Helldorado Days Schedule Highlights Western Fun and Excitement

LAS VEGAS – Rich Western culture returns to Las Vegas when the PBR (Professional Bull Riders),  Las Vegas Elks Lodge #1468 and Las Vegas Centennial Committee bring Helldorado Days presented by Monster Energy to The Strip for the first time, May 13 – 15 at the Las Vegas Village.

The three-day festival will offer the thrills of PBR in one of the sport’s Majors, a traditional rodeo with mutton bustin’ for local kids and champion trick roping exhibitions; fun carnival rides and games for the entire family; Western gun fighting shows; the one-and-only Whiskerino mustache and beard growing contest; mouth-watering foods; cold beer; world-renowned musical tributes to Elvis and the Rat Pack; and a classic country music lineup featuring legends Moe Bandy, T.G. Sheppard, Kelly Lang, Wynn Varble, and more.

The Helldorado Days celebration begins Thursday, May 12 at 5:30 p.m. on Fremont Street with Mayor Carolyn Goodman welcoming the 80th anniversary event. It will be followed by the highly-anticipated Whiskerino Contest (7 p.m.) and pub crawl and street dance (8 p.m.) at the Jackie Gaughan Plaza at El Cortez hotel.

Friday, May 13, the Helldorado Days Festival Gates at Las Vegas Village officially open to the general public at 11 a.m. Admission is only $10. The activities will start at 12 p.m. in the main arena with freestyle bullfighting, followed by trick roping, mutton bustin’, dancers and more.  Below is a full schedule of activities.  For detailed information about Helldorado Days and its activities, visit www.elkshelldorado.com or www.pbr.com.

Tailgate Entertainment’s PBR Last Cowboy Standing, the last stop in the first half of the PBR 2016 Built Ford Tough Series, joins Helldorado Days in Las Vegas Village on May 13 – 14.  PBR is now one of America’s 10 most popular sports.  This season, television ratings for the PBR on CBS are up 33%.

The third PBR Major of the 2016 Built Ford Tough Series, Last Cowboy Standing will feature the Top 40 bull riders in the world facing off against the sport’s fiercest bulls in round after round of heart-pounding, dirt-flying, adrenaline-fueled action. Each bull rider will be competing for the $100,000 first prize and the bonus PBR world standings points offered at each PBR Major. To advance from one round to the next, the athletes will have to make the 8-second buzzer.  If they get bucked off before 8 seconds, their day is done. The competition continues until only one cowboy remains as the man who has ridden the most bulls consecutively and can claim the title as “the last cowboy standing.”

The Last Cowboy Standing takes place Friday and Saturday at 7:50 p.m.  Tickets range in price from $25 to $250 and include admission to the Helldorado Days Festival. They are available at ticketmaster.com or by calling 800 745 3000.

Following the bull riding each night, the Cooper Tires Saloon, located under the east barrel within the Village, will host the Singer Songwriter Showcase where Moe Bandy, T.G. Sheppard, Wynn Varble, Kelly Lang, and special guest PBR’s own Justin McBride will entertain fans. A limited number of tickets will be made available each day at the Cooper Tires booth in the festival grounds.

Each afternoon, Friday, May 13 – Sunday, May 15, the Helldorado Days Rodeo will take place starting at 3 p.m. in the main arena. The historical PRCA-sanctioned event will showcase athletes in all rodeo disciplines – bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing, and bull riding. In the shadow of Luxor Hotel and Casino, this Helldorado Days Rodeo will channel the excitement and luster of its earlier days.  Tickets for the rodeo also are available at ticketmaster.com and via phone at 800-745-3000. Prices start at $15 and include admission to the Helldorado Days Festival.

After the rodeo on Friday and Saturday in the Cooper Tires Saloon, fans can enjoy country music from Las Vegas’ Sierra Black (Friday) and High Valley (Saturday) courtesy of 102.7 The Coyote. Tickets for these concerts also will be available during the day at the Cooper Tires booth in the festival grounds.

On Saturday morning, fans will be able to enjoy the Helldorado Days Parade as it travels through Downtown Las Vegas starting at 10 a.m. Fans are then invited to celebrate the weekend at the Cowboy Pool Party in Luxor’s North Pool from 10 – 2 p.m.

For complete information about the Helldorado Days Festival and Rodeo and the PBR’s Last Cowboy Standing, visit www.pbr.com or www.elkshelldorado.com.