Helldorado Days, citywide

There’s a good reason this rodeo festival—sponsored by Las Vegas Elks Lodge No. 1468 for the benefit of local charities—has been a city fixture on and off since 1934: It’s unabashed good fun. Helldorado’s headline event—a professional rodeo, held at the Las Vegas Village festival grounds adjacent to the Luxor—is a must-see; there’s just something about all that riding and roping that makes you feel connected to this town’s hardscrabble roots. But the rodeo event isn’t the whole of what Helldorado Days has to offer. There’s also a Downtown parade, a Saturday-night hoedown, a motorcycle ride, a “battle of the bands” contest, a beer festival, an art show, a golf tournament, a “Miss Rodeo Helldorado” pageant, the “Whiskerino” mustache- and beard-growing contest and more. Our frontier town is barely wide enough to contain it all. May 11-14, $10-$250, elkshelldorado.com. –Geoff Carter

Dillinger Block Party In Boulder City

If you haven’t been out to Boulder in a while—or even if you’ve been to all five previous editions of this annual outdoor bash—it’s a good time to drive south on the 95, toward food trucks, beer-drinking contests and live music from Black Camaro, Sandy Nelson, Same Sex Mary and more. May 13, 3:30 p.m., Free, 1224 Arizona St. –Spencer Patterson

Legs of Tumbleweeds, Wings of Lace reading at the Writer’s Block

Heather Lang vividly remembers her first encounter with a roadrunner. It was so memorable, in fact, that she was inspired to create Legs of Tumbleweeds, Wings of Lace: An Anthology of Literature by Nevada Women, which explores Western landscapes and classic characters, “hasty breakups” and desert bones—all by Nevada-based women. “What I remember most about seeing my first roadrunner is wondering what was on the beautiful bird’s mind. … I saw in her a glimpse of what I see in my fellow Nevada women writers,” writes Lang, anthology editor and professor at Nevada State College.

Lang applied for a grant from the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts and sent out a call for teachers, magazine editors, workshop organizers and other literary women to send in stories, poems and nonfiction, which will be read by their respective authors Saturday at Downtown’s Writer’s Block bookstore. Contributors include Angela Brommel, NSC Director of Arts & Culture; Helen editor Arika Elizenberry; spoken-word poet Chalese Potts; and Las Vegas Weekly staff writer C. Moon Reed.

“Almost every writer I’ve met [here] gives back to her community,” Lang says. “That’s something I haven’t seen in other states I’ve lived. I started thinking about that and just wanted to celebrate female writers who give back to their community.” May 13, Free. –Leslie Ventura

Jazz in the Park Clark County Amphitheater

The free-concert series kicks off its 28th year with soulful New York singer Lindsey Webster, joined on the bill by two local acts: the Shapiro Project and Halsey Harkins. Bring a blanket and a picnic basket and soak up a summertime Vegas tradition. May 13, 7 p.m., Seating begins at 6 p.m. –Spencer Patterson

Peter Pan at the Smith Center

If you haven’t had your fill of the boy who wouldn’t grow up, take in a more graceful interpretation courtesy of Nevada Ballet Theatre, whose season finale also comes with a pre-show educational complement inside Troesh Studio. May 13 & 14, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday. 2 p.m.; $29-$139; Reynolds Hall. –Mike Prevatt

One-Man Star Wars Trilogy at two libraries

Charlie Ross can do the voices, the sound effects, even the iconic music—all three original films condensed into 60 breathless minutes. Watch him accomplish it, at either Clark County Library on Saturday (7 p.m.) or Windmill Library on Sunday (3 p.m.). May 13-14, Free. –Mike Prevatt