First Friday

The Fourth Of July - Fundraising, Fireworks and First Friday All Rolled Into One Big Evening

July 7th, 2008 Categories: First Friday

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I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.

I’m especially gratified that I ran into so many of you at First Friday and about 40 readers of VVV attended the Nevada Aids Project Fundraiser at the top of World Market Center. There were about 500 total attendees, and lots of money was raised.

Donations are still welcome if your budget allows.

If you’re decorating your house, Suite Charity is a furniture and accessory outlet in the World Market Center that is operated as a year round fundraiser for the Nevada Aids Project. Manufacturers from around the world donate showroom pieces that they don’t want to have to ship back to their warehouses. Prices are remarkably cheap for fabulous home furnishings.

 

 

 

 

None of my fireworks pictures came out very well, unfortunately. The penthouse patio is open air, but it’s walled in with picture windows all around, which didn’t allow for great pictures. Here’s the best shot.

 

 

Dennis Dunn, the founder and Chairman of NAP says that we’ll be doing it again next year, and I hope more of you will attend. It was totally awesome to be able to see that many fireworks displays from a vantage point several hundred feet above street level.

I round-aboutly helped to create NAP. After Dennis moved to LV from San Diego, and was settled into his fabulous new downtown home, he told me that he was bored in his young retirement. I suggested he that he join some clubs, or charities or start one of his own. Nevada Aids Project was born out of that conversation. The suggestion holds true for ALL of you as well. Get involved!

I only got to attend about an hour of First Friday before dashing off to the fundraiser, but we did stop in at the arts factory and Retro Vegas and Lost Vegas, where I found a terrific 50’s jacket with square buttons. Fortunately this is the last time it will be seen with a red flowered Hawaiian shirt.

If you’ll remember last week I told you the story of Dean Martin’s cousins house coming to market. The agent told me that someone showed up at the estate sale and bought all of the furniture, but that he didn’t know who it was. When we got to Retro Vegas, there were signs on some really great pieces that read “From Dean Martin’s Cousin’s Home”. Mystery solved.

 

 

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The Fourth Of July

July 4th, 2008 Categories: Downtown Las Vegas, First Friday

The whole crew at Very Vintage Vegas wishes you a happy and safe 4^th of July!

We’re hoping you’ll spend Friday night in Downtown Las Vegas.

FIRST FRIDAY

6–10 PM  dozens of venues and lots to see and do! First Friday is the flagship monthly event of the ever expanding Las Vegas Arts Scene.

Don’t miss Brian Paco Alvarez’s BENEATH THE NEON – THE EXHIBITION now on display at the Contemporary Arts Collective in the Arts Factory.

Stop in at Retro Vegas on Main Street and tell them Uncle Jack sent you.

FIRE WORKS COCKTAIL PARTY

8–11 on the 16th Floor Penthouse of the World Market Center.

Adults Only, Casual (tourist) attire, Free Admission. At the door tell them that VeryVintageVegas or Uncle Jack invited you!

Cash Bar with all proceeds going to the NEVADA AIDS PROJECT

Fireworks viewing at 9 and 9:30 should be spectacular.

FREMONT STREET EXPERIENCE:

The Don McLean’s AMERICAN PIE viva vision show is breathtaking and should not be missed. We attended the world premiere last night and it made me cry. Nuff said.

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First Friday, A Massive Cocktail Party and The FOURTH OF JULY Fireworks

June 30th, 2008 Categories: ART, Arts District, Downtown Las Vegas, First Friday

THE BEST LOCATION IN LAS VEGAS TO CATCH ALL THE FIREWORKS DISPLAYS

First, YOU’RE INVITED to a very special and very unique cocktail party at the top of the WORLD MARKET CENTER. Very Vintage Vegas is one of the many sponsors of this fundraiser for Nevada Aids Project.

It’s being held in the Penthouse from 8 to 11 pm. Admission is free. The proceeds from the no host bar are all being donated to NAP. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres are being donated by Trader Joe’s and Renaissance Catering .

Short of going to the strip to watch the tourists, this may well be the best opportunity ever to mix it up with an amazingly diverse group of people. Las Vegas Home and Design Magazine has invited their list. The Sin City Q Social Network will have a couple of hundred gay guys attending. Employees, customers and staff of the WMC are all invited, and SO ARE YOU!

Since I’m a minor sponsor, my Very Vintage Vegas Readers as well as all residents of the historic neighborhoods of Las Vegas are also invited.  

(UPDATE – ADULTS ONLY– Reservations ARE NOT REQUIRED, But You will need ID at the door. )

Views of all the 9pm and 9:30 pm fireworks displays should be spectacular from the 16^th floor patios.

The new parking garage is open, but you can park in the First Friday lot in the Clark County Government Center, take the shuttle bus to First Friday for an hour or 2 and come back to the cocktail party.

FIREWORKS DISPLAYS WILL BE ALL AROUND LAS VEGAS

Classic Las Vegas has been compiling a list of the various fireworks displays. Many of them will be best viewed from the cocktail party. Many of them will be visible from your front or back yard if you live in Vintage Vegas.

The list has been updated to include The Las Vegas Hilton and Caesar’s Palace as well as six of the Station Casino locations.

I’ll be at the top of the WMC with the whole VVV gang. MaryJoy, Pam, Steve, Susan and I will all be there.  Come out and meet us. It’ll be a blast.

However, Maggie, Shadow and Bayley, will be at home having their annual nervous breakdown,

  

First Friday In The Downtown Las Vegas Arts District Will Be A Spectacular Event This Month

There’s always something special at First Friday. Click the link to get the whole run down. This month the new Casino Center Street Scape is finished and there’s 10 new galleries, bars and venues that have opened in the last month.

Live entertainment this month includes:

The LAND ROVER STAGE   features

6-6:30pm  Mike Graves Trio (Vintage Rock)

6:30-8pm –  Dr Popsicle and the hair painted opera (Solo Acoustic)  Matthew Winters  (Solo Acoustic)   Brandon Rojas  (Solo Acoustic)

8-9pm   The Let Up (Indy Rock)

9-10pm   Inhale (Reggae, Rock, Ska)

Vista IV performing at Casino Center and California next to the Box Office; Break dancers provide more entertainment on Colorado near Main St. and the Tango Dancers on Casino Center near California.

3 things that we’ve been promoting should not be missed. Beneath The Neon, the Exhibit is at the Contemporary Arts Collective in the Arts Factory. Next Door in the AF is Lost Vegas with it’s vintage clothing, and Retro Vegas on Main Street has an amazing collection of Vintage home furnishings.

WHETHER YOU’RE A REGULAR, OR YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO FIRST FRIDAY, MAKE IT A POINT TO GO THIS MONTH

 

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Weekend Photos From First Friday In The Downtown Las Vegas Arts District

June 8th, 2008 Categories: ART, First Friday

With gorgeous springtime weather, the crowds at First Friday were huge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live music on the Land Rover Stage at First Friday.

 

 

 

 

I handed off the camera to someone so that I could get my picture taken. Almost every picture you’ve ever seen on VVV was taken by me, and because I’ve always got the camera, I rarely get my picture taken.

That’s me and Mary Joy Alderman, the fashionista of VVV.

The Pink Flamingos in the windows of Retro Vegas make it hard to miss.

 

 

Crowds and sales at the grand opening of “Retro Vegas more than exceeded expectations for Ben, Matt, Bill and Mark.

Ben, on the left, who’s the most obsessive of collectors and a 2^nd generation antique dealer was heard to say “Oh my God, they’re buying all my stuff”.

 

 

We ran into the godfather of Historic Preservation In Las Vegas.

Dr. Lonnie Hammargren on the left with his son, and my friend Karl, who’s an interior designer at Walker Furniture.

 

 

 

 

I’m thrilled to report that at least a 1/2 dozen of you stopped in to Retro Vegas and specifically asked to be “introduced to Zelda”

Zelda once stood guard at the corporate main office of Mandalay Bay, and I was instrumental in helping Ben Nation acquire her for his personal collection.

She’s not for sale, but makes an elegant security guard for his new store at 1211 S. Main Street.

 

 

Diane Bush’s new vintage clothing store “Lost Vegas” which is in the Arts Factory was a huge success.

Diane, dressed to the 9’s, as usual, was more than surprised at how well received, and how much of her wonderful vintage clothing collection found a new home.

 

 

 

 

Leslie Rowland now has her own space at the Arts Factory after years of sharing with other artists.

 

IF YOU’VE NEVER ATTENDED FIRST FRIDAY, GO PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR.

IT’S EASY TO REMEMBER. IT’S THE FIRST FRIDAY OF EACH MONTH IN THE ARTS DISTRICT OF DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS. 

 

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Documentary Film: The First 4 Years Of First Friday

June 6th, 2008 Categories: ART, Arts District, Downtown Businesses, Downtown Las Vegas, First Friday

The first public airing of the new Documentary about the creation and development of the First Friday Art Event in Downtown Las Vegas will be this Sunday on Channel 1 and Cox Channel 19.

I saw the first cut, and am hoping that the segment with me still made the final cut.

On Sunday 6/15 @ 4:00 PM Channel One and Cox Cable Channel 19

The First 4 Years of First Friday: A Documentary examining the
people and economic forces that created this monthly
phenomenon.

First Friday has revitalized one urban neighborhood and has
provided a cultural and artistic heart to the Entertainment
Capitol of the World. The documentary, directed by Marlene J.
Adrian and produced by Women of Diversity Productions, Inc.,
includes interviews of local artists, gallery and restaurant
owners, retailers, civic leaders, performers, vendors, sponsors,
founders and others involved with First Friday.

It explores the evolution of this event and the people and forces that prepared
the way and peers into the possibilities for surrounding area.

Marlene J. Adrian states that this “art festival began with only
200 attendees and now exceeds 10,000. This event has
impacted not only the businesses and people residing in that
neighborhood, but the city of Las Vegas itself. This organic
movement and its overflow needed to be documented for the
benefit of all Las Vegans.“

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The Table Tale

June 4th, 2008 Categories: Decorating Tips, Downtown Businesses, Downtown Las Vegas, First Friday, Mid Century Modern

About 5 years ago I went to a garage sale at a “cookie cutter” home in Green Valley. There was this gorgeous pink and chrome 50’s dinette set with a sticky note on the table that said “900”. I had a good chuckle over the price tag, but started negotiating for it.

The lady wouldn’t budge below 700 and I passed.

2 years later I was out showing homes to a client. We pulled up to the next house on the list, and I realized it was the same house where the table had been for sale. While opening the lockbox,  I casually told him the story of the HOT PINK AND CHROME 50’s Dinette.

The house was vacant, but when we went into the garage, the only thing in it was a lawnmower and a gorgeous 50’s pink and chrome dinette set with a yellow sticky note on the table that said “900”.

I joked that if he bought this house, I’d “take the dinette set as a tip”. He said “yuch!, you can have it”. By the end of the day we were writing an offer on that house, and he didn’t object at all if I included the gorgeous 50’s pink and chrome dinette set along with the washer,dryer and fridge which he did want to have included in the deal.

That’s how I came to have a hot pink dinette in my kitchen.

Everyone who’s ever seen it (at least everyone who appreciates such things) thought it was fabulous. At various times over the last year or two, Mark and Bill, and Ben thought it was FAB.

They called the other day. They begged me to sell it to them so that they could put it into the pink metal cabinet kitchen  that’s the centerpiece of their new store which is called:

 

YES, it’s the same hot pink kitchen that we mentioned a few months ago.

If you want to see the HOT PINK 50’s CHROME DINETTE SET, all you have to do is visit their store. I was there yesterday, and it’s just full of retro everything (including my dinette set).

There’s a “soft opening” on Thursday from 6–9 pm, and the GRAND OPENING is during First Friday from 6–10 pm.

“RETRO VEGAS” is at 1211 S. Main Street in the Arts District.

I’m missing my dinette set already.  even though I replaced it with a similar yellow dinette set that that had been the office conference table.

I might just have to go and buy it back.

 

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Retro Vegas Announces Grand Opening For The Next First Friday

May 19th, 2008 Categories: Arts District, First Friday

I always wondered what would happen if 3 obsessive collectors of retro, modern, and rat pack chic got together and opened a store. What if they did it in the Arts District?

Now I know, and I can’t wait.

Retro Vegas to open First Friday (June 6, 2008)

Retro Vegas opens its doors to the public on First Friday, June 6, 2008.  Our unique retail venue features a fully-restored pink kitchen including original metal cabinets, stainless steel stove-top, ovens and more.  Our museum-quality furnishings capture time-honored traditional pieces with eclectic accessories.  Locals and tourists alike will be amazed by our selection.

When neighbors dream together, they team together.  Bill Johnson (former Director of the Atomic Testing Museum) and his partner, Marc Comstock, have joined with their neighbor Ben Nation (of Very Vintage Vegas fame) to open Retro Vegas.  As long-time residents of the downtown area, we recognize the special qualities of our historic neighborhoods and the need to capture significant pieces before they vanish.  New residents of the downtown core will find everything they need to furnish and accessorize their homes.

Retro Vegas is a retail boutique featuring antiques, furniture, accessories and art that capture The Vibe of Las Vegas’s Rat Pack Days.  Classic furnishings with decorative appointments are set in unique arrangements to compliment the burgeoning arts scene. We are located at 1211 South Main Street in the Las Vegas Arts District. 

Grand Opening is 6 to 10 PM.

 

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Massive Crowds Get Exposed To Downtown Las Vegas Redevelopment

May 5th, 2008 Categories: Downtown Las Vegas, First Friday, Las Vegas Real Estate News

I had the opportunity to speak to several dozen “suburbanites” and visitors over the weekend. I didn’t have to go very far to find them. They were among the 10’s of thousands of people who were downtown on Friday Night and all day Saturday. SIX simoultaneous events drew huge crowds.

First Friday, as always coincided this month with the “Urban Living” bus tour, the Gay Pride Parade on Friday, The Gay Pride Festival on Saturday, The “Race For the Cure” for Breast Cancer on Saturday, the PACC meeting, The Wolfson Lofts Grand Opening, as well as as the normal visitor crowd who came to see the Fremont Street Experience. The out of town visitors were totally in awe of how great downtown Las Vegas has become.

And then Saturday Night, we had the 4^th “pedal-philes” bar crawl. It was my first time, and the first time on a bicycle in 20 or more years. I’ve got pictures and stories  in a post below. I’ve also got pretty good A SKINNED KNEE OUCHIE to prove I was there.

 

 

 

 

Most of the people I talked to were being exposed for the first time to the change that’s taking place downtown. I heard many comments such as “When did they build all these hi-rise condos?” “What’s that funny building across from the Clark County Government Center?” Where did all these people come from?” “I didn’t know there were so many fun places downtown!”  “Wow, they really improved the light show!”.

 

 

 

We ran into and got to speak to the mayor twice, once at the bus tour event, and again at the grand opening of the Wolfson Lofts. A whole group of members of the Preservation Association Of Clark County came downtown from all over the valley, just to  get their first view of the recently restored “Morelli House”, most of them hadn’t ventured out of the suburbs in years.

 

 

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“First Friday” Pictures - It Happens Monthly In The Arts District Of Downtown Las Vegas

April 7th, 2008 Categories: ART, Arts District, First Friday

Antique radios on display at the Funk House Antiques.

I have the blue one in the top left in my own collection of radios.

 

 

 

 

 

We keep running into “Freddie Mercury”. A few weeks ago we saw him doing his act karaoke style at Dino’s on a Saturday Night.

He’s rehearsing a lot, and looking for a permanent gig in one of the impersonator shows on the strip

 

Break dancing draws huge crowds at every First Friday. There’s some really talented kids in this troupe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mid Century Modern Homes In Las Vegas Are Often Used As A Backdrop In Movies, Commercials, and Art

I mostly paid attention to the people this time, instead of the art, but I was drawn to this  photograph by Bryan Hainer.

I sold the current owner this mid century modern home on Dakota Way in Paradise Palms a few years ago, and was happy to see it being used as the setting for this photogragh.

I thought the model was MaryMargaret Stratton, at first, but Brian assures me it isn’t. The Mid Century Modern backdrop is complete with the “Stone Screen” decorative block, in one of my favorite patterns– the champaign bubbles.