesitant to see a play about a municipal council meeting. But A Public Fit’s performance of The Minutes, Tracy Letts’ Tony and Pulitzer award nominated dark comedy, injects a much-needed dose of levity into the travails and frustrations of small-town politicking. It may not quite cure the election cycle blues, but dang it if it won’t come close.

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.

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.