Having cultivated an ongoing relationship with the Ment’or organization, we witnessed the arduous culinary preparation as young chefs across America competed for the opportunity to advance from Las Vegas to New Orleans and ultimately to the Bocuse d'Or in Lyon, France, for the final international competition.
The night on April 8 couldn’t have been more ideal, with perfect weather by the lake as the intimate setting for a collaborative soiree of art, music, fine libations and delectable food. “Notes and Brushstrokes” debuted as a festive evening to support the third season of the Desert Roots Rising Stars Music Festival and Summer Academy occurring June 6–13 in partnership with the Rita Deanin Abbey Art Museum and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Lisa Vanderpump, aka the Queen of Beverly Hills and beyond, earned a new title when Nevada Ballet Theatre honored the businesswoman, author, TV personality and philanthropist at the 42nd annual Black & White Ball, its largest annual fundraiser. “To be honored by the world of ballet, by an art form that has given so much for so many centuries, I cannot tell you what that means to me,” Vanderpump said.
Beyond Atlanta, I hadn’t explored much of Georgia. On a recent trip, I traveled to Columbus for a couple of days and brought my husband along. We flew into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport from Las Vegas and made the roughly 90-minute drive south. Once we left the city behind, I-85 to I-185 opened into long stretches of greenery.
The Canyon, also known as the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, California, was transformed into a celebration of funk, soul and musical history on Saturday, April 4, 2026, as Larry Dunn, a Grammy-winning original member of Earth, Wind & Fire, brought his "Anthology of Earth, Wind & Fire" to a sold-out and electrified crowd.
The Force is strong with the Alexis de Tocqueville Society! Members of the United Way of Southern Nevada's (UWSN) philanthropic group got a special behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood’s most famous film scores as the Las Vegas Philharmonic rehearsed "The Music of John Williams" inside Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center in downtown Las Vegas.
I met Fawnia Mondey at an eWomen Network event I attended recently. She graciously invited me to attend one of the classes she teaches. Her charisma convinced me to take her up on the offer. Now, let me tell you what her class was, and for those who personally know me, here is where you get to have a great laugh … pole dancing!
Sunlight pours through Rita Deanin Abbey’s monumental "Wall of Creation," scattering blues, golds and desert tones across the gallery walls. As the first notes of music rise into the room, the glass-like surface seems almost to breathe, with color shifting gently with rhythm and light responding to sound. There are moments in art when the boundaries between disciplines quietly dissolve.
I have never seen - nor heard - so many young (jazz) hands clapping with such appreciation as I did during Jazz Outreach Initiative’s (JOI) “Jazz for Young People” Concerts at Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center! Over three thousand enthusiastic students from the Clark County School District were bussed in to experience two back-to-back performances with the acclaimed Jazz Vegas Orchestra and world-renowned saxophonist and vocalist Camille Thurman. She definitely answered this year’s theme, “Who is Ella Fitzgerald?” and then some.
As The Composers Showcase of Las Vegas approaches its 20th anniversary, the milestone feels less like a measure of time and more like a testament to conviction. What began as an after-hours gathering of writers and performers took shape in a city celebrated for spectacle, yet quietly lacking space for original voices. From those early evenings grew an enduring institution, sustained by creative risk, shared belief and the courage to bring new work into the open.
