The Vegas Valley Book Festival’s Shake & Stir event last week featured cocktails and classic toasts from vintage mixology books and raised $2,000 for a new program, while promoting this year’s keynote authors: T.C Boyle and Dennis Lehane. That organizers promoted the November book fest in triple-degree temperatures poolside at the Golden Nugget hints at how seriously they take the five-day festival, which brings in more than 100 authors annually for readings, signings, discussions and workshops.

Coordinator Richard Hooker says the goal is to motivate readers—including members of more than 30 area book clubs—to make the event more than a drop-in, five-day festival. The full list of authors has yet to be announced, but anything by Boyle or Lehane would be a good start, Hooker says.

While out selecting books, you might as well pick up a few CDs to prepare for the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s upcoming season, which begins September 11 with Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique.” Other music on tap: Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4,” Brahms “Symphony No. 4,” Bruch’s “Violin Concerto,” Khachaturian’s “Piano Concerto,” Mozart’s “Concerto for Flute and Harp” and Mahler’s “Symphony No. 1: The Titan.” Find details on the full schedule—five Masterworks Series concerts and three pops concerts—at lvphil.com.

Nevada Ballet Theatre has yet to announce its full season, which begins in October, but tickets are on sale for its Nutcracker, December 17-26 at Paris.