BLVDS LV June July Issue

MAKING LAS VEGAS HOME

C O M M U N I T Y + C U LT U R E + D E S I G N + F L AVO R

SUMMER SEASON ON SALE NOW

“WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC THE ALPOCALYPSE TOUR — 7/6

Buddy Guy — 8/22

Dixie’s Tupperware Party — 8/1 - 8/4

PHOTO BY MICHAEL WILSON

PHOTO BY DAVID MCCLISTER

TICKETS STARTING AT $ 24

An Evening with Willie Nelson & Family — 8/13

Jimmy Connors: What it Takes to Win — 8/23

VISIT THESMITHCENTER.COM TO PURCHASE TICKETS.

702.749.2000 | TTY: 800.326.6868 or dial 711 | For group inquiries call 702.749.2348 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89106

An Evening with Lyle Lovett and His Large Band — 8/16

The Symphonic Rockshow Featuring Brody Dolyniuk with Yellow Brick Road — 9/6

Make Thursdays Family Movie Night Join us for a free family night out at the movies every Thursday in Town Square Park, starting at sundown. Bring a blanket for first-come, first-served open seating.

Family favorite films are all rated G or PG. Children must be accompanied by an adult. All events weather permitting; schedule is subject to change.

Angela was bullied at school… Became disruptive & withdrawn… Her grades were sinking, she threatened suicide and her parents didn’t know what to do… Until they brought Angela to...

White Horse Youth Ranch!

“The change in this girl was inspirational,” said Amy Meyer, WHY Ranch President & Founder.

“She made new friends and her self-esteem went through the roof!”

Artist’s rendering. Card not available.

Your card gets you into whatever you’re into.

Free with Museums on Us® Just show your Bank of America® or Merrill Lynch® credit or debit card at more than 150 participating museums nationwide on the first weekend of every month for free admission to art, science, history. Whatever it is you’re into, it’s on us.

Participating museums in Las Vegas: Children’s Discovery Museum Las Vegas Natural History Museum Springs Preserve

Visit bankofamerica.com/art to sign up for monthly email or text reminders.

Offer valid the first full weekend (Sat. and Sun.) of the month. Photo ID and any valid Bank of America or Merrill Lynch credit or debit card must be presented. One free general admission limited to cardholder at participating institution. Excludes fundraising events, special exhibitions and ticketed shows. Not to be combined with other offers. Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Credit card programs “are issued and administered by FIA Card Services, N.A. Museums on Us, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and the Bank of America logo are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation. © 2013 Bank of America AR1C767C

Letter from the publisher As for our animal friends, we visit with a veterinarian who has been taking care of sharks and other amazing fish and reptiles over at the Shark Reef. We also pay a visit to Yappy Hour at Rumor Boutique Hotel where every third Thursday you and your furry friend can go and enjoy cocktails with like-minded animal lovers.

This issue also celebrates and provides good wishes for two dear friends who helped start BLVDS as they go on to different endeavors: Sherri Kaplan, my business partner and co-publisher, and my friend and editor extraordinaire Pat Marvel. They deserve the best and I wish them much success and happiness—they will be missed.

I LOVE this issue! Every year Family, Kids and Pets just puts a smile on my face and makes me a true believer in what a great community Las Vegas is and how much we have to do for families and kids. This year is no exception. We have an abundance of new places to go like the new DISCOVERY Children’s Museum, a new water park, with another one on the way (how cool is that?) and the new Nature Center at Wetlands Park. The new attractions combined with some our favorites like the Springs Preserve, the Pinball Hall of Fame and your local library add up to fun for everyone this summer!

So starts our next chapter (or issue, in this case) with a talented team that is excited to be part of this great community focused magazine and the following of wonderful readers who have joined us over the last six years.

Stay tuned for our Culture Season Preview issue when we introduce our dynamic team, and the most exciting lineup of arts and entertainment this city has to offer.

Wishing you a fabulous summer!

Copyright 2013 by BLVDS, Inc., all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from BLVDS, Inc. Every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, however, BLVDS, Inc. assumes no responsibility for errors, changes or omissions.

BLVDS, Inc. accepts editorial and photography submissions. Send all submissions to: editor@blvdslv.com.

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BLVDS Las Vegas

Jan Craddock President & Publisher Pat Marvel Editor Victoria Hart Creative Director

EDITORIAL BOARD Brian Paco Alvarez Mauricia Baca Durette Candito Lisa Chasteen Chris Cutler Kendall Hardin Nancy Higgins LuAnn Kutch Dawn LaBonte Rob McCoy Julie Murray Stephanie Pierotti Jillian Plaster Willie Robinson Jason Roth Dana Satterwhite Rick Sellers Eric Strain Kimberly Trueba Rachael Wadley Stephanie Youngblood

Scan with your smart phone using a QR Code reader app >

And to document all of your family fun, a local retired Metro Officer has designed an amazing website called “CelebratingLegacy.com,” where you can login and put together all of your family memories, photos and documents for generations to come.

MAKING LAS VEGAS HOME

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jack Chappell Sabrina Cofield Jan Craddock Chris Cutler Hektor D. Esparza Christina Gibson Jeanne Goodrich Zakeisha Steele Jones Jarret Keene Pat Marvel Courtney Murphy Jillian Plaster Daria Riley Jeanette Schneider

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Victoria Hart Talbot Snow

BLVDS fans follow us! email : editor@blvdslv.com call : 702.386.6065 see : blvdslv.com like : facebook.com/blvdslv follow : twitter.com/blvdslv mail : 509 S. 7th Street Las Vegas, NV 89101

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what’s inside

ISSUE 37: FAMILY, KIDS & PETS COMMUNITY

DESIGN

10 Dr. Christopher Yach

36 Fashion Camp LV

Few veterinarians have patients who view them as “lunch.” Meet Dr. Yach, whose typical day includes treating pythons, piranhas and other dangerous predators.

12 Sarah Haggerty A psychotherapist with Candlelighters, Sarah created a Garden of Hope as a companion to the therapy she was providing to children afflicted by cancer.

14 Home is Where the Pets Are Learn about efforts to keep owners and their pets together under challenging circumstances.

On the Cover Wetlands Park is a great day trip for the entire family.

Aspiring fashion designers ages seven through adult are invited to create, design and sew at fun and inspiring camps, classes and workshops.

40 Wetlands Park Take a walk on the wild side at this 2,900acre lush and unique micro-climate with an abundance of flora and fauna including over 200 species of birds.

44 Celebrating Legacy Celebrating Legacy is an easy-to-use website designed to help members honor and share their family legacy.

18 Fostering a Calling Donna and Patrick Smith are passionate about fostering children in need of a loving family.

FLAVOR 50 Mac Shack For a family-friendly dining experience, Mac Shack hits the spot with a buildyour-own pasta option or yummy house specialties.

52 Mise en Place Learning to cook can be a family thing with classes for all ages at the valley’s newest cooking school.

54 Yappy Hour Fun goes to the dogs at Rumor, a boutique hotel, where every third Thursday it’s beverages, bones and a good time for all.

20 Journey to Adulthood The Odyssey Charter School’s Independent Living Program prepares students for the real world.

56 Must Haves

CULTURE

58 IMHO

24 The Nature Exchange

Jeanne Goodrich muses about her passion for public libraries and how the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District serves our community’s families with relevant and essential resources.

The Springs Preserve’s Nature Exchange provides a learning environment for young collectors and encourages kids to barter with natural items.

28 Pinball Hall of Fame Wall-to-wall fun awaits at the Pinball Hall of Fame featuring hundreds of restored pinball machines from the 1950s through the 1990s.

30 Upcoming Events blvdslv.com

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< Candlelighters Garden of Hope, glass butterflies donated by Barbara and Larry Domsky of Domsky Glass.

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 6

JACK CHAPPELL Everyone has a story. Finding it. Telling it. That’s my passion. It’s one that I can share. Whether it’s flying a World War I Tiger Moth biplane off an English airstrip, writing about a veterinarian who literally swims with the sharks, or interviewing a blithe spirit who gets her kicks running up and down volcanoes, I am living my dream.

DARIA RILEY is a full-time creative. If she’s not doodling cityscapes on art boards or leaving inspirational notes in unsuspecting places, she’s photographing ordinary beauty or painting 7-foot giraffes with three-year olds.

Daria Marie is also co-founder of Selah {an art salon}, a local gathering place to connect with friends and discover creativity through art making.

JEANETTE SCHNEIDER loves to write and negotiate with her very busy two year old when not concentrating on her career in finance. Active in the community, she enjoys opportunities to marry her passion for Las Vegas with her love for the art of storytelling.

She also blogs and has included “sell manuscript” to her Top Ten Things To Do Before I Die list.

CHRISTINA GIBSON has an MPA, a BS in business, and many years of management, marketing and government experience. Her writing ranges from poetry to professional reports. Finding personal passions, giving back and being genuinely entertained by life are very important to her. She finds that never losing the ability to reach out, love, touch and share with others is essential.

COURTNEY MURPHY is a marketing and social media fanatic. She studied marketing and communications at Pepperdine in Malibu before finishing a Masters degree at Las Vegas’ own University of Phoenix. She is also an activist for homeless animals in the valley and on any given day can be found fostering a pup or two.

JARRET KEENE is the author and editor of several dodgy books about Las Vegas. He teaches creative writing and ancient literature at College of Southern Nevada and screams and plays guitar in the underground rock band Dead Neon. He doesn’t sleep.

JILLIAN PLASTER is a foodie.

She loves to cook, but she loves to eat even more.

While attending Le Cordon Bleu in her hometown of Las Vegas, her passion for food lead to writing reviews of local restaurants. Plaster also developed her own line of fresh dog food which she sells at her unique pooch boutique, The Dog House, located at Town Square.

HEKTOR ESPARZA is a community activist and nonprofit leader. The father of four is often in some state of quixotic frustration. Each morning, he groans about his life before getting out of bed.

Yet, he is loved, respected.

And usually gets what he wants though he’s too grumpy to enjoy it when he does. Also, he hates deadlines and loves a good micro-brew.

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BLVDS Las Vegas

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BE SMART. BE SAFE. BE SEEN FACT:

Nevada is one of the most dangerous states for pedestrians.

You've told us you're tired of pedestrians, especially our children, dying and being injured on our roads.

WHEN YOU DRIVE:

Pay attention! Respect pedestrians. Slow down near crosswalks.

WHEN YOU ARE A PEDESTRIAN:

Pay attention! Look both ways before crossing. Always stay focused on the traffic while you are crossing the street.

Don't assume all cars will stop for you. Wear bright clothing. Don’t wear dark cloths at night.

For the rules of the road regarding pedestrians go to KTNV.COM and click on CROSSWALK DANGER in THE BIG BLUE BOX.

Marvin Spann, MD & Candace Thornton Spann, MD, FAAD

KTNV.COM TOGETHER WE’RE

2615 Box Canyon Drive, Las Vegas NV 89128 702.998.9001 | couturemedical.com

MAKING LAS VEGAS A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE

community people + places IN THIS SECTION 10 Dr. Christopher Yach

Few veterinarians have patients who view them as “lunch.” Meet Dr. Yach, whose typical day includes treating pythons, piranhas and other dangerous predators.

12 Sarah Haggerty

A psychotherapist with Candlelighters, Sarah created a Garden of Hope as a companion to the therapy she was providing to children afflicted by cancer.

14 Home is Where the Pets Are

Learn about efforts to keep owners and their pets together under challenging circumstances.

18 Fostering a Calling

Donna and Patrick Smith are passionate about fostering children in need of a loving family.

20 Journey to Adulthood The Odyssey Charter School’s Independent Living Program prepares students for the real world.

< Selah {an art salon} offers creative

art re{treats} and co-working for creatives. For a listing of offerings, please visit selahlv.com.

people + places COMMUNITY

DOCTOR CHRISTOPHER YACH

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COMMUNITY people + places

A Practice to Die For

By Jack Chappell | Photography by Talbot Snow

Veterinarian Christopher Yach is leading an impromptu tour through Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay Resort. He’s lecturing about the characteristics of his patients: a slumbering but lethal golden crocodile, the Komodo dragon whose bite is deadly not because of venom, but because of the bacteria that enable it to eat rotted flesh and, of course, the piranhas (“They’re not as bad as they’re made out to be.”)

If you could go back in time and offer the younger you leaving school some life advice, what would it be?

This being the Shark Reef, there are plenty of sharks among the 100 species at the aquarium. And they need medical attention too. When they do, Dr. Yach dons steel chainmail protective armor over his scuba wetsuit and just gets in among them in the 1.3-million-gallon tank. “We do keep them well fed too,” Dr. Yach said.

The same advice that I actually did give myself: Don’t miss out on anything.

Work hard, play hard and strive to not only enjoy but be the best at whatever you do.

Dr. Yach is the owner and director of the West Flamingo Animal Hospital, but he spends Fridays at Shark Reef. He is one of a handful of veterinarians in the nation working with such exotic species.

You have an incredibly demanding schedule and work that runs the spectrum of life and death.

What do you do to unwind and decompress?

A graduate of UNLV, Dr. Yach came to Las Vegas with his parents when he was three years old. He attended the veterinary college at Colorado State University and began his practice in Las Vegas in 1988. He’s been the Shark Reef veterinarian for 14 years.

The days are long—12 to 14 hours are the norm—but rewarding. “Fourteen hours, it just seems like 15 minutes have gone by.”

What is the most dangerous, exhilarating or profound activity you’ve experienced during your work?

I could say perching on a slippery rock trying to place eye drops in a 10-foot crocodile’s injured eye, perhaps trying to look in the mouth of an aggressive hissing and striking 12-foot python who was trying to eat me and my staff, or maybe attempting to examine any uncooperative unfriendly land shark (otherwise known as a lightning fast, small, biting dog), and even grabbing hold of a wild fox with my bare hands to examine it—knowing if I miss I will get bitten five times before I can react to the first bite. Actually none of these do I actually perceive as dangerous to me until after I do them. I strictly focus on, ‘What can I do to help them or figure out what is wrong?’

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My relaxation is to get on my bike and pedal 40 miles through Red Rock, go for a long run, hit the slopes snowboarding, ride my Harley somewhere off the beaten path, or anything that involves my dogs, friends or family.

Is there another place other than Las Vegas where you could do what you do?

I could be a veterinarian anywhere. In select cities and ocean fronts, I could even work on similar exotic animals, but truly Las Vegas is my home and there is no other place like it in the world!

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people + places COMMUNITY

SARAH HAGGERTY Left: Melissa Cipriano, Executive Director of Candlelighters, right: Sarah Haggerty

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By Zakeisha Steele Jones & Sabrina Cofield

I love you to the moon and stars. This simple statement, written on a rice-paper heart affixed to a lime tree in a garden behind Mundo, a Latin Chic Restaurant at the World Market Center downtown, is the message of a bereaving mother to her daughter who lost a battle with cancer just months before. Sarah Haggerty, a psychotherapist with Candlelighters, created this space, this Garden of Hope to help the children and families afflicted by cancer heal.

Candlelighters, the Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, fully supported Haggerty’s idea to use horticulture as a companion to the therapy she was already providing for the families the organization services. The Garden of Hope is Sarah’s brainchild—a place where children impacted by cancer plant and sow seeds of promise and optimism, possibility and intention. “I really like gardening and I found out about horticultural therapy years ago. A lot of therapists do art or music, and I thought, ‘Well, I’m doing plants.’”

There is no traditional circle-up support group at the Garden of Hope. Like the robust artichoke flowering in the center of this magnificent garden, the children organically open up. In the garden, they focus on something other than the disease, they shift toward their feelings and stories—the journey.

Melissa Cipriano, Executive Director of Candlelighters, is Haggerty’s strongest supporter. “Sarah does such a beautiful job with Play Therapy. She’ll come out of her office with a tutu on her head, a Nerf gun and a skeleton mask.” Melissa adds, “The parents of these children say, ‘I don’t know what Sarah does, but my son is improving in school. I don’t know what my daughter talks to Sarah about, but she’s got so much more confidence and she’s not afraid to show her scars.’ It speaks volumes about the work Sarah does with our kids.”

What does the garden mean for children struggling with the effects of this disease?

Since October, the garden has created a place of refuge for diagnosed kids, their siblings and bereaved families. With the support of lots of community partners, the children have planted seeds, painted a mural, and created a sanctuary just for them. While they compost, feed worms and harvest radishes, they utter their innermost thoughts. Why couldn’t it be me? He gets all the attention now.

I’m afraid to die, too.

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People deal with health challenges in different ways. Do you see that in the work you do with children?

So [when] we’re back here painting or gardening, it’s like a buffer. The plants are like the vehicle that absorbs some of the anxiety and relaxes them.

Kids that are quiet and don’t share anything suddenly start opening up.

How does Candlelighters help beyond the illness?

The journey is challenging. The diagnosed children get the brunt of it, but the families don’t walk away unscathed. Jobs are lost, little league stops, the bills pile up and we don’t say, ok you’re cured, bye, see you later. We carry them through their cancer journey.

Does the Garden of Hope change lives?

The Garden of Hope provides so much support for those suffering with cancer. It’s really changed my life, too. I just feel like my heart has grown exponentially.

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COMMUNITY people + places

Sowing Seeds of Hope

people + places COMMUNITY

HOME IS WHERE THE PETS ARE

Displaced Pets, Recovery and Redemption

By Christina Gibson

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FAMILY, KIDS & PETS

Approximately half of all Americans have at least one pet. Cats, dogs, fish, pigs, rabbits and even insects are now considered family members in many households. Puppy showers, cat birthday parties and memorial services are common rituals to celebrate and appreciate these beloved pets.

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COMMUNITY people + places

Several studies have linked healthy relationships with pets to better mental and physical health, as well as faster recovery after surgery or illness. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no mystery that pets add joy to our lives.

Sadly, millions of pets are displaced every year due to unfortunate circumstances.

Owners become ill, lose their homes and are otherwise unable to care for their pets.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, between six and eight million animals are sent to animal shelters every year in this country. A few big-hearted people have dedicated their time and energy to providing homes to these displaced pets. More impressive, some of these individuals and organizations extend their mission far beyond just finding accommodations for these animals. They find families for them and arrange for visitation and continued relationships with the original owners when possible.

Staci Columbo Alonso, founder of Noahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Animal House, is one of the very generous people who recognized the need for a pet shelter to accommodate pets of abuse victims. With no one to care for their animals, many families were not going to the Shade Tree Shelter. These families were willing and able to leave their homes, but they were not, however, willing to leave their pets: their other family members.

Alonso had already known the remarkable comfort pets provide to their owners.

After losing her husband, her dog, Tahoe, comforted and consoled her more than she thought possible. Alonso learned first-hand that pets can provide unconditional love and support. After her tragedy, Tahoe sat by her side providing constant support. He listened without arguing or disagreeing, taught her how to enjoy taking walks again and even helped her socialize with others.

Understanding the assistance pets provide, and the hope, encouragement and love required by a family recovering from an abusive situation, in 2006 Alonso began fostering pets for abuse victims, using her own home and community donations.

In 2007, she received a substantial donation from local entrepreneur and philanthropist Diana Bennett, and approval from the Shade Tree Board of Trustees to open an on-site pet shelter to house pets of Shade Tree residents.

The Noahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Animal Shelter now houses between 110 and 130 animals per year, facilitates regular visitations with family members and helps the victims to heal and adjust. The comfort and restoration provided by these pets improves recovery and reduces the return rates of victims.

Another local pet rescue organization focuses their efforts on finding the right matches for animals and ongoing relationships with previous owners. The Those Left Behind Foundation accepts stray, abandoned and special needs dogs. Sometimes these animals are found wandering the streets or in abandoned homes. Often they come from owners who are no longer able to care for them due to illness or financial hardship.

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Pets can provide unconditional love and support. Several studies have linked healthy relationships with pets to better mental and physical health.

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people + places COMMUNITY

When a pet owner faces adversity, one of the most heartbreaking aspects of their situation is the inability to care for their four-legged family member and the inevitability that they must be separated from each other.

Those Left Behind was established when founder Rae Erickson was involved in the life of a young cancer patient who had lost her pets when she was admitted to longterm care. Although pets in these facilities were rarely seen and certainly discouraged, Erickson began bringing her cat, Cleo, to visit this patient and noticed that when Cleo was there, the patient felt better and ate better. Erickson’s life was changed by this experience and she began a ministry in her friend’s honor.

Erickson is truly devoted to her cause, recruiting volunteers and donors from the community to provide services such as adoption clinics, free vaccination clinics and food and supplies. She oversees every rescue and adoption, ensuring that the pets and owners are a good match: placing large dogs on ranches, fragile dogs with capable adults and well-behaved breeds with large families.

“Who Rescued Who?” is the motto of the Those Left Behind Foundation and a perfect phrase to describe pet rescue and placement. We know countless pets die every year due to lack of care and resources.

Erickson states, “You can get angry at kill shelters, but I have seen them take in 30 animals in a day and adopt out only six.”

It is people who have created this issue, and to be part of the solution, we can volunteer, donate, become involved, foster and adopt.

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COVER STORY Story, Photography by Victoria Hart Wetlands Park has long been one of my favorite places to go. I discovered it purely by accident, when my artist friend Miguel Rodriguez, was commissioned to do a few sculptures there. So, our family went to check it out. I remember thinking, “Wow! This place is amazing; so much green and beauty in the middle of the desert, it feels like we’re someplace else.”

My husband and I, being budding photographers (at the time), used our daughter Raven, as an unwitting model, with the wetlands as our backdrop. She was not a fan of having a million photos taken, but she loved to explore and find wild bunnies around every turn. As she has grown, we’ve taken her, along with her friends, to journal our experiences as if we were scientists documenting the wildlife for the very first time. We have contests to see who can spot the most creatures. They love it. As darkness approaches we head back to the car, and go out for ice cream!

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people + places COMMUNITY

FOSTERING A CALLING

Local Couple Opens Their Heart and Home

By Daria Riley

my vision for children is not what most people grow up planning, but this is what it looks for me. I want to adopt children.’”

Patrick admits that he had never thought about adopting children before that conversation, but without any hesitation, he agreed.

After they were married, the couple began researching adoption options, found The Adoption Exchange, and enrolled in an introductory class. In the class, they learned that they could adopt children who became available through the foster care system. They became licensed foster parents through Clark County Family Services after an arduous six-month process.

Immediately Donna and Patrick were bombarded with phone calls. The need for foster placements far outweighs the number of families who are available.

Donna and Patrick with their two fostered children, Charlie and David, who are now permanent members of the family.

Donna Smith traveled a lot as a kid. She spent her adolescence on airplanes, drawing and dreaming up a life a little different from the one most kids imagine for themselves. Her childhood sketches were architectural renderings of orphanages she planned to build, and her pretend to-do lists brainstormed fun activities for the children who lived there.

Her plans didn’t change much as an adult. Before she was married, Donna and her future husband, Patrick, discussed having children. “He asked me if I wanted to have children and I told him, ‘Well, here’s the thing. This could be a deal breaker, but

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Donna admits that Patrick had a hard time declining children mainly because he was the one who received the phone calls.

They did their best to consider individual circumstances, though there was one restriction: no babies. They settled on fostering older, school-aged children thinking it would be more conducive for their work schedules, but Patrick had a hard time adhering to the “no baby” rule when they welcomed temporary placements into their home. Donna’s patience grew short.

Donna admits, “Babies stressed me out. I told him.

No more babies.”

A new job thwarted the Smith’s plans to continue fostering.

Donna was asked to travel extensively in the first few months of employment, so they decided to take a break. Donna also reiterated to Patrick that she really didn’t want to accept any more babies, regardless of the circumstance, and when they resumed fostering after the new year, she only wanted to foster

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But the very same day as their discussion, the plans changed.

Donna recalls, “I get on a plane to Chicago. I land. I get a text message from my husband that said, ‘Call me.’ So, I call him and he begins with, ‘Are you sitting down?’ I say, ‘Yeah, I’m in a taxi.’ Patrick continued, ‘Um, would you be mad if I told you I was on my way home right now with a four-month-old baby boy?‘ “I then hear his mom in the background and I’m thinking, why would his mom be in the car with him? And I say (in a high-pitched voice), ‘You have a fourmonth-old baby boy in the car with you?‘ And he said, ‘Yeah! We just picked him up. We’re on the way home with him right now.’“ So going against everything they had settled on, Donna returned home from Chicago a week later, met four-monthold Charlie and fell immediately in love.

“I am so grateful Patrick completely disregarded everything I said. I am so thankful for that.”

The Smith’s fostered Charlie for two years before they adopted him. When Charlie’s birth parents became pregnant a second time, Charlie’s younger sibling, David, was placed in Donna and Patrick’s home at three weeks old.

But at four months, a judge ordered the Smiths to return David to his birth parents. The family was heartbroken.

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“The reality is that you are probably going to be asked to do that at some point. Most foster children do go back.”

COMMUNITY people + places

older children. Patrick agreed to the terms. So on the drive to the airport for Donna’s first trip out of town, Patrick also promised to remove their names from the foster placement list.

But Donna’s faith in God’s plan for her unconventional family was restored a few months later when David returned to their home permanently. The family is now awaiting the potential arrival of a younger sister.

“A lot of people ask me how we deal with it, but I don’t know any other way.

Fostering is not a cause. It’s a calling.”

Through their personal experience, Donna and Patrick learned the mountains and valleys of fostering. Many people become discouraged with the licensing process and quit somewhere along the way. Donna and Patrick persevered and encourage other families to be patient and understand that Clark County is undermanned and overwhelmed.

Donna explains, “It’s not that they don’t care. It’s a band-width problem. They need help.”

As a result, Donna and Patrick answered the call to serve more children. They began Fostering Southern Nevada, a nonprofit organization that provides support for fostering families.

Fostering Southern Nevada offers support groups for fostering families at any stage of the process and helps fund extracurricular activities for foster children.

In the future, the organization hopes to work with faith-based groups to expand their support.

For more information about Fostering Southern Nevada, please visit fsonv.com.

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people + places COMMUNITY

JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD Odyssey Charter School’s Independent Living Program

By Jan Craddock It’s hard to believe in this day and age, with all our technology, when there is literally an app for everything, that there could be a waiting list of 130 students for a class called Independent Living. Back when I was growing up, these classes were called electives, like home economics and shop. But now, with the new curriculum in all of the schools focused on academics and proficiency testing, common sense classes have gone the way of so many other classics.

At Odyssey Charter School, the class was reinvented with the help of a grant from Amy Meyers of the Meyers

Foundation who says, “This type of class would have been a tremendous help to me in high school.” She has helped fund the project for the last two years and will be adding to the grant with a third year class focused on transitioning out of high school into a college or trade school.

After noticing a huge disconnect regarding real life issues in some of their better students, teachers Devin Volliger and Mark Storm went to their administration and asked to put a program together that would help all of their students be more proficient in the art of living.

The Independent Living Program has 19 segments broken into the following three categories: daily living, personal and social skills, and occupational skills, all designed to teach students the basics of how to budget, write a check, rent an apartment, take a bus, make a well balanced meal, create a resume, as well as take constructive criticism from a boss, among many

other life lessons. The passion these teachers have towards the program and the students is one of the reasons this program is so successful and why there is a waiting list.

The classes are offered once a week at the school and have an online component for the parents to add to the program at home. There are also mandatory field trips that take students out in the community for a chance to grocery shop with a set budget and then return to school to create a nutritious balanced meal.

Other field trips have been to Nevada Partners, the Clark County Court House, riding the RTC bus system and going to restaurants where they need to place an order and be able to tip with the amount they are given. The kids also have an opportunity to volunteer with organizations like Opportunity Village and Easter Seals, as well Three Square Food Bank.

Next year starts year three of this remarkable program, where the work will focus on transitioning the students to their next place, whether that is a college, trade school or the job market.

Most of the year will include field trips to colleges and universities, and job training and placement facilities.

Odyssey Charter School is a unique, hybrid approach to education combines traditional, in-person instruction with an enriching and highly interactive internet-based curriculum for a distinctive learning experience that is both challenging and flexible.

Odyssey Charter School odysseyk12.org

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FAMILY, KIDS & PETS

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LIMIT SPAC ED E!

July 1 – August 2

Come Play and Learn With Us This Summer!

Bring your curiosity and sense of wonder as you join museum educators for fun activities that focus on science, art and more.

There’s something for everyone at DISCOVERY Children’s Museum.

For more information visit DiscoveryKidsLV.org or call 702.382.KIDS (5437) to reserve your space today.

Starting June 16 from $150 to $375

xtail o F p Cam

Register today at girlscoutsnv.org

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Lend a paw to prevent evaporation. Grab a pool cover coupon at snwa.com. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still a desert out there.

SNWA is a not-for-profit public agency.

culture entertainment + activities IN THIS SECTION 24 The Nature Exchange

The Springs Preserve’s Nature Exchange provides a learning environment for young collectors and encourages kids to barter with natural items.

28 Pinball Hall of Fame

Wall-to-wall fun awaits at the Pinball Hall of Fame featuring hundreds of restored pinball machines from the 1950s through the 1990s.

30 Upcoming Events

< “Strawberries + Swing Set,” by Katie Carpenter, age 12, created at Selah {an art salon}. For a listing of offerings, please visit selahlv.com.

entertainment + activities CULTURE

THE NATURE EXCHANGE

Bartering Comes Naturally at the Springs Preserve Living in the urban environs of downtown Las Vegas, my kids still manage to engage nature. They’re always amassing a collection. Pine cones and snail shells. Cicada molts and spider webs. Caliche chunks and dried sunflower crowns. But not all of these end up in shoeboxes under their beds, thank goodness. That’s because my kids have a cool place to trade naturally-found items—the Nature Exchange at Springs Preserve.

By Jarret Keene

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BLVDS Las Vegas

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Trading is limited to five items a day. Kids earn points for information they give educators. (Educators love drawn stories, by the way.) The more kids know about their objects, the more points they get. With their “accounts” saved on a computer database, kids acquire other items or save points for a big future trade in the Exchange’s changing collection. My sons often take newly acquired items home and put them—yep—in a shoebox.

They sometimes return objects to the Exchange weeks or months later to trade again.

arrowheads. For teachers, the Exchange serves as a learning tool for their students, with the Preserve offering materials to help classes prepare for a school-trip visit.

By trading on nature, kids indulge their curiosity. At the Exchange, they learn about our world, about the objects that surround us—and that we might take for granted. In Las Vegas, there is no better place for children to actively observe, collect, study and share the planet.

For more information on the Nature Exchange at Springs Preserve, go online to SpringsPreserve.org/Education/Exchange. html or call 702.822.7759. Teachers should call at least a week prior to their visit.

“The Nature Exchange staff are specially trained to help collectors learn more about their exchanged items,” says Jim Johnson with the Springs Preserve. “Children also learn about all of the wondrous artifacts in the Preserve’s own collection, including fossils, rocks, minerals, plants and insects from the Southwest and the world.”

My boys have taught me responsible and ethical collecting.

When I forget, they remind me not to collect items from protected lands or water areas (parks, rivers). They warn me not to glean from the Springs Preserve site. Furthermore, my sons shake their heads with disappointment when I find a dead bird in our pool and announce, stupidly, “Let’s exchange it.”

That’s because the Exchange prohibits items from vertebrates (backboned animals) save for shark teeth and reptile sheddings.

Bugs must be dead (natural causes, please!) and dried. No feathers, nests or eggs.

“C’mon, Dad,” they say in unison. “Get with it.”

I’m getting with it, and so are many other parents in Las Vegas thanks to this intriguing program at Springs Preserve.

Something else to consider: The Nature Exchange regularly provides special classes—like a recent one in which my family learned to make our own keepsake necklaces using replica

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CULTURE entertainment + activities

At home, my kids clean their stash with a brush and damp sponge. Then we drive to Springs Preserve, a 180-acre facility with trails, desert gardens and interactive exhibits. Watching my two little sons dutifully bring their items to the upper level of the Desert Living Center is poignant. But seeing them explain to an Exchange educator what each object is, where it came from and why it’s special is a treat.

Tanner Amphitheater 2013 Summer Concert Series

A stunning 2000 seat outdoor amphitheater surrounded by the cliffs of Zion National Park Dixie State University MAY 18 SOUTHWEST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Chuckwagon dinner 6:00 p.m.

Concerts under the Stars

DIAMOND RIO

JUNE 1 THE RANDY ANDERSON BAND This concert only begins at 7:30

FRIDAY, APRIL 12

SUPER DIAMOND MUSIC OF NEIL DIAMOND

SATURDAY, APRIL 13

RANDY TRAVIS FRIDAY, APRIL 19

JUNE 15 CHOIRS OF JOHN SOTO JUNE 29 ERIC DODGE AND THE JOHN HOUSTON GOSPEL CHOIR JULY 13 MOST WANTED Country, disco, classic rock and everything in between JULY 27 DAVID CORREA & CASCADA Latin Guitar World Fusion band AUGUST 10 REID FAMILY BAND Old Time Rock and Roll and Classic Country songs AUGUST 24 MIKALENE Singer-songwriter with her backup band

BRIAN REGAN

AUGUST 24 MIKALENE

THURS - SAT, MAY 2 - 4

THE BEACH BOYS JAMES SEWELL FRIDAY, MAY 10 BALLET SATURDAY, MAY 11

Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $10 adult, $5 youth

ODYSSEY DANCE THEATRE’S THE FAB FOUR -

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OCT 25, 11:55 PM OCT 26, 28 - NOV 1

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Tuacahn Amphitheatre is surrounded by the red cliffs of Southern Utah, just two short hours from Las Vegas.

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onkers Lost in Y Boys hine The Suns s nd 45 Sefcroom Broadwaofy EMIERE ORLD PR and the W Wanted! s m e o P Song

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King John • Love’s Labour’s Lost The Tempest • Anything Goes Peter and the Starcatcher Twelve Angry Men • Richard II The Marvelous Wonderettes

BLVDS is looking for sales representatives and interns. If you want to be involved and make a difference in our community, you want to be a part of BLVDS.

800-PLAYTIX For more information call 702.386.6065 or email editor@blvdslv.com.

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Cedar City

Closer than you think!

entertainment + activities CULTURE

PINBALL HALL OF FAME

It is Flippin’ Fantastic!

By Courtney Murphy

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The PHoF is run by Tim Arnold, a veteran arcade operator who moved to Las Vegas in 1990. Tim works tirelessly to guarantee all the games are running at one hundred percent and that the display is clean for the players to enjoy. This labor of love is a

full-time job and one that Tim is not paid to do. As Tim says, “It’s all about pinball and charity.”

As a registered 501c3 non-profit, PHoF relies solely on visitors who play the machines, restored pinball machine sales, and sales of “This Old Pinball” repair DVDs (available for sale at the museum). After the PHoF covers its monthly expenses for rent, electricity, insurance and endowment savings, the remainder of the money goes to the Salvation Army. Tim’s dream of using pinball machines to make money for charity has become a reality.

Tim estimates that since his move to Las Vegas, his pinball efforts have raised more than $500,000 for local charities and he is just getting started.

Tim explains, “We just don’t care that this or that game isn’t making any money. The minute we start becoming professional, it’s all gonna be about the dollars and it’s not gonna be about the games. What’s the use of having cool games if you have to play them alone?”

Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday. Admission is free.

Pinball Hall of Fame 1610 E. Tropicana, Las Vegas, 89119 pinballmuseum.org

You can always find owner Tim Arnold fixing something at the Pinball Hall of Fame.

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CULTURE entertainment + activities

The Pinball Hall of Fame (PHoF) is a 10,000-square-foot-facility dedicated to family fun and community contribution.

The museum houses and displays the world’s largest, open to the public, pinball collection. The hundreds of machines ranging from the1950s up to 1990s are each restored to like-new playing condition. You can play for hours on just a few quarters and, since the organization is a non-profit, excess revenues are donated to local charities.

GET FULL DETAILS ON THESE EVENTS AND MANY MORE AT BLVDSLV.COM JUNE 2013 Annual Juried Show Thru – July 6, 2013 The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) lasvegascac.org

Picnic and a Movie

Electric Daisy Carnival

June 13, 2013 Green Valley Library mypubliclibrary.com

June 21 – 23, 2013 Las Vegas Motor Speedway lvms.com

Outdoor Picture Show: Madagascar 3

Chat with Best Selling Author Kate Carlisle

June 14, 2013 The District at Green Valley Ranch shopthedistrictgvr.com

June 21, 2013 Gibson Library Contact Tiffany London at tlondon@hdpl.org

Dash and Splash

The Family Stone

June 15, 2013 Pavilion Center Pool lasvegasnevada.gov

June 21, 22, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

Jazz on the Lake: Lady J Huston & the Fire Balls

Green Day’s American Idiot: The Groundbreaking Broadway Musical

June 22, 2013 The Village at Lake Las Vegas montelagovillage.com 702.564.4700

June 11 – 16, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

New Garside Pool Groundbreaking June 12, 2013 300 S. Torrey Pines Drive 702.229.6851

events

Nevada Old Time Fiddlers June 12, 2013 Gibson Library mypubliclibrary.com

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey June 13 – 15, 2013 Thomas & Mack Center, UNLV thomasandmack.com 702.739-3267

Apertif by the TEE Wine, Food & Music Event June 13, 2013 TPC Summerlin Golf Club 702.443.1349

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June 15 & 16, 2013 Clark County Amphitheatre facebook.com/ clarkcountyamphitheater

June 15, 2013 East Las Vegas Community Center lasvegasnevada.gov 702.229.1515

Jazz on the Lake: Rick Arroyo June 15, 2013 The Village at Lake Las Vegas montelagovillage.com 702.564.4700

FAMILY, KIDS & PETS

Ribbon of Life June 30, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

JULY 2013 Farmers Markets

For locations, days and times go to NevadaGrown.com

June 22, 2013 Historic Fifth Street School artslasvegas.org

Cones of Fury II June 25, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

Next Exit: Route 66

June 18 – 23, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

It’s All In Your Head Marylou Evans

BLVDS Las Vegas

June 29, 2013 Fremont Street Experience vegasexperience.com

DjangoVegas!

Gypsy Jazz Concert

Catch Me If You Can

June 19, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

Rock of Vegas Summer Concert Series

July 1 – August 2, 2013 DISCOVERY Children’s Museum DiscoveryKidsLV.com

June 27, 2013 Springs Preserve Big Springs Gallery springspreserve.org

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party With Billy Stritch

June 28, 2013 Green Valley Library 702.207.4261

DISCOVERY Summer Camp

Reggae in the Desert

Father’s Day Get Fit For Life, Fun, Health, and Fitness Event

1960s Counterculture and Hippy Films

June 27 – Sept. 28, 2013 Charleston Heights Art Center artslasvegas.org

Las Vegas En Concierto Featuring Marco Barrientos Independence Concert with Funkytown July 3, 2013 Henderson Pavilion hendersonlive.com 702.267.2171

Bryan McCormick Geoffrey Ellis Falling Angel Art Exhibit JULY 4 – 26, 2013 Trifecta Gallery trifectagallery.com

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Older and Overwhelmed

by Sam Blanchard

Now – Oct. 27, 2013 Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art bellagio.com

July 12 – September 7, 2013 The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) lasvegascac.org

Children’s Summer Concert Series First Friday 4th With The Phil July 4, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

Independence Day Celebration July 4, 2013 Mission Hills Park HendersonLive.com

July 5, 2013 Las Vegas Arts District firstfridaylasvegas.com

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson Plays Thick As A Brick 1 & 2 July 5, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

July 17, 2013 Charleston Heights Arts Center & Historic Fifth Street School artslasvegas.org

Jazz on the Lake: Anthony James Baker July 27, 2013 The Village at Lake Las Vegas montelagovillage.com

blvdslv.com

July 27, 2013 The District at Green Valley Ranch shopthedistrictgvr.com 702.564.8595

An Evening with Willie Nelson and Family August 13, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

Farmers Markets

July 4, 2013 Cashman Field 702.386.7200

July 4, 2013 Boulder City bcnv.org

Outdoor Picture Show: Despicable Me

August 7 – 24, 2013 Spring Mountain Ranch State Park supersummertheatre.org

August 2013

Las Vegas 51s Fireworks Extravaganza

65th Annual Boulder City Damboree Celebration Fireworks

August 2, 2013 Arts District, Downtown Las Vegas firstfridaylasvegas.com

Legally Blonde The Musical

Art & Wine a Perfect Pairing

July 4, 2013 Aliante Station, Green Valley Ranch, Fiesta Rancho, Texas Station and Red Rock Resort sclv.com

First Friday

August 7 – 11, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

“Weird Al” Yankovic The Apocalypse Tour

July 10, 2013 Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art bellagio.com

August 2, 2013 Desert Breeze Aquatics Facility clarkcountynv.gov 702.455.7798

Les Miserables

July 6, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

Station Casinos’ 4th of July Blast

Cardboard Boat Regatta

events

Warhol Out West

For locations, days and times go to NevadaGrown.com

How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying July 10 – 27, 2013 Spring Mountain Ranch State Park supersummertheatre.org

Abigail Goldman DIE-O-RAMAS and More Art Exhibit August 1 – 30, 2013 trifectagallery.com

BLVDS Las Vegas

Chris Isaak Tour August 14, 2013 The Smith Center Thesmithcenter.com

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If it’s happening in Vegas, it’s on our calendar!

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design architecture + style IN THIS SECTION 36 Fashion Camp LV

Aspiring fashion designers ages seven through adult are invited to create, design and sew at fun and inspiring camps, classes and workshops.

40 Wetlands Park

Take a walk on the wild side at this 2,900acre lush and unique micro-climate with an abundance of flora and fauna including over 200 species of birds.

44 Celebrating Legacy

Celebrating Legacy is an easy-to-use website designed to help members honor and share their family legacy.

< Selah {an art salon} offers creative art re{treats} and co-working for creatives.

For a listing of offerings, please visit selahlv.com.

architecture + style DESIGN

FASHION CAMP LV

Sew Much Fun for All Ages

By Jeanette Schneider Photography by Talbot Snow Thirty-something years after rummaging through bins of McCall’s patterns as fabrics were pulled deftly from their bolts, hands whipping them into frothy heaps for my mother to make into dresses, I still have a closet full of memories.

There is the jumper she made when I was five with the white plastic heart buttons that made me skip, and the black formal dress I made when I was sixteen.

It was a dedicated effort and forced me to appreciate the meticulous nature of a hand-stitched seam.

There are the gowns of bias-cut silk and chiffon tendrils constructed by a local designer after months of sketches, draping and field trips for fabric. When The Smith Center opened, she met me at Heddy’s with ideas on her iPhone that became the gown that deserved the Jimmy Choos I splurged on to complete the perfect look—the one I couldn’t find in a store because I’m apparently not an off-the-rack kind of girl.

While many think of sewing as something their mothers did, Project Runway has

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Dress concepts created out of tissue paper are just the beginning of a fun filled fashion adventure.

made fashion real and accessible. You’ll now find elementary school art rooms filled with aspirations of “I want to be a fashion designer when I grow up” in coal, dotted with candy-colored tissue paper and a signature that may just end up on a label.

to model her design and asked if she was going to be featured in a fashion magazine.

The class was led by Perin Patel and very quickly the task of threading needles, selecting buttons and the concentration of creating gave way to a camaraderie that was refreshing and familiar. When asked I met a seven-year-old who I expect what they like about Fashion Camp the to be the next Diane Von Furstenberg, girls all have a project that tops their list: and if she’s not, then watch out world dress forms, sketching, sewing and on and because she knows what she wants and it on until shrill little voices quickly became involves pink, a little sass and a brain that giggles. The iPhone placed nearby belted clicks two seconds before anyone else in out Christina Aguilera and suddenly nine her Fashion Camp LV class held at Eva G. little girls sang the chorus together, eyes Fashion instructor Patel at Tivoli Village.

Simmons Elementary.

ShePerin was the first down, fingers busy.

BLVDS Las Vegas

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Do It Yourself & Wine nights are an opportunity for local women to become familiar with the studio while working on a project. Day camps, evening classes, private lessons and camps offered to adjust to students’ school holidays make fashion accessible for the entire family.

While my days of hand-stitching are behind me, there is something to be said about the process of creating and the imagination of a child. Two small heart buttons purchased from a fabric store in 1980-something still make me smile.

I never remember a button from the mall.

Fashion Camp LV The Market LV at Tivoli Village 420 S. Rampart, Las Vegas 702.475.5512 ~ fashioncamplv.com

blvdslv.com

Fun Summer Camps for Kids Acting Up! Summer Camp Las Vegas Shakespeare Company 821 Las Vegas Blvd. N., Las Vegas 702.527.6800 ~ Ages: 8-18 lvshakespeare.org Summer camp includes: Musical Theater, Dance, Acting Auditioning, and “Inside the Industry” Seminars.

NIKE Basketball Camp Durango High School 7100 West Dewey Drive, Las Vegas 1.800.645.3226 ~ Ages: 8-17 ussportscamps.com Eager to learn new moves and techniques, become stronger more confident players.

Hollywood Bound Acting Camp 7220 S. Cimarron Rd., Las Vegas 702.583.4997 ~ Ages: 7-14 hollywood-bound.com Whether you want to be in front of the camera or behind it, this is the camp for you.

Fencing Academy of Las Vegas 1220 S. Rainbow Blvd., Las Vegas 702.838.3320 ~ Ages: 8 and up fencingacademyofnevada.com Focuses on the sportsmanship, respect, and traditions of fencing.

Camp Zone Summer Camp 2160 Snow Trail, Las Vegas 702.242.8838 ~ Ages: 6-14 summerlin.merryhillschool.com Camp Zone Summer Camp focused on sports, nature exploration, performing and creative arts.

DISCOVERY Children’s Museum 360 Promenade Place, Las Vegas 702.382.KIDS ~ Ages: 6-9 and 10-12 DiscoveryKidsLV.org Bring your curiosity as you join Museum educators for fun activities that focus on science, art and more.

Art Classes for Kids Home Studio 1509 S. 6th St., Las Vegas and Grace in the Desert Episcopal Church 2022 Spring Gate Lane, Las Vegas 702.678.6777 ~ Ages: 5-15 artclassesforkids.com Enjoy the Fine Arts of drawing, painting and sculpting in an enthusiastic, educational environment.

Springs Preserve 333 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas 702.822.7700 ~ Ages: 6-12 springspreserve.org Get face-to-face with a Gila monster, make eco-friendly crafts, go on a nature walk, explore museums and more.

Selah {an art salon} 509 S. 7th St., Las Vegas 702.203.6254 ~ Ages: 6-14 selahlv.com Summer re{treats} for kids includes: the writer’s playhouse, photography, sewing 101, and screen-printing.

YMCA 4 locations - lasvegasymca.org Las Vegas Community Centers 18 locations - clarkcountynv.gov Boys and Girls Club of Las Vegas 9 locations - bgclv.org

BLVDS Las Vegas

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architecture + style

The camp is set in a studio where fashion becomes real, and bright fabrics and jars full of buttons and patterns become the tools of imagination and design.

DESIGN

Camp founder and fashion professor Erin Bianchi acknowledges the disconnect between fashion classes taught from a book and the real life experience needed to be successful. Students at Orange Coast College weren’t getting the exposure they needed and, before long, high school students were asking to attend her Orange County studio. The call quickly came to expand to a broader age group and a second market. Fashion Camp LV at Tivoli Village now offers something for every aspiring designer and stylist, be they 7 or 70.

architecture + style DESIGN

WETLANDS PARK

An Oasis in the Heart of the Vegas Valley

By Hektor D. Esparza | Photography by Victoria Hart For many people, the words Las Vegas and wetlands seem totally out of place together. But this really shouldn’t be. The Vegas valley has been home to wetlands for a very long time.

Unfortunately much, if not most, of the washes and various humble streams and waterways here were not regarded as the kinds of “wetlands” worth preserving and have been paved over in an effort to deal with erosion, flash flooding and a number of other reasons that make perfect sense in a civil engineering sort of way. To be sure the valley has lost many lush environments teeming with gorgeous algae, tiny minnows, toads, crawdads, waterfowl and innumerable species of insects.

But this is not a story of what has been lost but what has been discovered and preserved. The Clark County Wetlands Park is a wonderful asset to the valley and everyone who lives here ought to know about it. Having this wonderful piece of nature a mere half-hour drive from the farthest suburb and just a stone’s throw from the adventurous environs of Boulder Highway is truly remarkable.

As Allison Brody, Wetlands Park Recreation Program Supervisor says, “It’s an amazing place. It’s part of Las Vegas but once you get out here, it’s as if you’d been transported somewhere else entirely.

The new Nature Center at the Wetlands provides valuable information and services.

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Open dawn to dusk except New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Information Center open daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 7050 Wetlands Park Lane, Las Vegas, 89122 702.455.7522.

And when it’s just too hot to stay outside for very long in the summer months, the new Nature Center at the Wetlands provides valuable information and services. Opened in April of 2013, the 45,000-square-foot campus was built with outdoor observation decks offering panoramic perspectives of the Wetlands and nearby mountain ranges.

Constructed on concrete pillars to keep the structure above water during flood season, the buildings were made to meet gold-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.

Altogether the Nature Center is comprised of an auditorium, exhibit gallery and administrative offices. The auditorium seats up to 85 visitors. The Nature Center Exhibit Gallery is 8,335 square feet and contains interactive exhibits, a solar-powered exhibit featuring animatronic insects (that don’t bite), a model of the Las Vegas Wash, and dioramas with local wildlife and vegetation.

Overlooking the 210-acre Nature Preserve (which makes up part of the Wetlands Park), the exhibit gallery is also situated above a 112-acre mitigation pond. For biological studies and research, the Southern Nevada Water Authority operates a 384-squarefoot field science lab inside the gallery.

Planned as an addition in the near future, a new café will feature video screens live-streaming scenic areas throughout the Nature Preserve. Other environmentally-friendly features include tilted windows that reflect light to the ground instead of to the sky to minimize injury to winged creatures and use of local rock landscape to minimize erosion. Further decreasing its ecological impact, fully 75 percent of construction material waste was recycled and diverted from landfills.

With over 200 species of birds alone visiting at different points of the year, the Wetlands Park and Nature Preserve offers urban

blvdslv.com

Take a walk along the park trails and see how many species of wildlife you can discover.

BLVDS Las Vegas

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architecture + style

“You can hear the water rushing, flowing and falling all around.

It feels like it makes it about 15 degrees cooler too.”

dwellers an escape into what an untamed Southern Nevada looked like ages ago for ages to come.

DESIGN

“It’s all about the water,” says Brody. Water is what allows the flora and fauna to thrive at the Wetlands. From spiny soft shell turtles to American coots, coyotes and otherworldly-looking dragonflies, it is the water that makes this micro-climate so different from the surrounding desert.

The Playground is an indoor facility fully equipped for your child to have hours of fun in a safe and clean environment. The Playground is for Summer Camp, Birthday Parties, Open Play, Parent’s Night Out and much more!

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Personalized & Attentive Health Care

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architecture + style DESIGN

CELEBRATING LEGACY

Website Lets Families Share, Connect and Remember

By Chris Cutler

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FAMILY, KIDS & PETS

BLVDS Las Vegas

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“I got in fights standing up for kids who were being bullied but because there was a zero tolerance for fighting, I kept getting thrown out of school,” he says. “The principal knew I was not a bad kid.”

One afternoon while he was sitting in the office waiting for his parents to pick him up, Randy overheard a conversation between the principal and the chief of police who was looking for a student for their cadet program. Seeing the interest on Randy’s face, the principal announced, “I have just the right kid for you.”

And that, Randy says, was the moment that changed his life. After completing the cadet program, he joined the Princeton Borough Police Department at age 19, the youngest cop ever hired in the state of New Jersey. After 10 years on the Princeton force, six

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Although he started over as a patrol officer, Randy quickly moved up the ranks and worked as a detective, field training officer, commander of a federal task force and sergeant before being promoted to lieutenant. It was during these years that Randy had speaking roles in several movies — Casino and Miss Congeniality II, to name two, and was a featured officer on Cops, the cable reality show that follows officers in the line of duty.

After 9/11, Randy wrote True Blue, an anthology of true cop stories, to raise funds for the widows and children of the police officers who were killed in September 11 attacks. He also felt that sharing the stories might help build a bond between cops and the people that they serve. All of the royalties of the book went to the families of those killed on that day.

In 2009, Randy’s life changed dramatically. His mother passed away, and three weeks later, Randy suffered a stroke while sitting in his patrol car.

Not long afterwards, doctors discovered he had life-threatening heart disease, and Randy retired from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

About the same time, I closed a business and decided I wanted another degree, an MFA in creative writing. While working on a piece about my immigrant grandparents, it dawned on me that their histories, their stories and the stories of so many like them die because they are not recorded somewhere.

architecture + style

Our childhoods were very different.

A child of the Midwest, I led a pretty boring life. I tried to be the perfect student and was fearful of the consequences I’d suffer at the hands of both my father and the nuns if I misbehaved. Randy grew up on the east coast (Princeton, New Jersey), and both of his parents were court reporters. In addition, his father and grandfather were deputy sheriffs. Randy freely admits, however, that he was a regular visitor to the principal’s office.

on patrol and four as a detective, Randy “bagged it to join the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.”

DESIGN

Randy Sutton and I are obsessed with preserving stories. We’ve actually never met. I’ve heard about him, and we’ve talked on the phone and exchanged emails a few times. I’ve even read one of his books and, unknowingly, seen him on television and a few movies. More on all that later.

Randy Sutton, police officer, detective, lieutenant, author and legacy preservationist.

I knew I had to do something, and I founded The Las Vegas Memoir Project (lasvegasmemoirproject.com) After his mother’s death, Randy came to the same conclusion and started working on Celebrating Legacy.

“I created Celebrating Legacy (celebratinglegacy.com) to allow people to live on through their words and bring their families closer together through the sharing of memories,” says Randy.

“Their families will be comforted by their legacies and their stories and their histories will be honored.”

While Celebrating Legacy is an easy-touse website designed to help members create and post stories, memories, journals and even their own obituaries, The Las Vegas Memoir Project teaches people how to write their stories and

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how to put them together as a cohesive unit. We both know that some people think that they are too ordinary and that they don’t have anything interesting to pass along, but we both agree that everyone has a story and deserves to be remembered.

“I also believe,” Randy adds, “that these projects will change the way that people view their lives. When they think of how they will be remembered and the legacy that they will leave behind, they will want to lead better, more significant lives.”

Through celebratinglegacy.com, members can participate in a number of different features: Legapedia is a web-based encyclopedia of people, their families, their ancestors, etc. Once a Celebrating Legacy member creates a profile for a person, others can find him/her and work with the information provided.

Legacies are words of wisdom, memories, autobiographies, etc. that may be published any time or preserved until after death.

Keeping Cool Summer Fun Wet ’n’ Wild Las Vegas 7055 S. Fort Apache Rd. wetnwildlasvegas.com

DISCOVERY Children’s Museum 360 Promenade Place DiscoveryKidsLV.org 702.382.KIDS (5437)

Natural History Museum 900 N. Las Vegas Blvd.

702.384.3466, lvnhm.org

Obituaries will replace biographies after a member’s death, or loved ones who want to record and preserve the accomplishments of family members can provide a separate obit.

Springs Preserve

Memorials are an open forum for family members and others to share personal experiences, insights, memories, as well as photos, audio clips, videos, and more.

Pinball Hall of Fame

Military Memoirs is the place for service men and women to write about their military experience. They also have the option to share their stories through their own dedicated journals as well as a unit or association page.

Family Journal is a special members-only function where they can create a living family tree, link to other family members, and privately or publicly share and exchange ancestry information.

333 S. Valley View Blvd.

702.822.7700, springspreserve.org

1610 E. Tropicana Ave. pinballmuseum.org

Wetlands Park 7050 Wetlands Park Lane 702.455.7522

battleBLAST Laser Tag 8125 W. Sahara, Suite #200 702.228.0951, battleblastlv.com

Canoeing, Kayaking and Swimming at Lake Mead nps.gov/lake

KISS by Monster Mini Golf 4503 Paradise Road 702.558.6256 monsterminigolf.com/kiss

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“My Odyssey takes me to places further than the classroom.”

– Sophia, 4th Grade Elementary school is about more than the fundamentals. It’s about building a foundation for a lifelong love of learning. We make it happen through hybrid education, a combination of online and classroom instruction the Department of Education has found to be most effective.

The result is more parent involvement, more focus on individual students, and more tools for success that can be used well past K-5. Think of it as grade school that’s not so elementary.

We teach. We lead. We believe. odysseyk12.org | 702.257.0578 | 2251 South Jones | Las Vegas, NV 89145

The Second Annual Raise Your Spirits Benefiting the Las Vegas Community Counseling Center Monday August 26th, 2013

All Las Vegas bartenders, mixologists, aficionados, and general drink enthusiasts:

Show us your Skills This is your chance to get creative, benefit your community, and have the opportunity to win big $$ and media recognition!

All you have to do is put your creativity to work by concocting your very own unique and delicious drink!

Submit your recipe with a picture of the finished product and a brief bio of yourself. Video entries are encouraged - show us your fun personality!

Enter today at: rys2.eventbrite.com

Participants can enter as many times as they wish in the three categories offered: • Margaritas

• Martinis

• Mixed Drinks

$25.00 donation per entry All entries must be submitted by Saturday, August 10th, 2013.

Or visit us on our Facebook Event Page www.facebook.com/#!/events/415106631919847 for more info.

flavor dining + retail IN THIS SECTION 50 Mac Shack

For a family-friendly dining experience, Mac Shack hits the spot with a buildyour-own pasta option or yummy house specialties.

52 Mise en Place

Learning to cook can be a family thing with classes for all ages at the valley’s newest cooking school.

54 Yappy Hour

Fun goes to the dogs at Rumor, a boutique hotel, where every third Thursday it’s beverages, bones and a good time for all.

56 Must Haves 58 IMHO

Jeanne Goodrich muses about her passion for public libraries and how the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District serves our community’s families with relevant and essential resources.

< Selah {an art salon} offers creative art re{treats} and co-working for creatives. For a listing of offerings, please visit selahlv.com.

dining + retail FLAVOR

MAC SHACK

Not Your Kids’ Macaroni & Cheese

By Pat Marvel You’ve had a long day at work, you’ve just picked up the last child from her after-school activities and you’re all starving. Where can you go for a quality meal served quickly in a family-friendly atmosphere with a menu to please all ages? It’s Mac Shack to the rescue!

Yes, macaroni and cheese is on the menu — traditional, creamy, comforting and delicious. “Baby Mac” choices for kids (or adults with a smaller appetite) include traditional macaroni and creamy cheese sauce, or your choice of pasta with tomato sauce, broth and cheese, meat balls or meat sauce. Baby Macs are served with a small drink and dessert.

Other macaroni and cheese selections are geared for more sophisticated tastes, such as macaroni with asiago, blue cheese and pecorino with blue cheese crumbles.

Macaroni Favorites include the Crazy Alfredo

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(with chicken, sausage and shrimp), The Veggie with spring veggies tossed in a garlic and oil sauce over rigatoni, and a perfect cheesy Baked Rigatoni.

Delicious soups and salads are available, as are beer and wine. A daily lunch special offers a salad and a build-your-own pasta dish, a mini garlic loaf and a soft drink.

But for a meal prepared just the way you want it, go for the “create your own” option. Choose a pasta (including whole wheat and gluten free), a sauce and, for an additional cost per item, add ingredients such as chicken, shrimp or vegetables.

Mac Shack is wallet-friendly, too. It was named Best Meal for Under $10 in the 2013 Review-Journal’s Best of Las Vegas poll. On Sundays, a child eats free with the purchase of an adult meal.

Once you’ve placed your order at the counter, take a seat and your freshlycooked meal will be brought to your table by the ever-cheerful and polite staff. Seating includes a counter as well as tables and chairs and a big, comfy banquette. The restaurant’s décor is tasteful and comfortable enough to appeal to adults, and colorful and casual enough to be kid-friendly.

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You can phone in your order or order online. Catering is available and free WiFi too!

8680 W. Warm Springs Rd. Las Vegas, 89148 - 702.463.2433 macaronishack.com

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ganesha center Sanctuary for the Spirit

Classes | CafĂŠ | Products | Services | Membership & Events

Reiki | Kangen Water | Sound Therapy | Essential Oils | Herbal Supplements

3199 E. Warm Springs Rd. 702.485.4985 GaneshaCenter.com

Fifiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Finds For all your Atomic, Rockabilly Tiki & Mid-Century needs!

702.587.4622 www.etsy.com/shop/fifisfinds

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MISE EN PLACE

The Cooking Experience

By Jillian Plaster Mise En Place, a recently established culinary school in the southwest, offers a variety of classes for the entire family.

The French name, pronounced “me-zahnplahs,” literally means “putting in place,” but generally refers to the organizing and arranging of ingredients needed to prepare dishes in a professional kitchen.

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The method is useful at home as well, if you wish to cook as efficiently as the chefs on Food Network. At Mise En Place, both you and your children can learn such techniques using recipes from all over the world.

Classes for those aged five to twelve primarily consist of decorating sweets,

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but children are allowed to accompany parents to any of the adult classes. Stepby-step demonstrations will guide you through courses ranging from sushi-making to molecular gastronomy. Not all classes at Mise En Place are hands on, but they all include a meal of the dishes prepared.

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FLAVOR dining + retail

Special classes for teens will be held during summer, and will provide them with the tools they’ll need to create easy and healthful meals themselves. A few of the topics that will be covered include egg cookery, stir frying and even homemade pasta making. For parents who work during the day and don’t want their teens living on mac n’ cheese between stretches of video game play and Facebook updates, this is a perfect pastime to start the summer. Parents might even appreciate coming home to a prepared meal for a change!

Teens can use their new-found skills at the Father’s Day cooking tournament where they can partner with dad to cook in front of judges. The format will be similar to that of Chopped, a popular show where contestants are given a basket of secret ingredients they must use to create a dish in a timed competition.

Cooking is an activity often overlooked with such busy lifestyles, but the skills are invaluable for a young person’s future. People who cook generally make healthier eating choices, and a cook is everyone’s friend. Get your child ready for their future by getting them in the kitchen!

9500 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. 170 Las Vegas, 89123 702.754.4400 miseenplacenv.com

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YAPPY HOUR

Just Doggone Fun

By Jack Chappell

On they come to Yappy Hour. Big, small, hairy, coiffed, rambunctious, aloof, plain and glamorous. And then there are the dogs.

People and critters who otherwise might have nothing to do on a spring Las Vegas night have piled into the courtyard at Rumor, a boutique hotel on Harmon Avenue near the Hard Rock Casino for Yappy Hour. It’s a three-hour funfest that’s become a monthly staple at the hotel. It’s the brain child of Judy Perez, executive vice president of the Siegel Group, the hotel’s owner.

Yappy Hour has been running for about two years and brings between 150 and 300 people and their pets together for beverages, bones and an off-leash romp. Proceeds from the $10 admission benefit the Animal Foundation.

Adding some good old Las Vegas style and allure is Bonzi, a white standard poodle with dyed pink ears and multi-colored painted toenails. She lopes across the courtyard making friends and, seemingly unaware of her grand diva appearance, fraternizes with a plebeian pooch of unknown ancestry. It’s the first visit, but won’t be the last, for Bonzi and her people partner Charity Rael.

“Isn’t this all amazing,” says Rael surveying the collection of critters playing in the courtyard, a gated and enclosed grassy area about a third the size of a football field between wings of the hotel. Many guests stand on the balconies of their rooms ringing the area and gleefully watch the tumult below.

“It’s a great event, where people can bring their best friends with them,” says Perez. “Your pet is part of your family. Here, your dog and you can come and have a great time.” The idea struck her when she was at a hair

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Bonzi and her people partner Charity Rael.

What a lovely manicure!

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Mack Chester has come with Lola and Lucy. Burly, bearded and buzz cut, Chester sports camouflage cargo shorts while his tiny Chihuahuas are resplendent with pink sequined collars and leashes. And, yes not all appearances deceive: Chester rides a Harley. It’s their second Yappy Hour.

New Las Vegan Jennifer Read has come with Boggs, a Boston Terrier. She has a likeness of Boggs on her t-shirt. The t-shirt Boggs looks very studious. He’s wearing glasses.

Over by the hotel lobby entrance is the Boxer Kissing Booth.

For a modest contribution to Boxer Rescue, one can get a jowly pooch smooch. Over on the green, there’s a baby carriage with four Chihuahuas riding in style. Scurrying around the patio is a long-haired Dachshund mix looking something like a shaggy slinky with legs. He’s making friends with the ladies, and Vegas club boys take note: he has nary a tattoo nor flat-billed hip hop hat to aid in the quest for love.

There are games. Pet birthdays get celebrated with doggie birthday cakes. There are costume contests. Tonight, Trixie, a tea-cup sized Yorkshire Terrier, is wearing a faux leopard skin and gold lame outfit. Trixie has previously won the bathing suit contest. Trixie and her person, Ruby Tuakoi, are regulars. “We like to dress up,” Ruby says.

Like any Las Vegas club gathering, there’s some posturing, but unlike the people places, there are no fights here, no parking lot call-outs. Pets and their persons are all just getting along and having fun. A good time is had by all.

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salon. “I thought, ‘you know what I need to do? I need to create an event where we can bring our dogs.’”

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< The SUV of Dog Strollers Never leave your dog behind again with this adorable dog stroller. The Dogger incorporates innovation from the baby world to give dog owners the ultimate in durability, comfort and control. Exclusively at The Dog House, 6569 Las Vegas Blvd. S. #163, 702.496.7801 thedoghouseboutique.com

Must Haves

Created or Cultivated by People who Live in Southern Nevada

Cool Kids > Finding unique children’s clothes is not an easy task but we did it! Check out the little girls’ and boys’ upcycled fashions at Artifacts LV Creative Boutique & Events, 420 S. Rampart Blvd., at Marketplace in Tivoli Village and now open in Town Square, 702.672.2780 artifactlv.com

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FLAVOR dining + retail

< Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

>

This local boutique cake studio specializes in unique custom cakes for any and all occasions. In addition to cakes, they also create signature cupcakes, cookies, cakelets, and petite sweets like this Pumpkin Cheesecake Bite yummy! Gimme Some Sugar, 19 S. Stephanie St., Ste 160, Henderson, NV 89012 702.882.2537 gimmesomesugarlv.com

Cupcakes or Color Crayons?

Coloring just got a lot more interesting! Check out the variety of crayon shapes at Artifacts LV Creative Boutique & Events, 420 S. Rampart Blvd., at Marketplace in Tivoli Village and now open in Town Square, 702.672.2780 artifactlv.com

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For the Guy Who Has Everything > Whether heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Lakers fan or a workshop junkie these signs can be custom made for every kind of guy or gal! Artifacts LV Creative Boutique & Events, 420 S. Rampart Blvd., at Marketplace in Tivoli Village and now open in Town Square, 702.672.2780 artifactlv.com

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IMHO

Your Public Library: Still an Essential Community Resource

By Jeanne Goodrich When I went off to get my Master’s in Library Science over 40 years ago, I thought I would end up in the musty stacks of a college or university library.

I’d always loved to read, loved learning new things, and loved to research.

Then I learned about public libraries and their history in the United States as unique civic institutions that served as “the people’s university” for waves of newcomers. From the well-intentioned members of women’s clubs and temperance organizations (who saw a free public library as a wholesome alternative to saloons and pool halls) and captains of industry (Andrew Carnegie, who sprinkled nearly 1,700 public libraries around the country), public libraries were seen as essential local institutions, designed to support educational, informational, and recreational interests for people of all ages and every imaginable demographic strata.

I was sold!

I’ve never regretted my decision to focus on public libraries throughout my career.

I’ve worked in multi-county independent library districts, medium sized cities, large counties, the Nevada State Library, and spent ten years as an independent library management consultant and trainer. For the last four years I’ve been the Executive Director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, the largest public library in Nevada and one of the largest in the United States. Serving 1.5 million people over 8,000 square miles through 25 facilities, LVCCLD offers an array of services the library school class of 40 years ago wouldn’t have been able to imagine.

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Over half a million people visit the Las Vegas Valley branches every month.

People of all ages and backgrounds borrow books and other library materials (13.5 million items last fiscal year), attend programs, and use our computers and WiFi. Card holders can use our website (lvccld.org) to search the catalog, place holds, and download music, magazines, and audio and eBooks. Databases provide access to valuable business planning information (Business Decision), general reference (World Book Reference Center), health and wellness (Health Source: Consumer Edition), magazine and newspaper articles (General OneFile), and much more!

Learners of all ages can find library materials to support their studies, as well as online resources such as Adult Learning Center (GED help, U.S. citizenship test preparation, resume writing) and Brainfuse (live online homework help with tutors, assessment tests and subject skills builders). The Computer Assisted Literacy in Libraries (CALL) program provides English language learning, English as a Second Language, and citizenship classes for free.

Children and their families and caregivers can have fun reading and attending free programs during the summer through participating in Club Read.

Visit a branch or check us out online. I guarantee that you’ll find something to love, to inform, or to amuse you!

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