February 2021
We are now 11 months into this pandemic. We are hopeful that the vaccines will help normalize the world by the fall, but we are no longer holding our collective breaths. We just keep moving forward as best we can. February is a beautiful time in Las Vegas. The weather is gorgeous. There are still some things to do--The Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, and Chinese New Year; just to name a few. There are currently about 30 shows that are open during this continuing pandemic. Most of them are small shows that can still turn a profit with a small audience. 30 may sound like a lot, but it’s not. There are normally a couple of hundred offerings on any given night in Las Vegas. A lot of the hotels and casinos are closed Monday through Thursday.
February 7 - Super Bowl LV will be held at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL. The Kansas City Chiefs verses the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Chiefs are favored to win by 3 points. It should be a great game. Find a great sports book and have a blast. Tampa Bay will become the first team in the Super Bowl era to play the title game at their home stadium. Tom Brady advances to the Super Bowl for a 10th time. If he wins on Feb. 7, he will lead his team to the Lombardi Trophy for a seventh time. In addition, he becomes the first QB to play in a Super Bowl in three different decades. A 30-second spot in Super Bowl LV costs advertisers $5.5 million.
Some of the interesting days that occur in February are: The 2nd is National Groundhog Day. February 4 is National Thank a Mailman Day. February 5 is National Shower with a Friend Day. The 7th is National Periodic Table Day. The 8th is National Kite Flying Day. The 11th is National Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk day. The 14th is of course Valentine’s Day. February 17 is National Random Acts of Kindness Day. Also February is An Affair to Remember Month, and the 3rd Week of the month is International Flirting Week.
Chinese New Year 2021 falls on Friday, February 12th, 2021, and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on February 26th, 2021. The Ox is the second of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. The Ox was about to be the first to arrive, but Rat tricked Ox into giving him a ride. Then, just as they arrived, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox. Thus, Ox became the second animal. Oxen are the hard workers in the background, intelligent and reliable, but never demanding praise. In Chinese culture, the Ox is a valued animal. Because of its role in agriculture, positive characteristics, such as being hardworking and honest, are attributed to it.
Guests are invited to celebrate the Year of the Ox at Bellagio's Conservatory & Botanical Gardens featuring the "A Season of Love" Lunar New Year display open through Saturday, March 6. Each element, designed to represent prosperity, strength and tenacity in the New Year, honors the Year of the Ox taking inspiration from Asian art, architecture and culture. The intricate display features four scenes layered with meaningful floral creations that convey messages of love for nature, commitment, tradition, children and travel.
Siegfried Fischbacher, whose 50-year collaboration with Roy Horn created “Siegfried & Roy,” the most successful magic act in history, died last month at his home in Las Vegas from pancreatic cancer. He was 81. Siegfried was preceded in death by his performing partner, Roy, who died of complications from Covid-19, last May. Together, Siegfried & Roy rose from war-torn Germany to become world-renowned stars of stage, film and television, combining their spectacular illusions with rare animals. Their four-decade run in Las Vegas included 14 years at The Mirage where they ushered in a new era of Las Vegas entertainment, setting unparalleled attendance and box office records. Siegfried & Roy’s legacy lives on at The Secret Garden of Siegfried & Roy at The Mirage.
Valentine’s Day! February 14th falls on a Sunday this year and is part of a long weekend with President’s Day on Monday. Weddings will still occur on that day, but look for it to be a rather small number in comparison to what is normal. Las Vegas “normally” does between 7,000 – 10,000 weddings on Valentine’s Day…it won’t be that many this year.
And in honor of Valentine’s Day:
A man wanted Valentine's Day to be special, so he bought a bottle of absinthe and stopped by the florist's to order a bouquet of his wife's favorite flower: white anemones. Unfortunately, the florist was sold out of flowers and had only a few stems of feathery ferns. The man asked the florist to make a bouquet out of the ferns and the flask of liquor. He added a card and proceeded home. After a romantic candlelight dinner, he presented his wife with the gift. She opened the card to read, "Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder." With a tear in her eye, she whispered to him lovingly, "Yes, and with fronds like these, who needs anemones."
A guy walks into a post office one day to see a middle-aged, balding man standing at the counter methodically placing "Love" stamps on bright pink envelopes with hearts all over them. He then takes out a perfume bottle and starts spraying scent all over them. His curiosity getting the better of him, he goes up to the balding man and asks him what he is doing. The man says "I'm sending out 1,000 Valentine cards signed, 'Guess who?'" "But why?" asks the man. "I'm a divorce lawyer," the man replies.
It's always exciting to get a Valentine's Day card pushed through your door, with no stamp on it - just your name on the envelope. Except when you're in prison...
Yet again, this Valentine's Day I'll be in my house all alone, watching a film on TV and eating delivery food. I really can't see a downside.
For dates and times, be sure to log onto the Las Vegas Online Entertainment Guide @ lvol.com.
Igoshows.com is, of course, the place to read the reviews of all of the shows that are in town so that you can be better informed as to what you should expect from a certain production. The reviews are updated as needed to give you the knowledge you need to spend your entertainment dollars better.
