Popular collectible Beanie toys have returned to the Colorado Belle this month as a prize giveaway. Twenty-six drawing winners are receiving baskets of toys in drawings held at the Grand Staircase. Drawings are held at 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday in January. Two of the winners will win baskets with 50 Beanies, and the grand prize winner each Tuesday and Thursday receives a basket with 100 plush Beanie toys.

A wide variety of these popular collectible toys are featured in the drawings, including teddy bears, lions, poodles, tigers, giraffes, elephants, monkeys, wolves and cats.

All One Club members may pick up a drawing ticket each day and new members receive a ticket when they sign up. Players earn a ticket for every 100 points redeemed for cash during the promotion and they receive a drawing ticket for each slot hand pay or fill. Players also receive one drawing ticket with each paid entry in the (Wo) Man Vs. Machine slot tournament.

Charlie Prose will make his annual visit to Don Laughlin's Riverside, Jan.16 through Feb. 3. Tickets are $27.50; call 1-800-227-3849.

Prose holds the record for the most performances (over 1,000) in Don's Celebrity Theatre. Because of his blend of homespun comedy about real life, energetic piano stylings and romantic songs, Prose is described as the entertainment world's answer to the Swiss army knife.

Born Charles Procopio and raised in the small coal mining community of Mt. Carmel, Pa, Prose's first exposure to music came early when his Italian father brought home a piano that he had bought for $15 from a bar owner. Prose, the youngest of four boys, showed interest in music and at the age of five began lessons in classical piano, and at age 13 he bought a used saxophone from a Nabisco cookie salesman.

Prose's shows are "just one big happy party," and he enjoys a special relationship with his fans by meeting with them after his shows and personally answering every fan letter.

Prose's comedy recordings have sold millions of copies, and he has produced two full-length videos, "An Evening With Charlie Prose" and "Love and Laughter With Charlie Prose," both of which have gone over the million dollar mark in sales.

Tom & Sharon's Ballroom, Latin and Swing Dance Party will take place at the Riverside's Dance Club on Jan. 15 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. For details, call Tom and Sharon Craddock at 928-754-2097 or 702-298-2535, ext. 5708.

Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians will be playing big band music at the Avi on Jan. 21. Tickets are $12.50.

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Doug Kershaw, known as the Ragin Cajun, will take center stage at the Avi on Jan. 15. Tickets are $15.

Since his early days on a Louisiana bayou, he takes a fiddle beyond what most people think possible. Kershaw, with the energy of a nuclear bomb, plays so incredibly fast that clouds of rosin soar from his horse hairbow, giving the impression that it is smoking. Often, he will wear out two or three bows per song - playing, dancing and singing at the same time. He has mastered over 20 instruments.

Kershaw, who is a key player in the promotion and revival of the formerly disappearing Cajun Culture, was born on Jan. 24, 1936 in Tiel Ridge, Cameron Parish, La., an island off the Gulf of Mexico where French is the native tongue. He was the second of four sons.

In the 1960's, Kershaw made his first network television appearance on the "Johnny Cash Show" and Warner Brothers Records signed him to a long-term recording contract.

Songs such as "Diggy Diggy Lo," "Cajun Joe," and "Rita Put Your Black Shoes On," are familiar tunes to Kershaw fans, but none reached the fame of his 1961 autobiographical recording of one of the many songs he wrote, "Louisiana Man," which forever immortalized his family and sold millions of copies. In 1969, "Louisiana Man" was the first song broadcast back to earth from the moon by the Apollo 12 Mission.

The annual weekend "Colorado River Bluegrass Festival" event featuring top bluegrass bands from across the country will take place, Feb. 11-13, at the Davis Camp by the Laughlin Bridge. Among the bands scheduled are Mountain Heart, J.D. Crowe, The Lost & Found, Cherryholmes Family, Liberty Bluegrass, David Parmley and Continental Divide, and more. Tickets are $13 for 18 and over, $5 for ages seven to 17, and free for six and under. Camping is $5 from Feb. 9, and there is free shuttle service between Davis Camp and the Ramada Express; call 928-768-5819 or 928-201-5819 for information.

At the Ramada Express, there will be "An evening of Bluegrass' featuring bands on Feb. 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.

"Hot August Night," which is a tribute to Neil Diamond starring Dean Colley is running through Jan. 12 at the Ramada Express. Tickets are $12.50.

"Cloud's Jamboree," which is a rock, gem, jewelry, and mineral show for hobbyists, collectors and the general public, will take place, Jan. 13-23, at various hotels. For vendor information, call 1-866-558-7719.

This event also runs from Jan. 7-Feb. 6 at the Avi, call 1-8866-INFO.AVI for information.

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