On Saturday the Las Vegas Book Festival will take place in the Historic Fifth Street School downtown. There’ll be a lot going on there — I’ll be on a couple of panels myself — and, with a little planning, you can make even more of a day of it.
☕ Have a Sip
No need for you to arrive uncaffeinated. On your way in, pull over at nearby Mothership Coffee Roasters or PublicUs to ramp up your brain with some of the valley’s favorite brews. Within walking distance of the festival, try The Parlour or Brew It.
🍴 Have a Bite Before or After
My first event at the book festival isn’t until 10:30 a.m. — plenty of time for you to try one of chef Natalie Young’s inventive breakfast dishes at Eat, then make the short walk to the festival site in time to jeer at my dismal fashion sense. Want to break away for lunch? Letty’s de Leticia’s Cocina — certified by Guy Fieri in a segment on “Diners, Drive-in, and Dives” — is a six-minute drive or 15-minute walk away. For a post-festival dinner you can get red-sauced in the old-school way at downtown fixture Chicago Joe’s, or tuck into the fancier fare at Carson Kitchen.
👁️ Look Around
At the Fifth Street School you’ll find a study in sculptural contrast: The thinky, abstracted mountain-form of Stephen Hendee’s public art “Monument to the Simulacrum” is within ironic distance of the recently installed metal likeness of former mayor Oscar Goodman. Not sure which you prefer? Let the pigeons decide! And while you’re at it, contrast the clean, modest lines of the school with the preening classicism of the Nevada Supreme Court building across the street — blegh! (No wonder it’s one of (🎧) the buildings we love to hate.)
