Archive for the ‘events and festivals’ Category

Cheers to the Great Arizona Beer Festival

March 4th
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
U.S. West destinations events and festivals

Spring has definitely arrived to central Arizona. Phoenix hotels are packed with travelers in town to catch a little Cactus League Spring Training, play some rounds of golf, or just spend time soaking up the vitamin D. As I was reminded at last week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, there is something almost hypnotizing about being outside in the warm sunshine after a couple of months of jacket weather – especially if a cold malt beverage is part of the picture.

If warm weather and cold beer sound like a winning combination, you might want to consider adding the Great Arizona Beer Festival to your Phoenix vacation itinerary. Taking place this weekend on the shores of Tempe Town Lake, the Beer Festival will feature tastes of 204 specialty and micro-brewed beers from breweries all over the country.

The Great Arizona Beer Festival is a fantastic opportunity to sample a wide range of beer from both nationally known breweries like Sierra Nevada and New Belgium,  as well as local Arizona favorites like Oak Creek, Prescott, and Sonoran Brewing Companies. With 500 volunteers on hand to pour the beer, the brewers will actually be freed up to chat with festival-goers about their various stouts, ales, hefes, and lagers.
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New Mexico Restaurant Week

March 2nd
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
U.S. West destinations events and festivals food

People in most parts of the country are happy to put the month of February, and its atrocious weather, behind them. March, with the promise of spring, is a time to come out of hibernation and explore new venues. Travelers in New Mexico on Santa Fe or Albuquerque vacations this month have a special opportunity to get and about. Both cities will be celebrating New Mexico Restaurant Week. There’s no better excuse to skip dining at your Albuquerque hotels than the lure of southwestern culinary delights from the area’s finest restaurants.

Santa Fe Restaurant Week, which takes place through this Saturday, March 6, and Albuquerque Restaurant Week, which happens from March 7-13, will showcase some of the best restaurants in the state at prices that can’t be beat. Each participating restaurant will have a delicious three course dinner available for Restaurant Week participants. Depending on the level of restaurant, the cost is $25 per couple, $25 per person, or $40 per person.

This is a fantastic opportunity to sample creations from some of the best chefs in New Mexico at a fraction of the cost of a normal three course meal. In addition to the fixed price dinners, there are also unique culinary events and tastings to be held each day. While no special tickets are necessary, reservations are required for the events and highly recommended for the restaurant meals.

As would be expected, many of the presentations center around the local Mexican and Native American influences on New Mexico’s unique southwestern cuisine. For example, today at Santa Fe’s hightly touted Epazote Restaurant, there is an informative talk and on tacos and their origins, along with a three-course tasting.
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Get Revved Up for Daytona Bike Week

February 28th
2010
by Matt Wilson
posted in:
U.S. Southeast beaches destinations events and festivals

If you like to get your motor running, head out on the highway, and look for adventure or whatever comes your way, then chances are this week the motor that’s running is your bike and you’re cruising down A1A. As far as whatever comes your way, there’s really no limit, because during Dayton Bike Week, anything can happen—and usually does. It’s an event where thousands of motorcycle riders descend on this Florida beach town, filling up Daytona Beach hotelsand Daytona Beach streets with lots of leather, chrome, revving engines, fun, and festivities.

There’s just something about this city and motors. Well known for the big NASCAR race it hosts each year, the Daytona 500, it’s also the place where you can drive on the beach in certain parts. And it’s where, each March, literally hundreds of thousands of bikers line the streets and shorelines of Daytona for a week full of parades, partying, and high-octane events—quite the unique vacation package and a tradition that is celebrating its 69th year.
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Phoenix’s Matsuri Japanese Festival

February 25th
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
U.S. West destinations events and festivals

While Phoenix isn’t exactly known as a cradle of Japanese culture, the city has a sizeable enough Japanese and Japanese-American population to host an entertaining and educational Japanese festival. Held annually in Phoenix’s Heritage and Science Park, the Matsuri Japanese Festival offers two days of immersion into Japanese culture. With today’s economy you might not be able to take an Asia vacation, but this weekend you can experience the Land of the Rising sun right here in Phoenix.

Heritage and Science Park, located in the heart of downtown, is surrounded by Phoenix hotels, museums, sports arenas, and concert venues. The historic square will be the site of the festival’s three stages as well as vendor booths. The festival will highlight both traditional and modern Japanese food, art, crafts, culture, and music – and admission is free.

Saturday’s Events

The festival will kick off Saturday morning with the mikoshi parade. A mikoshi is a portable Shinto shrine that Shinto followers believe houses a divine spirit at the time of a parade of deities. The mikoshi, which sits on poles for carrying, looks like a miniature building with elaborate pillars, railings, verandas and roofs. Appropriately enough, the roof often has a carving of a phoenix. Mikoshi parades are customary during matsuri festivals in Japan.
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Flag Day in Mexico

February 24th
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
Mexico destinations events and festivals

Flag Day, Día de la Bandera, is celebrated in Mexico every February 24. It is a national holiday, meaning schools, government offices, and banks will be closed throughout the country today. Whether you are enjoying your Mexico vacation in an idyllic Cancun resort or a chic Mexico City luxury hotel, you will be sure to see plenty of flags flying the Mexican colors. Other celebrations throughout the country include boisterous parades, lengthy speeches by government officials, singing of flag songs, and the ubiquitous Mexican fireworks.

It’s always nice to know some background information about any special event taking place when you are visiting a foreign country. Here’s a little Mexican Flag primer to help you impress locals on this día festivo:
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Scottsdale’s Big Golf Event

February 23rd
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
U.S. West destinations events and festivals

Formerly known as the Phoenix Open, then the FBR Open, the PGA golf tournament taking place in Scottsdale, Arizona this week has a new name. Times were tough when officials were looking for a new sponsor last year, which is the only way to explain why the PGA is okay with naming a standout tournament the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Seriously? While the name may be less than appropriate, especially in light of Tiger’s shenanigans and the stink they have left on the PGA, the party in Scottsdale remains the same. No matter what the tournament is officially named, it is unofficially known as the Greatest Show on Grass and the biggest bash on the PGA tour.

Scottsdale hotels are filled with vacationers coming into town to take part in the most highly attended golf tournament in the world. Combine warm, sunny weather with the spectacular Sonoran Desert surroundings at the TPC Scottsdale, along with many of the world’s best golfers, and you get the perfect equation for enormous galleries. Officials this year are hoping to break the attendance record of 538,356 set in 2008.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open (“WMPO” from here on out), is not your typical staid golf tournament. It is its own unique breed and must be enjoyed in its own unique way. Here is how to get the most out of your WMPO experience:

Sit at the 16th Hole

This 162-yard par three is unlike any other hole in golf. Surrounded by stadium seating and corporate boxes, it’s more like a gladiator arena for golfers. Large quantities of beer are guzzled by the 20,000 fans at the 16th, meaning that normal golf decorum is thrown out the window. If a golfer misses the green, or acts like a jerk, he will be assailed by a hailstorm of boos. If he makes a great shot, or simply attended ASU or U of A, the crowd will rain cheers like he’s never heard before. Some golfers love the hole, and others abhor it, but there is no doubt that the pressure here is unique. As one official put it, “The hazards as this tournament are not the rough or sandtraps, they are the fans.”

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Forget the South Beach Diet – Stuff Yourself Silly with Food and Festivities in Miami

February 22nd
2010
by Matt Wilson
posted in:
U.S. Southeast beaches destinations events and festivals food

South Florida has had quite a month. Now that all the hype and hoopla of the Super Bowl has transitioned from the Sunshine State to New Orleans (despite Fat Tuesday already passing, Lombardi Gras is still going on there), South Beach is serving up something a little different from football fare this week—instead of crazed pigskin diehards, it will be refined tastes, exquisite appetites, and luxury Miami hotels being filled.

Hosted by Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida and Florida International University, which just happens to have one of the best college hospitality programs around, the South Beach Food & Wine festival has become an annual Miami vacation for some of the top names in the wine and culinary world—as well as connoisseurs of the fruit of the vine and foodies everywhere. For four days, the event will showcase these talents, tasters, and numerous culinary personalities, including many from the Food Network which sponsors the event.
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Searching for B.C.’s Mythical Beasts – Sasquatch and Ogopogo

February 15th
2010
by Robin Bruns Worona
posted in:
activities destinations events and festivals family outdoor adventure

Here we are, just four days in to the Olympics and we’ve already been through so much. The media blitz has been intense, starting with horrible tragedy, then quickly moving on to fanfare and fashion. There’s been protests, some truly amazing video art involving whales , and even a tight pant controversy. I think there’s even been a bit of athletic competition in there somewhere. Of course, there’s also been loads of press about visiting beautiful Vancouver, Whistler, British Columbia, even Canada as a whole. Where to stay, what to do. I was especially struck by the report Tom Brokaw did Friday night. It was informative, yes, but still kind of reminded me of those reports we used to basically copy out of the World Book Encyclopedia when we were kids. But I guess that’s about the level of knowledge most people have about our neighbor to the north. After all, did you know that we import more petroleum from Canada than from any other country?

Naturally, I can’t resist adding my two cents. British Columbia is indeed a lovely part of the world and after another 13 days of coverage, I’d be surprised if you didn’t have a desire to check it out for yourself. And by then you’re sure to know all about Vancouver’s Gastown and Chinatown. You’ll be able to map out a great public transit tour , compile a list of hidden gems, and figure out which whale watching trip is right for you. You’ll be reading local blogs (there are some great ones) and publications. But will you remember to take a second look at all your photos before you delete them just in case there’s a surprise lurking in the background? In fact, why not plan a little sidetrip or two in search of two of British Columbia’s mythical beasts—Sasquatch and Ogopogo?

It was the cutesy Olympic mascots that reminded me of the rich animal mythology in this part of Canada. I won’t get into it here, you can check out the site for their, uh, inventive bios. But basically, they are based in part on some of the beliefs and myths of the West Coast First Nations. While there are countless creatures you could investigate, why not start with two of the best documented? It just so happens that Sasquatch and Ogopogo have great taste location-wise, so really, it’s a win-win.
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Carnival in Rio

February 15th
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
South America beaches destinations events and festivals

It may be cold and snowy in the United States right now, but things are sizzling in other parts of the world (and I don’t mean Vancouver, where they are having problems with rain, snowmelt, and the winter Olympics.) The Carnival party in Rio is reaching full swing and this week’s heat wave doesn’t seem to be slowing anybody down. Vacationers have descended on this Brazilian city in droves, where tourism officials estimate that 700,000 people are filling Rio de Janeiro hotels, sunning on the beach, and dancing in the streets.

The highest February temperatures in almost fifty years haven’t stopped the non-stop revelry that Rio’s Carnival season represents. Famous Americans who have escaped the frigid temps to visit Brazil include Madonna, Paris Hilton, and Gerard Butler,  who have all joined in the fun. Here are some of the things they, and anyone else who heads to Rio for Carnival, should not miss:

Samba Parades: These parades are actually a high pressure competition amongst the best dance troupes, known as Samba Schools, in Brazil. The top twelve groups in the country dance for hours over the course of two nights (and well into the morning.) The first six groups performed last night, and the second six will perform tonight. Eighty thousand people watch the competition live in the Sambodromo,  a special samba stadium, while millions stay up all night to follow the spectacle on television.
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Kidtopia at Keystone Resort

February 11th
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
U.S. West activities destinations events and festivals family outdoor adventure

Now that all the Superbowl hype and fanfare is behind us, the buzz is building around another epic sporting event. That is of course the 2010 Winter Olympics, which will get underway tomorrow.  The big news today is the injured shin of designated Olympic darling Lindsey Vonn. I’m sure that the marketing machine at NBC will be able to find another big story to hype – be it Shaun White and his Double McTwist 1280 Whitesnake or perpetual Bad Boy Bode Miller and his, well, perpetual bad boy-ness.

Should the Olympics inspire any pint-sized skiers you might have at home, President’s Day Weekend is a great time to take the family and hit the slopes. A Colorado ski vacation might be just the ticket to grooming your ski grommet into being a future Olympian. Just think, book an Aspen hotel today, and you could be buying a ticket to host-country finalists France, Germany, or South Korea in 2018.

Children’s sports experts agree that one of the keys to instilling a love of any exercise instruction in kids is to keep it fun. If it’s wintertime snow fun you seek, look no further than Colorado’s Keystone Resort this weekend, where Keystone Kidtopia, a festival designed just for kids, will be in full swing.
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