Non-tourist Las Vegas websites?

May 27, 2007 12:37 PM

Can anyone recommend a blog/news site with good, insightful information about events and goings-on in Las Vegas? Difficulty: not a tourist

I've been living in Las Vegas for a couple weeks now, and I'm having trouble figuring out what to do on the weekends with my free time.

Obviously, there's a lot to do in this town. But I'm more interested in non-tourist options. I'll go to casinos and The Strip and do "Vegas stuff" when friends are in town who want to do that, otherwise I'd rather stay away.

Sites like Vegas.com are geared toward tourists, and Las Vegas Weekly seems to mostly list dates and times of events, but lacks editorial content that helps me make an informed decision. I'm looking for something more like the Gothamist empire.

Recommendations for local news sites that aren't LVRJ are also appreciated.

posted by falconred to media & arts (4 comments total)

Actually, about.com has some surprisingly good resources. I don't know if it's any good, but there's also Las Vegas Life.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:01 PM on May 27, 2007

Well, for news there's the Las Vegas Herald, and they have an RSS feed. Strictly speaking, there's also the Las Vegas Sun, and City Life, which is very much an Alternative Newspaper like the Stranger in Seattle or the Dallas Observer.

As for stuff that typical Las Vegas residents do on the weekend.... let's see... uh, shopping? I hate Meadows Mall and if I'm going to drive that far, I might as well drive all the way down to Fashion Show. In fact I had dinner there last night. There's also a Galleria on the south side of town, to say nothing of outdoor complexes like Boca Park, all that stuff near Centennial and 95, and two outlet malls.

Getting the heck out of town is also very popular. You can go north to Mt. Charleson or the Valley of Fire and the Lost City Museum, or even all the way to St. George. To the West you have Red Rocks and Lake Tahoe. East, there's Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, the Grand Canyon, and pretty much everyplace else in Arizona. South, of course, the most popular destination is Los Angeles.

There's plenty of hiking nearby. I am also told there is a street festival the second Saturday of each month in Freemont. And there is often stuff going on atthe library.

Oh, and a little warning about "Best of Las Vegas." There's actually two awards by that name: the editor's choice and the readers' choice. For restaurants, editor's choice is almost always very good, but readers' choice skews towards "lots of food for little money." If that's your thing, great. If it isn't, now you know.
posted by ilsa at 2:52 PM on May 27, 2007

The LA Times keeps a Vegas blog: The Movable Buffet.
posted by mudpuppie at 3:34 PM on May 27, 2007

Clark County Parks & Recreation offers lots of interesting cultural events, including the wonderful World Vibrations music and dance series. UNLV's events calendar lists music, theater and lecture programs on campus; no doubt there's another (more user-friendly) one for sports events. Hikes and other programs are often hosted at Red Rock & Mt. Charleston; friends have enjoyed events sponsored by the hiking & outdoors meetup group. Finally, news feeds (such as they are) are available from KLAS, KTNV and Fox5 Vegas.
posted by zepheria at 4:57 PM on May 27, 2007