Festival ST. PATRICK’S DAY FESTIVAL & PARADE

MARCH 10-12

Get your green on for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival & Parade. Now in its 55th year, the three-day event is planned with families in mind, featuring games, food, Irish whiskey tastings, a car show, and authentic Celtic entertainment. If none of that transports you to the emerald fields of Ireland, then the headlining performance by Danú — a traditional Irish ensemble of flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, bouzouki, and vocals — should do the trick. (JM), free to attend (some activities require purchased wristbands), Water Street Plaza, cityofhenderson. com/residents family, fall in love with Alice Sycamore, the pragmatic girl with more eccentric kin. When the two families have to come together for dinner one night, they’re forced to confront their own prejudices and decide whether they want to focus on their differences or their (surprising) commonalities. I’ll be the one in the front row alternating between crying-laughing and crying-crying. (AD) 2 and 8p, $30, Las Vegas Little Theatre, lvlt.org

Black History Month Festival

FEB. 18

Themed “Black Resistance” this year, the Black History Month Festival at Springs Reserve recognizes the history of African Americans in Southern Nevada. As with most Springs Preserve events, programming caters to all ages. Families can celebrate Black culture through educational exhibits, live music, dance performances, arts and crafts, and authentic cuisine. (JM) 10a-4p, $4-9.95, Springs Preserve, springspreserve.org/events

Suppose they opened a $120 million spectacle, and no one came? It’s a fair, if exaggerated, question: If Las Vegas is all about music stars and sports these days, what is the fate of the year-round show with wide appeal that defined the Cirque du Soleil era? There’s no disputing entertainment on the Strip has realigned around big names such as Adele. And every show now competes for attention and hotel guests with pro football, hockey, basketball, and other teams.

Small wonder we haven’t seen much in the way of new shows built on variety or acrobatics when Carrie Underwood has sold out 18 times at Resorts World. Cirque downsized its ambitions to open the relatively modest Mad Apple last summer. But Amystika — a companion show to Criss Angel’s regular one at Planet Hollywood — closed before most people could look up the meaning of the title they’d seen all over billboards and