23 Things You Have to Do in Las Vegas This Year, From EDC to Formula 1
These annual events in Las Vegas are worth planning a trip around.
You already know Las Vegas is one of the most awesome places in the world. You just need a good excuse to plan a visit. Fortunately, Sin City knows how to throw a party. And this city is loaded with big events throughout the year, from food and drink celebrations to over-the-top concert spectacles.
Whether you’re drawn to Las Vegas for gambling, epic entertainment, or top-notch bites, you won’t be disappointed. Just consult this list before planning your trip so you can check out the best annual festivals and parties that truly define the Las Vegas experience.
January
January 25, 2025
Resorts World
Las Vegas is known for trade shows and conventions with the Consumer Electronics Show dominating the headlines every January. That event is industry-only, but you'll have more fun at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, which is open to the public and celebrates all aspects of adult entertainment. You'll meet famous adult entertainers, shop for saucy products, and test the limits of safewords in a space known as "the Dungeon." The trade show has become noticeably more inclusive in recent years, proving there truly is something for everybody. The whole thing finishes up with the Adult Video News Awards, which is commonly described as the "Oscars of Porn." You'll have a tear in your eye while the winner accepts the trophy for "Best Orgy," proving that yes, dreams do come true in Las Vegas.
Ready to go? Book here.
March
March Madness
March 18–April 7, 2025
The Strip
The biggest event for sports betting in Las Vegas isn't the Super Bowl. It's March Madness with college basketball tournament play unfolding over several weeks, leading up to the Final Four in San Antonio in 2025. You'll prefer to be in Vegas, where you can fill out your brackets, place a wager at one of the sportsbooks on the Strip, and catch the action at a viewing party. Many of the best casinos and sports bars go all-out with unlimited food and drink specials, man cave setups, and other perks.
Ready to go? Most events are free.
April
April 24–28, 2025
The Orleans
The world's largest rockabilly music festival takes over The Orleans casino every year with more than 80 bands on six stages and dozens of DJs throughout a four-day weekend. Beyond the music, there are pool parties, fashion shows, burlesque presentations, and dance competitions. The main event: A Saturday car show with hundreds of vintage automobiles and performances by retro favorites. To look the part, book a hair appointment at the Atomic Style Lounge, a downtown hair salon that specializes in Rockabilly cuts and color.
Ready to go? Book here.
2025 dates TBD
The Strip
Sick New World is a loaded line up of hard rock and heavy metal bands from the late ’90s and early aughts. It's not widely publicized, but the festival was founded by System of a Down, who headlined the first two years and planned to bring the experience to other cities throughout the country. This works just as well since the band can't bring itself to reunite for a full-fledged tour. The event takes place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. Past lineups have featured the likes of Korn, Slipknot, Alice in Chains, and other acts that celebrate headbanging your aggression out.
Ready to go? Book here.
May
2025 dates TBD
The Strip
Lovers and Friends is the ultimate festival for rap and R&B acts, viewed through a subtle vintage filter every year at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. Headliners over the years have included Usher, Lauryn Hill, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Alicia Keys, and TLC with the door opening slightly to add pop acts like Gwen Stefani and the Backstreet Boys. Just beware: the festival has a reputation for being cursed. It was canceled due to wind in 2024 and paused temporarily in 2022 when gunfire was falsely reported, creating a minor stampede. Here's hoping things work out better in 2025.
Ready to go? Book here.
2025 dates TBD
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
The Electric Daisy Carnival is the largest electronic dance music festival in the United States, operating from dusk to dawn over three nights at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The event has a long legacy in a town known for DJs, nightclubs, and partying all night long. This year's lineup includes Tiesto, Zedd, Martin Garrix, Kaskade, and dozens more, performing on nine stages with carnival rides, art cars, food, drinks, and all sorts of fun. You can even sleep all day (or continue the party) on site at Camp EDC or on the Strip at Resorts World, which is officially Hotel EDC for the second year in a row.
Ready to go? Book here.
2025 dates TBD
Palms
Vegas Unstripped is a showcase of local neighborhood chefs, created in response to the now defunct Vegas UnCork'd, which celebrated celebrity chefs on the Strip while over-emphasizing the celebrity factor. Vegas Unstripped, a staple of the Downtown Arts District for years, has only grown in stature and is now effectively Strip-adjacent, coming to the Palms for the first time in 2024. To avoid long lines, I visited chefs with tables at the far end of the pool deck first, then worked my way back to busier areas near the main gates. Overall, I go to maximize my time while sampling one-night-only dishes made by nearly 30 chefs, including at least seven James Beard Award nominees.
Ready to go? Book here.
2025 dates TBD
Downtown
Even in a city with countless music festivals, Punk Rock Bowling continues to stand out with its own unique identity. Fans pack the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center this year to see dozens of acts perform with the Descendents, Devo, and Madness as headliners. But the real fun is the scattered assortment of afterparties throughout Downtown, which can take place anywhere from a glam pool to a gritty dive bar. Yes, as promised in the name, there's bowling, although it almost doesn't matter who wins.
Ready to go? Book here.
June
2025 dates TBD
Wynn Las Vegas
The Las Vegas food scene is known for indulgence, and that spirit carries over to Revelry, a culinary festival at the Wynn that debuted alongside the The World's 50 Best Restaurants award presentation in 2024. The event is continuing on its own next year, probably a little earlier in the spring to take advantage of the weather. The inaugural edition featured pop-up meals, collaborations, and demonstrations at Wynn favorites like Wing Lei, Casa Playa, Sinatra, Mizumi, and Lakeside, culminating with The Feast, an outdoor dine-around at the Wynn Event Pavilion.
Ready to go? Book here.
2025 dates TBD
The Strip
It's no secret. Vegas is fast becoming a sports town with the Vegas Golden Knights, Aces, and Raiders drawing thousands of fans to games. But the Ultimate Fighting Championship will always be the original homegrown sport around here—and the fight organization gives back to fans every summer with a loaded card built upon International Fight Week. In addition to a night of fights inside the T-Mobile Arena, fans can mingle with current favorites and legends at the UFC X Expo and UFC Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.
Ready to go? Book here.
July
July 12–22, 2024
Off the Strip
See the basketball stars of the future in Las Vegas. The NBA Summer League is an annual tradition, featuring rookies and rising stars from all 30 teams competing in off-season play. This year, all eyes will be on Bronny James, recently drafted to the LA Lakers to play alongside his dad, Lebron James (who's busy this summer representing Team USA at the Olympics). See up to eight games a day inside the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on campus at UNLV. The league runs for 11 straight days. Plan ahead with the full schedule online.
Ready to go? Book here.
August
August 12–13, 2024
Las Vegas Convention Center
Know your enemy. Def Con is the single largest gathering of computer hackers in the world, although the event has grown over the years to include tech professionals and security experts who try to harness these superpowers for the greater good. This year, most of the activity is taking place at the Convention Center with a few added seminars at the Sahara. Despite its size and success, Def Con still has a DIY feel, built on "learn to code" ambition and a fair share of snark. You may even find yourself in a "Spot the Fed" contest.
Ready to go? Book here.
September
September 5–8, 2024
Westgate
This truly is a bender with four straight days of blues performed on stages throughout the Westgate resort near the Strip. More than 45 acts (including Beth Hart, Tab Benoit, and Los Lobos) are taking part, playing 22 sets a day with an emphasis on convenient, intimate spaces. Yet the festival is about more than music as you can also upgrade the experience with hotel room and drink packages. Fans are loyal and tickets often sell out, so don't wait until the last minute to lock in plans.
Ready to go? Book here.
September 13–14, 2024
Downtown
RUMBAZO is becoming a familiar sight in Vegas, returning for the third straight year at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, just one block south of the Fremont Street Experience. Fans will pack the outdoor venue over two days on Mexican Independence Day Weekend, singing along to Latin hitmakers like Nicky Jam, Luis R Conriquez, Codiciado, and Arcángel. The food and booze will be served with south-of-the-border inspiration, featuring Mexican cuisine from local chefs. Circa has the easiest, largest parking garage, but you may find a cheaper option in one of the underground spaces at the Neonopolis. Then again, use a rideshare and save yourself the headaches altogether.
Ready to go? Book here.
September 20–21, 2024
The Strip
This is what happens when a music fest goes mainstream. The iHeartRadio Music Festival celebrates your favorite hitmakers with a lineup that ranges from pop and R&B to country and classic rock, almost like you're changing radio channels. The mainstage at the T-Mobile Arena hosts performances by your favorite chart-toppers with Doja Cat, Keith Urban, Paramore, and the Black Crowes all in the mix this year. Typically, an off-site daytime stage is a showcase for up-and-coming acts, which in the past featured the likes of Olivia Rodrigo and DaBaby before they made it big.
Ready to go? Book here.
September 20–24, 2024
Downtown
The Life is Beautiful appears to be in a state of transition after 11 years in Las Vegas. The festival traditionally takes over 18 blocks of downtown, but this year's version has been reimagined as "A Big Beautiful Block Party" that favors electronic dance music with a smaller footprint at the Plaza hotel west of Fremont Street. Justice, Peggy Gou, and LCD Soundsystem are at the top of the lineup this year. There will be two stages and no overlapping sets. I'm hoping Life is Beautiful's long-standing dedication to education and art doesn't get lost in the shuffle. For what it's worth, organizers are promising the full festival will eventually return.
Ready to go? Book here.
October
October 4–5, 2024
Jean
RiSE Festival returns to the Jean Dry Lake Bed in the Mojave Desert with live music, food trucks, drinks, and a dramatic release of lanterns into the sky after sundown. The lanterns are 100% biodegradable and are collected after the event to leave no trace in nature. Upgrade to VIP for shaded seating, bites, and a private bar. There's parking on site, but I recommend taking an official shuttle from the Strip. It's hassle-free. All tickets include two lanterns, a marker to write personal messages on them, and a mat.
Ready to go? Book here.
October 10–13, 2024
Resorts World
After flirting with Orlando a few times in recent years, the Mr. Olympia competition returns to Las Vegas—where it belongs—for a 60th anniversary celebration and a new home at Resorts World. This is more than a bodybuilding battle of beefcake. The show headlines the Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend, featuring seminars and a trade show for fitness fanatics across the street at the Las Vegas Convention Center. (Take the Vegas Loop underground Tesla taxi tunnel to avoid the long walk). My favorite part is sampling protein bars and other health treats given out by vendors. You can try a lot of 'em and go home with quite a stash.
Ready to go? Book here.
October 11–12, 2024
Multiple locations
National Pride Month may take place in June, but the local celebration of Pride kicks off in October (when the weather's a bit easier) with events all month long. The main event in Las Vegas is the annual Pride Night Parade, which runs through Downtown on Friday, October 11, beginning at 7 pm. A block party gets underway an hour earlier near the main stage at 4th and Bridger with food trucks and drink stations. The Las Vegas Pride Festival is Saturday, October 12 near 4th Street and Bridger from noon to 11 pm with live entertainment on two stages, dancing, food, drinks, art, and a variety of designated areas ranging from a Kid's Zone to Pride Pets and an 18-and-over adults-only area. The festival is family-friendly until 7 pm and "Rated R" after 7 pm.
Ready to go? Many events are free.
October 19–20, 2024
The Strip
Tapping into the nostalgia of the late ’90s and early aughts, the When We Were Young music festival leans into crunchy guitars, pop hooks, and memories of black nail polish. Green Day and a reunited Blink-182 were the top headliners last year, giving groups like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and dozens more a tough act to follow in 2024. Roam the Las Vegas Festival Grounds and check out the action on multiple stages while sipping on booze and shopping for t-shirts and other swag. Don't hesitate to explore while big names draw most of the attention. I saw a great set by Bowling For Soup on one of the smaller stages last year without having to elbow my way through a large crowd.
Ready to go? Book here.
October 29, 2024
Downtown
The Clark County Government Center Amphitheater hosts the Downtown Brew Festival with more than 200 beer samples from dozens of breweries. The centralized lawn area has a backyard vibe with performances from local and regional bands, plus food from some of your favorite Vegas restaurants. But really, you're here to drink. So don't miss out on the largest beer festival of the fall season in Southern Nevada. It's tempting to bring a blanket for the lawn, but those are prohibited, so splurge for VIP tickets, which include pavilion seating and exclusive pours. You also get free food and early entry at 4 pm.
Ready to go? Book here.
November
November 21–23, 2024
The Strip
The debut of the Las Vegas Grand Prix was a mixed bag in 2023. There was a huge backlash to the construction, congestion, and traffic delays in building the 3.8-mile track, but when it came to the race itself, it was hard not to enjoy watching cars zip along the Strip and past landmarks like the Sphere and High Roller wheel. F1 is promising a shorter, faster, and less intrusive setup and tear-down schedule in 2024 and more affordable ticket options to draw in locals. The week of the race is a guaranteed spectacle with parties, concerts, celebrity appearances, and live entertainment in the mix.
Ready to go? Book here.
December
New Year's Eve
December 31, 2024
The Strip
Las Vegas has one of the biggest New Year's Eve celebrations in the country. The Strip shuts down to traffic, creating one massive four-mile-long block party, leading up to a midnight countdown with fireworks erupting from the rooftops of nine resorts. If you don't want to be down with the crowds, try watching the show from the top floor of a parking garage at an off-Strip resort like the Palms, Rio, or Gold Coast. Just make sure to bundle up. I usually pack a jacket, hat and scarf for the festivities. Otherwise, you'll find out very quickly how cold it can get in the desert.
Ready to go? Book with the venue.