Get out and go: Events around the world (December 2-5)

by Brenda Yun on

It’s time to look at the festivals and events happening around the world, and this week has a particularly international selection of happenings. If you’re close and have time, then you have no excuse to get out and go!

  • Alaska – The Talkeetna Winterfest will take place in Talkeetna, Alaska throughout the month of December. The month long celebration features various activities, including Taste of Talkeetna, Broom Ball and Bachelor Auction.
  • Hobart – It may be winter in the States, but it’s summer in Tasmania, and the Hobart Summer Festival will be held for the whole month of December in Hobart.
  • British Virgin Islands – The Fireball Full Moon Party will take place today (Wednesday, December 2) in Trellis Bay, British Virgin Islands.
  • Seattle – Seattle’s Winter Beer Festival takes place at Hale’s Ales Brewery this Friday, December 4. More than 30 Washington State breweries will be pouring their winter brews. There will be a vintage beer tasting featuring favorites from years past. Pub food will be available as well as a selection of fine chocolates and holiday gifts for sale.
  • Aberdeen – We Americans may not “get it” but curling is a real spectator sport in some parts of the world. The European Curling Championships will take place this Friday, December 4 in Aberdeen, Scotland and will last through the week until the 12th.
  • New Jersey – Annual Festival of Trees will begin this Friday, December 4 in Basking Ridge and will continue for over a week through the 13th.
  • St. Lucia – Jade Mountain will hold its annual chocolate festival this weekend, from December 4-6. It is a delicious, interactive and exotic introduction to the world’s favorite aphrodisiac. Cacao has a history in St Lucia that dates back to the 1700’s.

If you make it to one of these events, let us know how it was, or if you know of an event that’s coming up, please let us know and we’ll be sure to include it in the next “Get out and go” round-up.

London theater for all: Device translates performance into 8 languages

by Alison Brick on

Captions aren’t just for the opera anymore.

London theater is becoming more welcoming to foreign visitors by offering AirScript — a hand-held device that gives live translations in eight languages. The captions scroll throughout the performance — about seven lines at a time — in orange letters on a black background to cut the glare factor. Theater-goers can pick from English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese.

The first theater in London to offer the device is the Shaftesbury Theatre for its current show, Hairspray. The price to the patron? £6. 200 AirScripts can run at one time in a single theater.

Because it’s important that lines sync with the action on the stage, a manual operator cues the translations — the job can’t be automated.

No historical plaque for Scientology founder

by Sean McLachlan on

English Heritage has rejected an application to put up a plaque at the former home of L. Ron Hubbard.

The American science fiction writer, who became a controversial figure when he founded Scientology, was based at 37 Fitzroy Street in London’s West End from 1957 to 1959. The Hubbard Foundation had applied to English Heritage for a blue plaque to mark the building. Blue plaques are recognizable to anyone who’s been to London as marking the spot of a famous event or building, or where a famous person has lived, worked, or died.

English Heritage states they rejected the application because, “It was felt that since Mr Hubbard had died only relatively recently, in 1986, that more time was required to make an objective assessment of the importance and longevity of his achievements. The panel also noted that Mr Hubbard had no address in London which could be considered as comparatively settled, and moved around a great deal.”

The Hubbard Foundation owns the building and runs it as a museum. They are appealing the ruling.

Brits love Thailand, not really France

by Tom Johansmeyer on

More than a thousand Britons can’t be wrong, right? An online survey of 1,402 of them, by Zoover.co.uk, found France to be the least hospitable vacation destination. But, to be fair, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia weren’t included among the choices. So, it really wasn’t that bad for the folks across the channel. The Brits found that Thailand was the top spot, picking up 25 percent of the vote, with the United States good for 11 percent.

Chrit Blonden, a marketing executive at Zoover, told Reuters, “When you go to France they are not inviting you there, you are not feeling invited when you go to their country,” explaining why the country only picked up 2 percent of the vote in Britain. He continued, “I was in Thailand myself. When you go there you are treated very well…they show a real interest in you.”

The French Tourism Development Agency, of course, had a rejoinder at hand: 78 million tourists from around the world stopped in France last year. Eleven million of them were British. More than 350,000 Brits own a house in France. So, yeah, it looks like there can’t be too much beef.

But, the question the agency forgot to ask all those Brits: are they happy?

London and Madrid to be linked by high-speed train

by Sean McLachlan on

Starting in 2012, travelers will be able to go from London to Madrid in eight hours thanks to a planned high-speed rail link. The service, organized by a French and Spanish consortium, will link Paris and Madrid. It’s already quick and easy to get to Paris from London by taking the Eurostar. The trip lasts two hours and fifteen minutes. Travelers will then have to change stations before heading out to Madrid, a trip that will take five and a half hours.

There’s discussion of including Lyon and Barcelona in the route. A high-speed route already links Madrid and Barcelona.

This is a joint operation between Renfe, the Spanish state train operator, and SNCF, its French counterpart. Each will have an equal stake. The system will have ten trains and be managed from Spain, which is already a leader in high-speed trains.