Las Vegas Sun

April 23, 2024

Weekend best bets: Paula Poundstone, Ben Folds Five and Ray Kurzweil

Ben Folds at Boulevard Pool

Erik Kabik/Retna/ErikKabik.com

Ben Folds performs at Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan on July 15, 2011.

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Let's hope the rainy weather will pass in time for the fun outdoor activities this weekend like the Girl Scouts Thin Mint Sprint at Town Square or a plant sale at the Sweet Tomato Test Garden. Here are our best entertainment bets for the weekend:

    • Hyde Park Middle School students Lucas Patyk, left and Tyler Young look over a reproduction of a self-propelled car during a visit to the "Da Vinci- The Genius" exhibit at the Imagine Gallery in the Venetian Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. This week, all Hyde Park sixth graders, who have been studying about Leonardo Da Vinci for about a month, will visit the exhibit. The traveling exhibit has been extended through January, a representative said.

      Steve Marcus

      Thursday-Sunday: Da Vinci — The Genius at the Venetian

      The Da Vinci — The Genius exhibit at the Venetian is coming to a close. Examine the creations of this inventor, artist, anatomist, sculptor, engineer, musician and architect during the final weekend of the exhibit. Admission is $27 and doors open Thursday-Sunday at 10 a.m.

    • Comedienne Paula Poundstone.

      Friday-Saturday: Paula Poundstone at the Orleans

      Paula Poundstone, the first woman to be invited to perform at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, will bring her unique sense of humor to Las Vegas for a show at the Showroom at the Orleans. Tickets are $22-$44 and shows start at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

    • This publicity image released by Sony shows members of Ben Folds Five, from left, Robert Sledge, Darren Jessee and Ben Folds. The band's latest album, "The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind," was released on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012.

      Sony, Autumn de Wilde / AP

      Friday: Ben Folds Five at the Pearl

      Ben Folds Five will perform at the Pearl at the Palms in support of their new album "The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind." Despite a few years apart, the band continues to be one of the most distinctive groups out there, due in large part to the lack of guitar and presence of Ben Folds on piano. Nataly Dawn opens the show. Tickets are $40-$95 and the show starts at 8 p.m.

    • Boxes of Girl Scouts cookies sit on a table promoting the 60th cookie sale featuring the new flavor Daisy Go Rounds during the Cookie Kickoff Carnival Saturday at the Girl Scouts Frontier Council's Training and Service Center.

      Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Home News

      Saturday: Thin Mint Sprint at Town Square

      Join the Girl Scouts as they kick off the start of their local cookie sale at the Thin Mint Sprint and Shortbread Shuffle at Town Square Park. The one-mile and 5k races can accommodate any fitness level. Registration fees are $25 for the Shortbread Shuffle and $40 for the Thin Mint Sprint and the race begins at 8 a.m.

    • Lucas Matthysse, top, of Argentina, celebrates his TKO victory against Humberto Soto, of Mexico, after a WBC lightweight boxing match in Los Angeles, Saturday, June 23, 2012. Matthysse won by TKO in the fifth round.

      Jae C. Hong / AP

      Friday-Saturday: Lion Fight 8 and Showtime Championship Boxing at the Joint

      Lion Fight 8 Muay Thai competition takes over the Joint to kick off a double header weekend of combat sports. The main event will be match up between Thai legend Yodsanklai Fairtex and multiple Thai Champion Gregory Chopin. The co-main event will feature female Muay Thai fighters with WBC Muay Thai Champion Tiffany Van Soest taking on Alexis Rufus. Tickets are $25-$75 and the fights start at 5 p.m.

      Showtime Championship Boxing presented by Golden Boy Promotions returns to the Joint on Saturday. The main event features Lucas Matthysse vs. Mike Dallas Jr. in a battle for the championship title. Tickets are $25-$150 and the fights start at 3 p.m.

    • Actor Kevin James reads "Long Shot" by Mike Lupica to sixth graders from the Dual Language Middle School in New York City at the NBA Store, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009, in New York.

      Charles Sykes / AP

      Friday-Saturday: Kevin James at the Mirage

      Kevin James, the star of "The King of Queens" has gone on to entertain audiences in feature films like "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" and "Zookeeper." Catch his stand-up routine at the Terry Fator Theatre at the Mirage. Tickets are $66-$96 and the show starts at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

    • Succulents, including cactus, are generally the plants of choice for green roof projects, like the demonstration garden on the roof of the American Society of Landscape Architects headquarters building in Washington, shown in this June 25, 2007 photo. They can live on existing rainfall, withstand drought, wind and harsh winter conditions.

      Dean Fosdick / AP

      Saturday: Garden fair and plant sale at Sweet Tomato Test Garden

      The Sweet Tomato Test Garden at 5910 Sheila Avenue hosts a winter garden fair and plant sale featuring speakers Leslie Doyle and Linn Mills, displays plus discussions on raising chickens in the city, growing blueberries and raspberries in Las Vegas and easy fertilizing. A $3 donation is requested and the sale starts at 11 a.m.

    • Kurzweil was dubbed the "restless genius" by the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>.

      Helene DeLillo

      Sunday: Ray Kurzweil lecture

      Ray Kurzweil has been described as “the restless genius” by the Wall Street Journal, and “the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes. Kurzweil hits the Smith Center stage as a part of the Audi Speaker Series, discussing his latest book, "How to Create a Mind, The Secret of Human Thought Revealed." Tickets are $24-$59 and the event starts at 7:30 p.m.

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