18b Arts District Walk – Oct 2013 Members Meet & Greet

18b Arts District Walking Tour

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Mingo Kitchen and Lounge at Art Square

1017 S First Street #180.

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Members of the Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild are invited to be part of a 2 hour walking tour of the  18b Arts District located near Charleston Boulevard and Arts Way – the historic hub of the arts scene in the Las Vegas Valley. http://www.18b.org/las-vegas-arts-district/

Coordinated by arts professional & guild member, Richard Hooker, the tour is intended to give LVTGG members more familiarity with the 18b neighborhood and its resources.  The tour will focus on three key sites: Art Square, the Arts Factory and Antiques Row on south Main.

This tour is scheduled for Preview Thursday, Oct 3, the day in which neighborhood art galleries and studios launch their monthly exhibitions prior to each First Friday.

The tour begins at 6:00 pm with a 30 minute reception and orientation in the courtyard patio of Mingo Kitchen and Lounge at Art Square 1017 S First Street #180. http://www.eatmixmingo.com/ There is free parking available behind the Arts Factory, adjacent to the Artifice bar, Art Square and Mingo Kitchen, as well as additional street parking throughout the area. Be sure to not park in any area marked with no parking signs.

Wine, beer and appetizers will be provided. The group will then visit 5 galleries and boutiques located in the complex that houses a total of 15 businesses. Next stop is the famous Arts Factory with visits to three galleries considered  tops inthe local arts industry.  The third leg of the tour takes us to Antiques Row on Main Street to visit two noted stores dealing with vintage collectables.

The group returns to Art Square for the conclusion of the tour.

The tour is open to LVTGG membership only, and is limited to 20 person’s so don’t delay, RSVP to Babs at thanksbabs@gmail.com today.

In addition to being one of our regularly-scheduled social and educational Guild get-togethers, the 18b Arts District Walk is the first of our get-togethers to be designated as an “Elective and Continuing Education” offering as part the Guild’s Las Vegas tour guide certification program. This designation signifies that the topic covered (in this case, the Las Vegas Arts District) is an important but supplementary subject of knowledge for a Las Vegas guide. Guides who will be enrolled in the certification program will need to complete a number of electives as part of their training, and past graduates of the program can receive recognition for completing continuing education. Those wishing to receive credit for elective or continuing education will need to complete a short, post-meeting written multiple choice quiz about the topic covered.

If you are planning to participate in the next certification class(dates to be announced shortly,) you can choose to have the 18b Arts District Walk count as an elective for your training requirements. Just inform us with your rsvp and be sure to take the post-tour quiz.

For more information regarding certification, please contact jerry@lvdetours.com

RSVP for the 18b Arts District Walking Tour  to: thanksbabs@gmail.com today.

See you all there.

Neon Museum – July 2013 Members Meet & Greet

This Tuesday, July 2, 2013!

What’s as hot as the chrome bumper of a cherry red 1955 T-Bird reflecting the mid-day July sun onto the curvy white walls of an iconic mid-Mod piece of Vegas architectural history?

 

1955 Ford Thunderbird

 

If you answered “The Neon Museum and Boneyard” – you’re right on the money! Since the recent opening of its visitor center in the relocated lobby of the former La Concha Motel, a visit to the Neon Museum has been at the top of many locals’ and visitors’ wish lists. Stay hip daddy-O and be in-the-know about this fabulous attraction!

So, with no further ado, the LVTGG cordially its members to the Las Vegas Tourist Guide Guild’s July 2013 Meet & Greet for a private evening tour of the Neon Museum and Boneyard.

This is going to be one groovy visit, and space is limited to the first 20 respondents. At last last count, we’re almost full – so RSVP now to thanksbabs@gmail.com!

We would like to thank a friend of the LVTGG, Dawn Merritt,  for extending complimentary admission to Las Vegas Tour Guide Guild members.

Where: Neon Museum & Boneyard, 770 Las Vegas Boulevard North, Las Vegas, NV 89101, (702) 387-6366

When: Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Time & Place: 6:45 PM, for a 7:00 PM tour. Meet at the La Concha Visitor’s Center.

Parking:  Park in the lot on McWilliams Avenue, behind the Neon Boneyard Park. It is after Bonanza Road and before Cashman Center.

In case of last minute changes or questions, call Babs at 702 370 6961.

The tour will be over by 8:00 PM and those wishing to continue socializing will meet up downtown, location tba.

Rules of Engagement:

Photos can be taken for personal use only (no fine art or commercial use, no professional blogs or websites, absolutely no stock photography) and the museum asks that a release be signed complying with those requirements. No video cameras or videotaping is allowed.

NO backpacks, camera bags, tripods, or any type of additional camera equipment are allowed on tours. The Boneyard is full of broken glass and rusty metal so we ask that everyone stick with the group for personal safety and the safety of their collection. They reserve the right to ask individuals to leave if they refuse to follow guidelines.

The museum reserves the right to cancel tours due to construction or extreme weather conditions (this includes winds over 25mph). If this happens, we will e-mail you.

If you are a journalist, please contact media at 702-387-6366 with any questions.  Separate photo use arrangements are necessary for journalistic purposes, and they are happy to provide complimentary stock photos.

Web: www.neonmuseum.org

 

About the Neon Museum:

The Neon Museum and Boneyard is a non-profit group comprised of its collection of restored, vintage Vegas neon signs and  its world-famous “boneyard” of non-restored vintage Vegas neon signs.

The Neon Museum officially “opened” with the installation of its first refurbished sign, the Hacienda Horse and Rider, at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street.

Today, the Neon Museum’s refurbished signs are displayed and can be viewed in downtown Las Veags as public art and visited on a self-guided tour twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Signs are located on Las Vegas Boulevard North, Fremont Street, and 3rd Street. The gallery includes, among others, The Flame Restaurant, Chief Court Motel, Andy Anderson, The Silver Slipper, Binion’s Horseshoe, The Red Barn, Nevada Motel and Dot’s Flowers, the Landmark and 5th Street liquors.

Most of the Museum’s signs are exhibited in “The Boneyard” where they serve as inspiration to fascinated artists, students, historians and designers.  The Boneyard is home to some of the most treasured and world-famous signs of Las Vegas – Caesars Palace, Binions Horseshoe, the Golden Nugget  and the Stardust. The two-acre campus which includes the Neon Boneyard houses more than 150 historic signs. As part of guided tours, the signs are available to be viewed at ground level and up close. Each has been donated or loaned by individuals, businesses and sign companies such as the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO).

The Neon Museum visitors’ center is located inside the historic La Concha Motel lobby.  This distinctive shell-shaped building was designed by acclaimed architect Paul Revere Williams. The curvilinear La Concha Motel lobby is a striking example of Mid-Century modern design characterized by Atomic- and Space Age shapes and motifs. Originally constructed in 1961 on Las Vegas Boulevard South (next to the Riviera Hotel), the La Concha lobby was saved from demolition in 2005 and moved in 2006 to its current location to serve as the museum’s Visitors’ Center. References to many of the lobby’s original interior design elements have been included in the newly refurbished facility, with two of the motel’s original signs – the mosaic lobby sign and a section of the main roadside sign – restored and illuminated as part of the museum’s rehabilitation efforts. Administrative, educational, research and event facilities are housed inside a new addition located behind the main lobby.

June Meeting

We were pleased to have as our speaker, Connie Mancillas from Nevada Commission on Tourism.  She presented information and provided resources to help the local tour guides better understand their role in the marketing of Nevada as a tourist destination. That we are are in this together and that marketing one part of the state or the market, influences every other part of the market and the state.

She also brought members up to date with what the Nevada Commission on Tourism actually does for tourism and for the tour market in Las Vegas. Her presentation included an overview of its funding source and what all they do with that money.  She provided a quick, yet in-depth overview of all the different markets and areas the department does and is doing around the world, to help promote Las Vegas and the state to the world.

It was an eye opening experience for the tour guides in attendance to see what her department can do for them as well as for her in understanding what all we do and the people we meet.  There was healthy exchange of questions, comments and information between her and the Tour Guild.With more interactions to follow.

Connie is also helping the Guild apply for a state grant to provide some marketing material to help promote the Guild, its cause and its members.