By Judy Thorburn
Entertainment Reporter/Film Critic
Las Vegas Tribune
Owner/Editor in Chief/writer
www.theflickchicks.com


To begin with I must send my heartfelt condolences to KVBC channel 3’s weekday and morning weather anchor John Fredericks for the loss of his beloved yellow lab and best friend Jordan who, at the tender age of 13, died on Saturday morning, August 4. Jordan was well known in the Las Vegas community to TV viewers who watched him as a regular feature for the last 11 years with his master on the local news broadcast. Jordan was considered very much a part of the News 3 family and as somewhat a celebrity in his own right, made guest appearances around the community with John. For all animal lovers and everyone else who allowed Jordan into their hearts and homes, the beautiful animal will surely be missed, but not forgotten.

 Chef Josette throws Birthday Bash at Josette's Bistro

Tuesday August 7, at 5:30PM internationally recognized Chef Josette Leblond, owner of Josette’s Bistro, Normandie Pate’ and the Normandie Bakery, celebrated her birthday (which also happened to be mine) with a party at Josette’s Bistro located on 4983 West Flamingo Road. KiKi Kalor, a regular performer on Saturday evenings at Josettes, hosted the event that featured singer / pianist Randy Thomas, who provides dinner music throughout the week.

Chef Josette Leblond of Josette's Bisto
Photo courtesy of www.josettesbistro.com

Invited guests and customers who included several Las Vegas entertainers such as Las Vegas Entertainment Ambassador/TV host Tony Sacca, Las Vegas tenor Marc Giovi, and vocalist Genevieve were treated to Chef Josette’s complimentary delicious hors d’oeuvres and pastries with an open bar. Josette’s Bistro has recently been featuring monthly Cabaret Dinner Shows the last Friday of every month with some of Las Vegas’ finest entertainers. Josette is currently in production for her new food show for television. She recently returned from a 10-day trip to France filming from Paris to Cannes which included a trip to the truffle farm and much more.

Mark Govi and Kiki Kalor


Tony Sacca and Kiki Kalor


Kiki Kalor and Chef Josette Leblond


Jacqueline Monahan, Stephen Thorburn, Chef Josette Leblond, Allen Thorburn and Judy Thorburn


Chef Josette Leblond of Josette's Bistro


Chef Josette Leblond and singer Genevieve



Chef Josette Leblond and Tony Sacca

All of the food prepared at Josette’s Bistro is her own recipes right down to the salad dressing. Breads, pastries, croissants, muffins and cakes are prepared fresh daily. Josette’s Bistro also features fine wine and champagne as an added attraction.

 Ashley Hartman hosts Custo Barcelona Fashion Show at Studio 54's Influence

Later on Tuesday night, actress/model/singer Ashley Hartman who appeared on TV’s The “OC” and was one of the top 32 finalists in the second season of American Idol, played host for the Custo Barcelona Fashion Show that took place at Studio 54’s influence. Prior to the fashion show, at 11:15 there was a red carpet event where Ashley and the stunning models for Custo Barcelona posed for the media and fans. At 12:30am the fashion show got under way before a packed house with the five gorgeous models taking turns strutting down the catwalk modeling three pieces of the trendy California inspired clothing line by designer brothers Custo and David Dalmau.

Ashley Hartman


Ashley Hartman and Custo Barcelona fashion models

 Origin India Restaurant Presents Tabla Fridays

Origin India Restaurant, located on Paradise Road and Harmon, is now offering patrons more than delicious Indian food. Starting last Friday August 10 from 10PM until 2AM, and continuing every subsequent Friday night, the restaurant is presenting Tabla Fridays, as an alternative for locals and visitors to Las Vegas who are looking to experience something different and special other than the usual frenzied nightclub destination on the Strip.

Available for Friday night patrons is a special late night menu as well as drinks such as their signature Mangotini, which is a fresh Mango pulp infusion of Vodka and Cointreau and appetizers that will send your taste buds in a frenzy, plus live musical entertainment in the form of Indian percussions and modern fusion provided by musician Tamim Avzelli on the tabla, who is accompanied by prerecorded music. It's a New Era of possibilities for the sound of 21st-century India; an opening of the Indian World with the Western World at play with each other.

To take in the flavor of India in more ways than one, all you have to do is visit Origin India, centrally located just across the street from the Hard Rock Hotel.

Origin India Restaurant


Tamim Avzelli performs on Tabla Fridays

 Other recent and upcoming “happenings” in and around Las Vegas include:

On Saturday, August 11 Vegas Rocks! Magazine, Las Vegas’ exclusive rock and roll music and entertainment publication, celebrated its Third Year Anniversary with a series of parties that started with a bash at the Canyon Club located inside the Four Queens Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas. The party got underway at 8 PM, with Vegas Rock’s publisher Sally Steele and VR’s PR/Mktng. Director Steve Eggleston hosting the event which featured rockin entertainment by 80's sensation Bang Tango and Kristy "Krash" Majors (formerly of Pretty Boy Floyd) and 6 killer local bands. Afterwards there was an early Sunday morning After Party at the cool & chic Artisan Hotel (1501 W. Sahara/Hwy 15) beginning at 2 a.m. followed by yet another party Sunday night at MINXX Gentlemen’s Club.

On Sunday August 12 internationally acclaimed comedian-ventriloquist Ronn Lucas brought his intelligent, family friendly “The Ronn Lucas Show” to Luxor’s Atrium Showroom. With his puppet sidekick Buffalo Billy (who thinks he’s a ladies’ man) and Scorch (the loveable green teenaged dragon), Lucas mixes stand-up comedy, improvisation, audience participation, puppetry and vocal gymnastics to astonish and delight audiences. Performances are Saturday – Wednesday at 3 p.m. with an additional show at 1 p.m. Saturday and Monday. General admission is $29.95 plus tax and handling fees. VIP admission is $39.95 plus tax and handling fees. VIP admission includes preferred seating and choice of a DVD or T-Shirt and a signed photograph.

Ronn Lucas and Scorch

From August 16 through September 19 master magician and illusionist David Copperfield returns to the MGM Grand’s intimate 740-seat Hollywood Theatre with his most spectacular show ever, an “Evening of Grand Illusion”. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. with an additional 4:30 p.m. matinee show on August 18 and 25; September 1, 2, 3, 8 and 15.

On August 18th the Kim Flowers Talent Development Academy™ in Las Vegas is hosting open auditions with leading Hollywood-casting agent Sydel Lisi in search of the next big star in acting, modeling and performing arts talent for upcoming commercial, television and film projects. Auditions will be held at the Marriott located at 1901 N. Rainbow Blvd. at 2:30 p.m. Those interesting in auditioning with Lisi should call Kim Flowers Talent Development Academy (702) 877-2227, 5940 S. Rainbow Blvd. #2009, Las Vegas

Multi talented actor and song and dance man Tony Danza, who previously played the role on Broadway, takes over the role of Max Bialystock in the Las Vegas production of The Producers at Paris Las Vegas beginning August 13 for an 18 week engagement.

Tony Danza takes over role of Max Bialystock in "The Producers"

The Las Vegas production, which opened on January 31 of this year, runs for 90 minutes without any intermissions.

A new comedy club just opened in the showroom at Palace Station Hotel & Casino. The LA Comedy Club is the brainchild of Bill Voelkner and Joaquin Trujillo of Bill Voelkner Productions and features two comedians, both of headlining caliber. The LA Comedy Club presents two hour-long shows nightly, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the intimate 150-seat venue at Palace Station. Tickets are $24.95 each and include either two drinks inside the showroom or a meal at the Palace Station Feast Buffet that must be redeemed within seven days of purchase date. The featured comedians will alternate every one to two weeks, splitting their time on stage equally.

From now thru September 1, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is giving players the opportunity to win a custom bike created by most sought after bike designer, Jesse Rooke. For each 100 points earned through blackjack or red blackjack on table games, players will receive a drawing ticket for the giveaway. Second and third prizewinners will receive a slot machine. 21 additional players will receive a free slot play card valued at $100 each. In addition, the first three players that earns 300,000 points from now until September 1st will win custom-made slot machines. The grand prizewinner of the bike giveaway will be announced on Monday, Sept. 3rd at 9 p.m. inside the Viva Las Vegas Lounge.

Charismatic entertainer, Clint Holmes, will reveal a new side of his talent to audiences during a limited engagement at the Excalibur that runs from August 13- 29, dark Sunday. Holmes will be performing classic favorites and new songs from his Broadway-bound musical “Just Another Man”, backed by Bill Fayne and multi-instrumentalist Dominick Allen, and his performances will be enhanced by occasional special guest appearances from Holmes’ fellow Las Vegas performers. The set list will feature music from all stages of Holmes’ wide-ranging career. Showtime is nightly at 7 p.m. Tickets are $45 plus tax.

Wes Winters has debuted the newest version of his one hour live show “A Musical Tribute to Liberace: On With the Show” which marks the beginning of the fourth season of Winters headlining the tribute show that he conceived, wrote, and produced. Adorned in jewelry and his own white bejeweled costume which he personally designed and created with nearly 10,000 rhinestones, Winters performs some of the flamboyant entertainer’s most popular songs including “Sabre Dance,” “Tiger Rag,” “Beer Barrel Polka,” and “I’ll be Seeing You” on one of Liberace’s dazzling rhinestone pianos, that wouldn’t be complete without his signature candelabra. Shows are held every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday in the new Wes Winters Showroom that seats up to 75 persons in the intimate cabaret style setting at the Liberace Museum, 1775 E. Tropicana Ave. (Tropicana and Spencer), from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are priced at $17.50 per person and can be purchased online at www.liberace.org , by phone 702.798.5595, ext. 14.

On Saturday, August 25 from 3-7PM, The Estancia Room in Green Valley Ranch Hotel and Casino will be the location for the QVino Wine Tasting sponsored by Lee’s Discount Liquors to benefit Opportunity Village. Advance tickets are $50 and can be purchased at all Lee’s Discount Liquor locations. Ticket price at the door is $70. For more information call (702) 259-3471 or visit www.opportunityvillage.org .

On September 2, beginning at 4PM The Cannery Casino & Hotel will host the End of Summer Bash-Bubblegum Bonanza Concert at the Club, an indoor/outdoor venue at the venue. The festival will feature a line-up of classic musical acts such as The Archies with Ron Dante, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Andrew Gold, The Ohio Express, Alan O’Day and Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods, along with a special guest appearance by Trini Lopez. In addition to the fun musical line-up, there will be plenty of tasty food and ice cold drinks available. Vendors will be selling items like clothing, accessories, and rock n’ roll memorabilia. The festival also features a free car show open to all makes of cars and trucks.

Tickets to the concert are FREE and are available to the public at the Cannery Casino & Hotel’s ticket sales counter located at the front desk check-in.

Award winning television and movie star Gary Sinise shows off his hard rockin’ musical side as he and his group, the Lt. Dan Band, pay tribute to the men and women of our nation’s armed services. The special one-night engagement will be held at The Club at the Cannery Casino & Hotel on Sunday, September 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets for reserved seats are $25 for the general public and $15 for active duty and retired members of the military. General admission is only $10 and reserved tables of four are $40. Tickets are on sale at the Cannery Casino & Hotel’s ticket sales counter located at the front desk, by calling 702-617-5585 or 866-287-4643 (toll free), or by visiting www.cannerycasinos.com .

Luxor Flight, a new bar adjacent to LAX, one of the hottest new club’s from L.A. has opened onside the Luxor. Flight offers a 40-seat lounge as well as a full bar serving the latest in premium cocktails, beer, wine and non-alcoholic selections. Flight is open daily, 24 hours. Phone (702) 262-4000 for more info.

On Saturday and Sunday, September 1 & 2 at 8PM each night, legendary rock band Heart, fronted by musically talented sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, who stormed the charts in the 70’s with hits like "Crazy on You," "Magic Man," "Barracuda," “Straight On,” “Even It Up,” and “Kick It Out” will appear in concert at the Las Vegas Hilton. Tickets are on sale now and priced at $60-$85 (plus tax and service charge).


On September 14 and 15 at 9PM Hispanic comedian Gabriel Iglesias will perform inside the Lance Burton Theatre at the Monte Carlo. During an exclusive performance with special guest Joey Medina, Iglesias will entertain the crowd with his mixture of story-telling humor and sound-effect comedy routine. Tickets priced at $49.95 and $45.95 plus tax and fees are available at the Monte Carlo box office. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call the Monte Carlo box office at (702) 730-7160 or (877) 386-8224. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.montecarlo.com .

Comedian Ray Romano will join his “Everybody Loves Raymond” co-star Brad Garrett on stage inside the Danny Gans Theatre  at the Mirage, September 14 and 15 and October 12 and 13. Performances are 10:30 p.m. After performing separately, the slapstick duo will return together on stage to reminisce about their years of working together and conduct a Q&A session with the audience. Tickets are priced at $110 plus tax.


On Saturday, September 15, Nevada Ballet Theatre will perform outdoors, under the stars, at the amphitheatre in Hills Park, Summerlin. This event is open to the general public and features a variety of fun and light-hearted performances such as Balanchine excerpts and a special one-act ballet, NKH. Tickets are. $20 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. They can be purchased at Nevada Ballet Theatre’s studio at 1651 Inner Circle or by calling 702- 243-2623. Tickets may also be purchased at the gate beginning at 6:30 pm. General lawn seating only; attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and picnic baskets. Performance begins at 8 pm. CALL NBT at 243-2623 for more information.

I’ll be back next time for what’s “happening” in and around Las Vegas.