CELEBRATE GOOD
TIMES: Las Vegas yearlong 100th
birthday celebration will kick off with a bang literally during the
citys annual New Years Eve bash. Americas Party 2005: Celebrating
100 Years of Neon, presented by the Las Vegas Convention and
Visitors Authority and Las Vegas Events, will feature what is
billed as the largest fireworks show in the citys history. The
pyrotechnics extravaganza, produced by Fireworks by Grucci, will be
launched from 10 resort rooftops along the Las Vegas Strip
specifically Excalibur, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, Ballys, Flamingo
Las Vegas, Venetian, TI (Treasure Island), Stardust, Circus-Circus
and Stratosphere. Included in the display will be 100
custom-designed aerial shells called the Las Vegas Centennial Chip
each measuring 200 feet in diameter that are slated to end the show
and officially begin the centennial celebration. The New Years Eve
countdown also will feature a B-1 bomber flyover of the Strip and
Grucci Grand Illuminations, featuring thousands of special effects
integrated with lasers all choreographed to a musical soundtrack
from Harrahs Las Vegas headliner Clint Holmes. For revelers
planning to spend the evening downtown, the Fremont Street
Experience will begin ringing in the new year at 7 p.m. with live
music and entertainment. For more information on New Years Eve
festivities throughout the city, visit www.vegasfreedom.com.
TOURNAMENT OF
ROSES PARADE: On New Years Day,
Las Vegas will be represented with a float in the annual Tournament
of Roses Parade, which will be televised worldwide from Pasadena,
Calif., beginning at 8 a.m. Pacific time (11 a.m. Eastern time).
Fiesta Parade Floats in Pasadena teamed up with the Las Vegas
Convention and Visitors Authority and the Las Vegas Centennial
Committee to design the parade entry No. 42 in the lineup that will
feature such city icons as Vegas Vic and Sassy Sally as well as a
giant birthday cake and champagne bottle. Las Vegas showgirls also
will ride the float, which will enter the 5.5-mile parade at
approximately 9:30 a.m. PST. Although this is the first time that
Las Vegas as a destination has officially entered a float in the
Rose Parade, individual entities located in the city have entered
floats in the parade before. The last time this occurred was in
1954. The final stages of float decoration, which will be open to
spectators for a $5 admission fee, will take place Dec. 28 through
31 at Buena Vista Pavilion, 2144 Buena Vista, Duarte,
Calif.
CAESARS
PALACE: Through Dec. 28, Caesars
Palace is offering travel agents a 40% discount on rack rates,
based on availability. An IATA number must be provided when the
reservation is made and membership card presented at time of
check-in.
SKATE WITH THE STARS:
While theyre enjoying a stay in Las Vegas version
of the Roman Empire, agents should check out the propertys new ice
rink, whose 60-foot-by-90-foot skating surface is billed as
approximately the same size as that at New Yorks Rockefeller Plaza.
The rink is located in the resorts open-air Roman Plaza and will
host performances by international skating stars on Saturday and
Sunday evenings through Jan. 15. Although the weekly roster of The
Stars Are Out Tonight will vary, the 7:30 p.m. show will feature
Rudy Galindo, Elvis Stojko and Paul Wylie. Also scheduled to
perform are comedy skating star Dan Hollander, Irina Grigorian and
Las Vegas own Karl Baumann from Cirque du Soleil. Tickets are $25
for general admission seating in grandstands and $50 for reserved
box seats at the ice. They can be purchased online at
www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (702) 474-4000 or at
the Caesars Palace box office. Also through Jan. 15, two-hour
public skating sessions are scheduled Mondays through Fridays from
9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays, public skating hours
are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. plus 10:30 p.m. to midnight. Skating tickets
are priced at $10 and include skate rental. They can be purchased
at the ice rinks ticket booth at the Roman Plaza. For more
information or to confirm the schedule for public skating sessions,
contact the resort at (702) 866-1600. Skating lessons also will be
offered by U.S. Figure Skating-certified instructors for $20 ($10
admission plus $10 for 30-minute group lesson). And every Sunday at
the 2 p.m. public skating session, participants will have the
chance to skate with world champion skater Randy Gardner and cast
members from the show. Public skating admission is $10 for the
Sunday Skate With the Stars sessions. Prices do not include tax and
ticket handling fees.