(Visual Art)
Cornish Assault, by Matt Ortego
Spring Valley Library
If the gravid turbulence of modern civilization — its discord, corruption, and inhumanity — has you speculating, as one does, whether the planet would be in better shape if another species took over … and, further, if you’re among the somewhat smaller subset of people who think that species should be chickens — if you’d welcome some new bok-bok-bokking overlords — Matt Ortego’s serious whimsy is the exhibit for you. In a set of paintings that imagine a chicken-ruled world, the artist works out his feelings about the human-animal relationship. August 8-October 22, Spring Valley Library, free, lvccld.org
(Theater)
Oregon Trail
Majestic Repertory
A.J. Allegra’s parodic homage to Oregon Trail, a history-education video game from the ancient historical era of the ’70s and ’80s. It follows a pioneering family — with names like Ezekiel, Jebediah, and Old Crazy Fingers — as they bumble westward through the terrible hazards of the year “18 something something.” Dysentery jokes abound. August 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 10p, $20, majesticrepertory.com
(Outdoors)
Full(ish) Moon Hike to First Creek
Red Rock Canyon
If you’re going to hike in August, you might as well do it at night, when the temperatures drop to merely hellish; and if you’re going to hike at night, you might as well do it in Red Rock, when it’s almost a full moon. Note: The First Creek trail is not an easy amble; it’s moderately difficult, so be ready. August 12, free, details and registration at 702-515-5367
(Literature)
Elizabeth Quiñones-Zaldaña
The Writer’s Block
To celebrate the release of her chapbook Bougainvillea, the longtime Southern Nevada poet — who has read at the Las Vegas Book Festival and had work published in a variety of venues, including Desert Companion — will join fellow poets Jennifer Battisti and Jesse Sensibar for a reading. August 30, 5:30p, free, writersblock.org
(Music)
Mike Xavier
Brooklyn Bowl
We’ve heard Mike Xavier described as a “positivity rapper,” but that doesn’t mean his flow is namby or pamby. Dial up the video for “I Remember”; it’s about confronting the hard truths of his past on the way to a better future. Plus, he uses a live band, which is dope. August 17, 7p, $15-$328, brooklynbowl.com
Dry Wit. A cross-valley collab, with UNLV’s Barrick Museum hanging deep cuts from its collection in the Downtown office of Nevada Humanities. Work by Mikayla Whitmore, Eric LoPresti, Jean Giguet, Andrew Schoultz, and others “challenge us to see and experience Las Vegas in unique and different ways.” Groovy! August 1-September 25, 1017 S. First St., unlv.edu/calendar