Popular Music Festival Celebrates 75 Years This Summer

by Chris Owen on


Tanglewood is an iconic music festival held in the Berkshires. Located in western Massachusetts and the summer home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood has a variety of stars from the classical music world taking part in over 90 events between June 22-September 2 as the annual event celebrates 75 years this summer.

In addition to the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops and Tanglewood Music Center orchestras, will be performances by Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Peter Serkin, James Taylor, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and other special guests led by conductors John Williams, Keith Lockhart and Andris Nelsons.Tanglewood also features events ranging from dance performances, family and youth concerts, a relay run and open rehearsals of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

About a two and a half hour drive from New York City and Boston, the area is also home to cultural institutions such as the Norman Rockwell Museum, Clark Art Institute and more.

New this year, the program will be made available to a worldwide audience through a series of international broadcasts – 75 free digital streams featuring many of the most memorable musical events from the orchestra’s rich archive of recorded Tanglewood performances since 1937. These streams will be available free for 24 hours on the day of the release, after which they will be available as a download for purchase.

Tickets to the 2012 Tanglewood season are priced from $9 to $117 and on sale now through tanglewood.org or by calling SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200. Tanglewood continues to offer free lawn tickets to young people age 17 and under and a 50 percent discount on lawn tickets to college and graduate students.

Want more on Summer Music Festivals? Check Gadling’s USA Summer Music Festivals 2012.




Photos Boston Symphony Orchestra

Visit NASA’s Control Room And Launch Pad In This Behind-The-Scenes Tour

by McLean Robbins on

We may not be flying into space anymore – at least not on the government dime – but the idea of visiting the Kennedy Space Center still puts a sparkle in our nerdy little eyes, particularly when we heard of this new package.

For the first time in more than 30 years, NASA is allowing Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex guests inside the Launch Control Center – where NASA directors and engineers supervised all of the 152 launches for the space shuttle and Apollo programs.

The KSC Up-Close: Launch Control Center (LCC) Tour, the second in Kennedy Space Center’s special 50th anniversary series of rare-access tours, takes visitors inside Firing Room 4, one of the LCC’s four firing rooms and the one from which all 21 space shuttle launches since 2006 were controlled.

Inside Firing Room 4, visitors will pass by the computer consoles at which engineers monitored the computerized launch control system’s thousands of system checks every minute leading up to launch. They’ll see the main launch countdown clock and many large video monitors on the walls, and enter the “bubble room,” with its wall of interior windows through which the Kennedy Space Center management team viewed all of the proceedings below.The LCC Tour opens June 15 and will run through the end of 2012 with a limited number of daily tours.

Prefer to see the rockets themselves? You can do that too. That tour, which began this past November, takes visitors inside the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the massive building adjacent to the LCC where the Apollo Saturn V rockets and space shuttles were assembled.

“This is another very rare opportunity that NASA has worked with us to provide – access to the Launch Control Center,” said Bill Moore, chief operating officer of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. “It might be another 30 years before guests will receive a behind-the-scenes opportunity like this again.”

The LCC Tour is led by a trained space expert, giving visitors an insider’s view of the space program from launch preparation to liftoff. The tour also includes drive-by views of Launch Pad 39 and culminates at the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where visitors can resume the regular tour. Price is $25 for adults and $19 for children ages 3-11 plus tax, in addition to admission.

Tomorrow Is National Get Outdoors Day!

by Kraig Becker on

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 9, is the 5th annual National Get Outdoors Day, an event, which has been created to encourage Americans to head outside and spend some time connecting with nature. Throughout the day, more than 130 locations across the country will be celebrating the occasion with a host of outdoor games, events and activities.

It’s no secret that Americans in general are spending less time outdoors and to some degree it is a bit disheartening to think that we need a specific day to remind us to do just that. On the other hand, anything that inspires people to get off the couch and get active is a good thing in my book. So with that in mind, why don’t you plan on dusting off that old bike tomorrow and taking it for a spin. Or better yet, gather up some friends and family and head to a local park for a hike and a picnic. Remember that tent you bought three years ago because you swore that you were going to go camping? How about dragging it out of the garage and setting it up in the backyard? It doesn’t matter what inspires you to go outside, what is most important is that you actually do it.

And don’t forget, all of the National Parks are completely free tomorrow too. That means that the more than 130 parks that normally charge for entry will be completely gratis. If you live near any of those parks, tomorrow is the perfect time to go out and enjoy them.

Dutch Artist Turns Dead Pet Into ‘Catcopter’

by Laurel Miller on

The Wright Brothers were true visionaries, able to turn mankind’s dream of flying like a bird into reality.

It’s only fitting then, that a deceased cat be allowed to soar like the pigeons he once yearned after. Dutch artist Bart Jansen has created a fitting tribute for his beloved pet, Orville (his brother’s name is, of course, Wilbur), who was hit by a car. Jansen created the “Orvillecopter,” a remote-controlled helicopter that’s “half-cat, half-machine.”

Before you denounce Jansen as a sadistic kook (like PETA has in a public statement; though, how one can be a sadist by having an already dead animal stuffed is beyond me), watch this CNN video interview of him talking about his art project/tribute.

Orville used to lie at the front door watching birds, and so, Jansen explains, he decided what better way to honor his cat than by allowing him to fly the skies? Notes Jansen, “After a period of mourning, he received his propellers posthumously.”

I recently wrote of my love of all things slightly macabre, including taxidermy, so naturally I think the Orvillecopter is about the most awesome thing ever. For those lucky enough to be in Amsterdam, the Orvillecopter is on display at the KunstRAI Art Festival. To see the flying object in question, check out the video below. Fly the friendly skies, Orville.


Olympics 2012: Best Markets And Shops For Food Lovers

by Laurel Miller on

Just because you’re in London for the Olympics and watching world-class athletes torch calories, doesn’t mean you should be deprived of saturated fats and carbs. Despite its former reputation as a culinary wasteland, 21st century London has become one of the world’s great food cities, renowned for its fine dining and ethnic eateries, markets, specialty shops, and food artisans.

Take one for the team and pay a visit to the following for a taste of today’s London.

The city has its share of farmers and public markets, but if your time is short, the Borough Market is, in my opinion, one of the world’s great food markets. I discovered it on my day off from working at a restaurant in Marylebone in 2001, and I’ve found few other markets that offer comparable delights with regard to quality and diversity.

Located in Southwark along the Thames, Borough Market was established in 1755 and is London’s oldest produce market. Today, you’ll also find baked goods, meat and poultry, seafood, charcuterie, cheese and other English artisan foods, as well as international specialty products: argan oil from Morocco; spices, pickles, fruit pastes and preserves from the Eastern Mediterranean, India and Grenada; Croatian patés, French goose fat and fresh Perigord truffles; and Calabrian licorice root.

The Borough Market is open Thursday through Saturday; click here for times and bus and Underground directions.

Maltby Street is a selection of “breakaway vendors” from Borough Market, including Neal’s Yard Dairy, Monmouth Coffee and St. JOHN Bakery (owned by chef Fergus Henderson he of the much-loved St. JOHN Restaurant, a champion of offal and author of “The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating”). Unlike the market vendors, these are permanent shops that primarily wholesale during the week, and open to the public on Saturday mornings. Psst: Go early to get the custard or jam doughnuts at St. JOHN.World-famous Neal’s Yard Dairy has two shops (the other is in Covent Garden). If you love – or would like to learn about – handcrafted cheeses from the UK, be sure to stop by for a taste.

London’s other great cheese shop is La Fromagerie, with locations in Marlyebone and Highbury. Next door is The Ginger Pig, “butchers and farmers of rare breeds raised on the North York Moors.” Opt for a butchery class, farm tour, or some meat pies in lieu of purchasing fresh product. There’s also a location at the Borough Market.

Marylebone has a lively farmers market, held every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Spitalfields, in the East End, started out as a traders’ market in 1666, and today is a fashionable complex with food, fine dining, boutiques, community events and public art. For non-edible souvenirs, check out Divermenti, a kitchenware store and cooking school in Marlyebone.

[Photo credits: vendor, Flickr user nakedsky; cheese, Flickr user Stepheye]