The rumba of salsa music has old and young locals twirling under the disco-ball twilight. The neon lights of Las Vegas’ Arts District are nearly drowned out by the illuminated vendors who have completely transformed the outdoor 18-block district into a creative amusement park of art and local culture. The poet continues to speak, creating a vibrant urgency, and people dance through the stalls to the beat of his trochees. Nearby, a group of gay boys files out of a local bar holding inventive sugary cocktails that each deserve a PANTONE color. A woman browses local artwork and as she moves on down the street she proclaims loudly, “I’ll have to pick that painting up later.”
A boy picks up a vegan chocolate bar, and the man, like a Greek stentor, shares his spoken-word poetry. Passersby walk through the Arts District, taking in the various vendors’ stalls. A man stands at a microphone with the light of a neon sign serving as his spotlight. It’s a different kind of buzz that fills the Arts District. It’s Friday night and Las Vegas is buzzing, but not from the sounds of slot machines or the spinning of roulette wheels.
