China Airshow To Feature Acrobatic Team

by Chris Owen on

Airshow China 2012 is scheduled to run from November 13 to 18 and will feature over 600 exhibitors from 39 countries. Promising to be bigger and better this year, the show hopes to become more recognized by the international aviation and aerospace community. To help make that happen, the show will feature a variety of airborne daredevil fliers.

Officially titled the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, Airshow China is the only international aerospace trade show in China that is endorsed by the Chinese government. That’s significant because China is looking for 5,400 new passenger aircraft between now to 2031. To get that many aircraft, China wants to make its own plane, the C919, which has attracted international aviation manufacturers to the show.

“We had to close for entries last month as we did not have any space for more,” said Yang Xiangang, vice general manager of Zhuhai Airshow in a South China Morning Post report.Airshow China, held in Zhuhai, features a display of aviation products, hosted trade talks, a technological exchange and a flying display of acrobatic teams from Europe.

This year, the Breitling Jet Team, Breitling Wingwalkers and Yves “Jetman” Rossy are scheduled to participate.

To get to China, they will fly through Eastern Europe, into Russia passing through Siberia, then on to Mongolia and down through China to reach their destination as we see in this video.




[Photo Credit: Flickr user doniphon]

Cirque Dreams Travels The Country, Tours Military Bases Worldwide

by Chris Owen on

The first-ever Cirque Dreams World Tour performed at 17 U.S. military bases throughout ten countries in January. Now, Cirque Dreams Holidaze promises to light up the 2012 holiday season transforming stages at five military bases in Korea and across the United States into a magical holiday wonderland.

This is not your mother’s Christmas pageant either. The traditional elements are there but that’s about where tradition ends. Gingerbread men flip in mid air and toy soldiers march on thin wires. Snowmen, icemen, penguins, Christmas tree ornaments and dancing puppets all come to life to an original music score.

Honoring tradition, seasonal favorites accompany hundreds of astonishing costumes and holiday dreams in a setting of gigantic gifts, colossal candy canes and 30-foot towering soldiers creating a wonderland of spectacle.

Fans won’t have to travel far to see the international cast of multi-talented and brilliantly costumed artists come to life and perform astonishing feats of disbelief.

The Cirque Dreams Holidaze U.S. tour begins on November 13 in Abilene, Texas, then travels up the West Coast, down through the Midwest, into the South and ends in Schenectady, New York, on December 30.

Here’s a preview:




Cirque Dreams’ stable of popular shows include Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, Cirque Dreams Illumination, Cirque Dreams & Dinner onboard Norwegian Epic and upcoming Norwegian Breakaway, Cirque Dreams Rocks, and Cirque Dreams Holidaze, now in its fourth consecutive touring season and success from The Kennedy Center.

[Photo Credit: Cirque Productions]

NBC Looking For Contestants For New Show Hosted By Bear Grylls

by Kraig Becker on

NBC has put out a casting call for a new reality show that promises to be quite an adventure. The unnamed show will be hosted by Bear Grylls of “Man vs. Wild” fame and features a large cash prize, although just how large remains to be seen.

The show’s format sounds vaguely familiar with the premise being that teams of two will be dropped in a remote location and will have to learn to exist in the wild while racing against others towards a finish line. The description indicates that the competitors will need to work together as a team, while maintaining their courage and determination, in order to avoid being eliminated. That seems to indicate that there will be distinct stages and challenges for the competition, not unlike CBS’s popular show “The Amazing Race.”

To audition for the show simply email the names of the two people on your team as well as the nature of your relationship, to bearshowcasting@gmail.com. The email should also include brief bios, occupations, contact info, photos and a note as to why you should be picked to be on the show. Contestants must be legal residents of the United States and 21-years of age or older on February 2013. A valid U.S. passport is also a requirement, which seems to indicate that this adventure will take place in a foreign country.

In the press release info that I received, the show is being billed as the “Ultimate Outdoor Adventure Competition.” If that sounds like it’s your cup of tea, than blast out that email ASAP. Now if only we can get a “Team Gadling” into the competition.

[Photo credit: Bear Grylls]

Kenya Festival A Showcase Of Culture, Old School

by Chris Owen on

The annual Lamu Cultural Festival in Kenya is a showcase of tradition featuring much of what earned the island off Africa’s northern coast its World Heritage Site designation in 2001. Coming up November 15-18, 2012, the three-day festival offers a unique opportunity to explore the history, people, sights and sounds of Africa.

Lamu Island is home to Lamu Town, Kenya’s oldest continually inhabited town and one of the original Swahili settlements along coastal East Africa. The town’s history dates back to 1441 and can be explored via a number of museums.

A full schedule of traditional dances, handicraft displays, competitions on water and land, Swahili poetry, donkey races, dhow races, henna paintings, Swahili bridal ceremonies and music. Since its inception as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, the festival has been a celebration of the island’s unique Swahili heritage.Getting there is tricky but, like so many other travel experiences, getting there is a great deal of the fun.

Scheduled flights daily from Nairobi, Mombasa, Diani Beach and Malindi land at close-by Manda Island airport (MAU). From there, dhow ferries bring visitors to Lamu where there are no vehicles. None. No tour busses, taxicabs, rental cars or even public transportation. This is about as close to the Africa of hundreds of years ago as we can get.

It is possible to hire donkeys to ride around the island though.

Check out the Lamu Cultural Festival and other Kenya information at www.magicalkenya.com.



[Photo Credit: Flickr user hktang]

Celebrate Georgia O’Keeffe’s 125th Birthday In Santa Fe (Tres Leches Cake Is Involved)

by Laurel Miller on


Mention Georgia O’Keeffe and cooking isn’t what comes to mind. But the iconic Southwestern artist was ahead of her time when it came to food. So says O’Keeffe’s former cook and assistant Margaret Wood, author of “A Painter’s Kitchen: Recipes from the Kitchen of Georgia O’Keeffe” (Red Crane Books), and “Remembering Miss O’Keeffe: Stories from Abiquiu” (Museum of New Mexico Press).

Wood shares anecdotes from her years with O’Keeffe, in an inspired demonstration class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. When not working with O’Keeffe in her Abiquiu garden, Wood procured eggs and meat from local farmers, and prepared simple, wholesome dishes such as leg of lamb with garlic and honey-mint sauce, or corn soup.

Santa Fe’s Inn on the Alameda is offering a special, “Happy Birthday, Georgia Experience” package, which includes a four-night stay for two, museum passes, a Georgia-focused class at the cooking school and more.

To purchase tickets for either event, click here, or call 505-983-4511.

[Photo credit: Inn on the Alameda]