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

Caribbean Week Brings Music, Dance, Deals To New York City

by Chris Owen on

Now through June 11, Caribbean Week New York is being held at Grand Central Terminal, offering a celebration of the unique vacation experiences available in the Caribbean. Hosted by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) the event is a chance to experience the sights, sounds and culture of island life along with some exclusive travel deals.

Travel experts from Caribbean destinations will be on hand and visitors will have opportunity to book exclusive Caribbean Week travel deals via Travelocity and American Airlines Vacations.

Part of Caribbean Week New York is the 2012 Rum and Rhythm Benefit. At this event guests will sample premium rums of the Caribbean and cuisine prepared by the region’s celebrity chefs. There is also an opportunity to experience some of the Caribbean’s award winning musicians and mixologists as guests journey from one destination to the other. A live auction will give visitors the opportunity to outbid each other for exclusive vacation packages.

At another event, one lucky couple will tie the knot at a Caribbean-themed wedding ceremony in the iconic New York City landmark. “From the bride’s dress to the wedding cake to the honeymoon, the Caribbean has spared no expense to make their Caribbean dream come true,” says the CTO on their website.

The top-rated island of St Kitts will host a honeymoon for the lucky couple including two business class tickets to St. Kitts in addition to a four-night stay at the St. Kitts Marriott, which is also providing complimentary spa treatments and more.

Performances by JAM-X Band, Danza Fiesta Salsa Dancers of Puerto Rico, Natraj Center for the Performing Arts and Braata Productions will be held throughout the week. Admission is free.



[Flickr photo by katiew]

Video Of The Day: Human Towers In Tarragona, Spain

by Libby Zay on

Spain has a multitude of novel traditions. While bullfighting and tomato throwing festivals are known worldwide, there’s another custom that isn’t as widely recognized. Throughout Catalonia, people who create human towers – also known as castellers – compete to see who can create the tallest human pyramids. Only these flesh-and-muscle structures aren’t really pyramids at all; they are single and multiple-tiered assemblages that are supposed to resemble castles. The Catalan tradition is said to have begun in the 18th century, and today it is still going strong. These castells have a bulky, sturdy bottom with several layers, usually culminating with a small child on top.

As you’ll see in the video above by Mike Randolph from a recent festival in Tarragona, Spain, being a casteller can end in tumbles and falls. In fact, in the sport’s history, two castellers have died – one in 1983 and another more recently in 2006. Although it can be risky, the practice is considered sacred; the knowledge required for raising castells is traditionally passed down from generation to generation, much like gondoliering in Venice, Italy. In fact, UNESCO considers castellers to be amongst the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

Queens To Meet In London For Big Event

by Chris Owen on

This June 5 is a big event in the UK as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60 years on the throne. Cunard Line will bring Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations to a close with the first ever Cunard Royal Rendezvous in the fleet’s home port of Southampton, England.

Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth will be brought within close proximity of each other as a fireworks and special effects display will light up the evening sky. Queen Mary 2 will then lead Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria in single file down the Solent, a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England, as all three ships set out on their celebratory Jubilee voyages.

This is not the first time the three Queens of the Cunard fleet have met. In 2011 they met in New York City, but the first meeting of the three queens was in 2008.

“In January 2008, Cunard Line’s first Rendezvous of their three Queens took place. It was quite exciting as it was the first time Cunard had three ships with Queen in the name and all three were together,” said Stewart Chiron CEO of CruiseGuy.com. “It was the last time for many to see Queen Elizabeth 2, as she would depart the fleet later that year.”

Enrichment programming on board the ships will feature lectures by former BBC Royal correspondent Jennie Bond; Professor Herbert Kerrigan QC, one of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II‘s Counsel in Scotland; and ITN royal commentator Robert Jobson.

Also on board will be a rare collection of Royal art, including watercolors by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and lithographs by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Guests sailing on board Cunard ships will enjoy a Commemorative Dinner followed by a Grand Ball. Cunard will also screen live BBC World News coverage of the celebrations across the fleet beginning at 9:00 a.m. (GMT).



[Flickr photo by micamica]

Denali National Park Introduces New Sled Dog Pups

by Kraig Becker on

One of the great annual traditions at Denali National Park is the arrival of a new litter of sled dog pups. The park, which is located in Alaska‘s spectacular and remote wilderness, maintains its own sled dog team for use in patrolling the region throughout the long winter months. Without these teams much of Denali would not be accessible for portions of the year, which makes these trusty canines an important part of the park service team.

In order to maintain a strong and healthy sled dog team the onsite kennel breeds a single female each year. This year that lucky mom is a dog named Sultana, who gave birth to three pups a few weeks back. The names of those new pups hasn’t been announced yet, but they have been introduced to the world via the kennel’s live webcam.

When breeding huskies to be a part of the Denali sled dog team, the kennel is looking for strong dogs with long legs that can easily break trail in deep snow. They also prefer compact paws that can resist the build-up of snow and ice, as well as thick coats and puffy tails to keep the dogs warm in the Alaskan winters. It is too early yet to know if these new pups will exhibit all of those traits but considering their parents were hand picked it is likely they’ll join the team sometime in the future.

For now, the pups will stay in the kennel, and on webcam, until they are old enough to start their training. That means that throughout the summer we’ll be able to watch them grow up before our very eyes. Stop back whenever you need a quick dose of cute.

[Photo courtesy Denali National Park Facebook Page]