Cirque Du Soleil Celebrates Thirty Years In Las Vegas

Cirque Du Soleil celebrates thirty years in Las Vegas.

It has been thirty years since Cirque Du Soleil began in Las Vegas. and changed the entertainment landscape.

According to the Cirque Du Soleil website, Cirque du Soleil was born in the early 1980s. But their first show to land in Las Vegas was Nouvelle Experience. It began in 1992, and had its final show in 1993. It was very unique, and very different for Las Vegas.

Even though Nouvelle Experience ended, Cirque Du Soleil continued to grow in Vegas.

In 1993, Mystere became the first permanent Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas. Baby Francois, Red Bird and all the rest of the cast members, and acrobats in Mystere, flipped the Las Vegas strip. It became a must see show for visitors, and locals alike. Little did we know at the time, that Cirque Du Soleil was here to stay. Mystere has now been dazzling Las Vegas for thirty years.

In 1998, the beautiful and surreal "O" opened with a unique aquatic show. It took Las Vegas by storm, then, and it is still one of the most popular Cirque shows on the Las Vegas strip.

The risque Zumanity opened at New York - New York in 2003. It has since ended its run. Ka opened at The MGM Grand in 2004. The Beatles Love  opened at The Mirage in 2006. Michael Jackson: One, began at Mandalay Bay in 2013. And Mad Apple is the newest Cirque show in Las Vegas. It opened at New York - New York in 2022.

There were other shows Cirque Du Soleil shows that came and went: Chris Angel: Believe, Viva Elvis, Zarkana. All of them have been uniquem different - and amazing!.

According to KTNV News, Las Vegas,  since the original - Mystère - opened in 1993, it has been seen by over 17 million people with more than 13,000 shows performed (as of February 2023). Mystere's success actually led to creating "O" at the Bellagio.

This writer, and Las Vegas local, has seen all of the Cirque shows in Vegas. Mystere is a definitely a favorite of mine. I call it the "starter Cirque show." For those who have not seen one, Mystere is the perfect show to see, because it's just plain fun! And introduces a first timer to everything Cirque Du Soleil represents

After that, O. After that, you're on your own - because you cannot go wrong with any Las Vegas Cirque show!

Happy thirtieth anniversary to Cirque Du Soleil's Mystere!

There are some very oddly named cities in The United States. Some are hard to spell, some hard to pronounce, and some are both. 

In our state of Nevada, there are some goofy city names. As a native of Nevada, I'm proud to say I've been to, or through, just about all of them. The strangest city names in Nevada are rich in history and our own state's story.

Winnemucca, Nevada. Where we have all spent a week there one night (old joke). The City of Winnemucca says it is "the cross-road linking the northern route on US Highway 95 from Oregon and Idaho to Interstate 80, which spans from East to West across northern Nevada, bridging the gap between central California and Utah."  It's a small town of about 8,500 with all of those things you'd expect from a small town.

We also have Beowawe, Puckerbrush (just outside of Winnemucca), and Adaven. Does that one look familiar? It's Nevada spelled backwards. Many are ghost towns now, but they're still out there.

Wendover (they've heard all the jokes, so don't even try), Weed, Jiggs, Carp, Pahrump and Bunkerville -- all in the great silver state of Nevada.

I have an old high school friend who lives in Jarbidge, Nevada. It's way up at the top of the state of Nevada, if you're looking at a map. Right near Wendover! It was booming at one time -- maybe nearly 1,500 people once settled there because of the mining boom in Nevada in the early 1900's in Nevada, according to the Western Mining History. Now, as of a recent census, Jarbidge boasts about 100 people. But might I add -- it's beautiful!

There are some hilariously named cities in the United States. And I commend those of you in Albuquerque, New Mexico; in Poughkeepsie, New York; and Meeteetse, Wyoming. I commend you for even learning how to spell the city you live in or came from.

But those are the least of it when it comes to oddly named and weirdly spelled cities in the U.S. Here are a few of the strangest city names.

You'll find Zzyzx between Las Vegas and Los Angeles just off off I-15. Nothing much there but a beautiful serene lake and a bit of a creepy abandoned mineral springs area. Some say it's haunted. You'll find some more interesting Zzxyx history in this video. Interesting, and a little creepy.

According to Grays Harbor, hundreds of thousands of tourists drive through Humptulips each year. Humptulips is a Salish word named by the Chehalis Tribe a few thousands years ago. The word and name Humptulips means “Hard to Pole.” This term refers to the difficulty in traveling the river by boat. 

Unless you are from there, go ahead and try to pronounce it. Quonochontaug, pronounced: KWAHN-ah-kahn-tawg. Yeah . . . still can't pronounce it. It means black fish. Which they probably could have named it originally but noooooo. It is known by the locals as "Quonnie." The Providence Journal says it is mainly a second-home, summer town.

Pronounced Tih-WAH-pih-tee. The name might be local slang for an “unkempt, ill-appearing person” or a Shawnee word meaning “place of no return.” It’s probably the latter. According to Toponymatic, the name might be local slang for an “unkempt, ill-appearing person” or a Shawnee word meaning “place of no return.” It’s probably the latter, but I like the first.

According to Bob Vila the town named for William Harrison Boring, a former Union soldier and farmer who settled the area. The locals say it's an exciting place to live. Humor -- I like it!

The Chicago Tribune reported that the city suggested the name Excelsior but were told the name was already taken in Missouri. They tried again and got the same answer. Frustrated, they asked the city to give them a “peculiar” name -- even writing the word "peculiar" in quotation marks. Well guess what? There's your name!

Last but not least -- Three Way! No, not what you think or wish. According to Babbel, Three Way was named after the three way split of the U.S. Route 45. Guys, that should have been your first and only guess on how this city was named.