When did you last see a Southern Highlands event calendar where most of the entries came from inside the gates? Between Saturday, Oct. 17 and Tuesday, Oct. 27, the community's busiest stretch of fall comes from its own organizations. A park festival raises money for the local Boys & Girls Club. The golf club runs a member-guest tournament named for its founder. The homeowners association holds a board meeting where owners get the floor.
These three events don't share an audience, and that's the useful part. One is free and open to all ages. One fills a field of selected teams. One is open only to owners. If you know which is which before the 17th, the next three weeks are easier to plan.
| Date | Event | Host | Who gets in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Southern Highlands Fall Festival | Festival organizers, benefiting the Southern Highlands Boys & Girls Club | Free, all ages |
| Wed., Oct. 21 to Sat., Oct. 24 | The Duke's Cup | Southern Highlands Golf Club | Selected member-guest teams |
| Tue., Oct. 27 | Association meeting, open session | Southern Highlands HOA | Owners |
Goett Family Park Is the Open Door
The Southern Highlands Fall Festival returns to Goett Family Park on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free and open to all ages. FOX5 calls it one of the community's longtime fall traditions. Organizers describe it as a neighborhood tradition that's also a fundraiser, with proceeds going to the Southern Highlands Boys & Girls Club and its youth programs.
The festival runs all day, but a few things happen at set times. If you're coming with kids in costume, this is the schedule to plan around:
- 11 a.m. Gates open.
- 11:30 a.m. World Acro LV takes the main stage.
- 1 p.m. World Acro LV performs a second set.
- 1:30 p.m. The annual costume contest starts near the main stage.
- 2 p.m. Festival raffle.
- 3 p.m. The festival closes.
Between those times you'll find a pumpkin patch, inflatable games and slides, rock wall climbing, face painting, crafts and bingo. There are also food trucks and a Vendor Village. FOX5 says the festival's own website is the place for costume contest details and day-of updates. The site lists the same date and hours and links to separate pages for sponsorship and vendor information and for the charity.
The pumpkin patch matters because it lets a family check off the classic October outing without leaving the neighborhood. The money spent at the park also goes back into a local youth program.
Four Days Later, the Golf Club Hosts by Invitation
The festival is open to everyone. The next event on the calendar is the opposite. From Wednesday, Oct. 21 through Saturday, Oct. 24, Southern Highlands Golf Club holds the 24th annual Duke's Cup, its men's member-guest tournament on the Robert Trent Jones course. The club says the event is named for its founder and "embodies the spirit of our club and the values it was built upon."
The scale explains why the club side of the neighborhood will be busy that week:
- The field: 60 two-man teams, split into ten flights of six. The lowest three-day total wins each flight.
- Entry: $3,700 per team, billed once a team is selected and non-refundable after Oct. 1.
- Wednesday, Oct. 21: An optional practice round and a skills challenge, then a jacket-required Stag Cocktail Dinner from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 23: Cocktails and live music at the Duke's Bar at 5 p.m., then the Duke's Crab Boil Dinner Party at 6 p.m. for players and their significant others.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: A nine-hole final round with a morning shotgun start, then a Horserace Viewing Party from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. that ends with the Champions Trophy Ceremony.
All three tournament rounds start with 11 a.m. shotguns, Thursday through Saturday. If you live near the course and aren't playing, those late mornings and the Friday and Saturday evenings are when the club will be at its busiest.
The 27th Is the Owners' Turn
The HOA's online calendar for October lists two events. One is the festival on the 17th. The other is an association meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The calendar describes the meeting's format:
In Nevada, association meetings are divided into two parts: (1) the open session, and (2) the executive session. Owners are always invited to attend the open session, and they are given time to address the Board at the beginning and end of each meeting.
The festival is free to anyone, and the Duke's Cup depends on a team being selected. The open session is the one event this month that belongs to owners, and owners can speak at it twice, at the start and at the end. The same listing says owners who can't attend can send correspondence. The HOA events page has the full listing.
That's eleven days and three events, and each one has its own way in: free admission at the park, team selection at the club, ownership at the board meeting.
Between Events, the Parkway Feeds the Week
On the days in between, the same pattern shows up along Southern Highlands Parkway. Several of the restaurants there are run by people with long local histories.
The newest is Mama Tess's Artisan Kitchen at 11350 Southern Highlands Parkway, Suite 125. KLAS reported on Aug. 30 that it had just held its grand opening with a community open house and free samples. The "Mama Tess" behind it is Stephanie Richter, who spent more than 30 years in gaming hospitality and operations before leaving corporate work in 2023. Some of her signature dishes first appeared at the historic Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings. The menu covers gourmet sandwiches, soups, salads, handcrafted milkshakes and sweets. Richter told KLAS that many of the dishes are ones she cooks at home for family and friends. It's open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and it offers delivery. On festival Saturday, that 11 a.m. opening lines up with the park gates.
Farther up the parkway, Tuscan Cove Bar & Patio sits inside the Tuscan Highlands community at 12656 Southern Highlands Parkway. Owner Steven Kennedy of All In Hospitality runs it with Executive Chef Ricardo Romo. Dinner runs Monday through Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m., happy hour is daily from 4 to 6 p.m., and Sunday brunch goes from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Review-Journal covered its opening in June 2025, so it's in its second fall now. Brunch until 8 p.m. covers a full Sunday, including the day after the Duke's Cup wraps.
Bowlz LV is also running at 10650 Southern Highlands Parkway, Suite 101. Its website lists that address along with current hours, a menu and online ordering. If you followed its move to the parkway, it's open now.
The Bigger Pumpkin Patch Is a Short Drive East
For a bigger seasonal outing, Halloween Town's St. Rose Pkwy Pumpkin Patch runs Oct. 8 through Oct. 31 near St. Rose Parkway and Maryland Parkway in Henderson, listed at 3401 Saint Rose Parkway. It has full-size carnival rides, rides for younger children, midway games, a hay maze and food. According to Everyday Vegas, the organizers say it's built for a wider age range than Halloween Town's smaller patches that focus on little kids. For older kids and teens who have outgrown the inflatables at Goett Family Park, this is the more fitting option.
NDOT reached substantial completion of the I-15 South Widening Project in December 2025. The project took I-15 from six to eight general-purpose lanes between Sloan Road and St. Rose Parkway, and from six to 11 lanes between St. Rose Parkway and Blue Diamond Road. October's errands and pumpkin runs are the first of the fall season since that milestone.
If the Oct. 27 open session has you thinking about where your own property fits into the community's next chapter, Cordero Group can give you a clear, local read on its value, in English or Spanish. Get your free home valuation before the board meets.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
