A little too far for a day trip, but perfect for a weekend getaway, Pasadena, Calif. is often overlooked as a destination except on New Year’s Day.

A creative path Camille Duskin and her husband just wanted to clean up the neighborhood. The owners of an apartment building in Naked City — the area near the Stratosphere with a rep as a crime-ridden neighborhood — Duskin and her husband were tired of that tell-tale eyesore of the inner city: graffiti.

Biniam Asefaw had to flee his home in Eritrea to make a home in Las Vegas. His story of travail — and triumph — has turned him into a figure of inspiration There are many churches in Las Vegas, but there are only two serving the valley’s small community of Eritrean immigrants.

anomymous: we come, we eat, we dish The Rio is a funny place for us to eat. It’s got off-Strip accessibility, but lacks the culinary flash of its neighbor, the Palms.

Happy Hour Prime Burger at Fleming’s Sure, Fleming’s is a chain steakhouse but, hidden in its menu of standard albeit well-executed steakhouse fare, is their Prime Burger — probably among the best in town. The patty’s a combination of trim from their main steak offerings, best ordered to medium-rare perfection, and topped with peppered bacon and cheddar.

The Dish: Feast for the senses Off to a big show at The Smith Center? Graba bite in the neighborhood During the six months it’s been open, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts has already lured much traffic — and many diners — downtown. But that was something of a test drive, as The Smith Center fine-tuned its performing spaces and its programming mix.

If Las Vegas is eye-popping, luxurious and over the top, it learned from a master with long local ties. Liberace, here with his driver on stage, believed in constantly topping himself.

His vibrant, restless paintings will open your eyes — and teach them to listen You don’t so much look at a painting by Biscuit Street Preacher as listen to it. There’s an unmistakable music — maybe a broken calliope or toy xylophone — coming off his big canvases that nudge and bumble lovingly into your visual field.

Clear your calendar for the next few months — because we’re about to fill it with our top picks for the can’t-miss cultural events this season. Whether you love big musical theater, provocative art exhibits or festivals to thrill the whole family, you’ll find them here.

Cheryl Slader Instructor, Blue Sky Yoga Who takes Cheryl Slader’s yoga classes? A better question: Who doesn’t? In an age when Yoga Inc. has become corporate, packaged and accessorized, her yoga practice welcomes students of all skill levels and backgrounds.