Boston Celebrates Its Bruins with a Massive Parade

by Paul Brady on
I wasn’t going to be in Boston on Saturday morning. But with the city planning to celebrate its sports heroes, who won the Stanley Cup after a drought of nearly 40 years, I tore up my road trip schedule and made a beeline for Beantown.

Riding on Boston’s famous Duck Boats, the team paraded through the streets, holding the cup aloft as hundreds of thousands cheered. Goodwill was everywhere, and it lasted through the weekend: On Sunday, the Bruins threw out ceremonial first pitches at Fenway Park as the baseball faithful gave a standing ovation. With the cup now in Boston, the city can safely brag that it is indeed Titletown, USA.

Traveling the American Road – Boston Bruins Celebration Parade


Seattle’s Safeco Field gets food concession with local ingredients, menus by award-winning chefs

by Laurel Miller on

Buh-bye, limp hot dogs in soggy buns. Baseball season starts April 1st, and Seattle’s Safeco Field–go, Mariners–is celebrating its first home game on the 8th with some serious food.
Centerplate, the leading hospitality provider to North America’s premier sports stadiums, has developed a partnership with award-winning Seattle chef Ethan Stowell, as well as chefs Roberto Santibañez, owner of Brooklyn’s Fonda/culinary director of Hoboken’s The Taco Truck, and Bill Pustari, chef-owner of New Haven’s Modern Apizza.

The revamped Bullpen Market at Safeco Field will feature fresh, local ingredients and easy-on-the-budget prices. In addition to an Apizza outlet, there is chef Stowell’s Hamburg + Frites, and La Crêperie, and Flying Turtle Cantina/Tortugas Voladoras from Santibañez.

Says John Sergi, Chief Design Officer of Centerplate, “Our mission was to create a restaurant-style experience–the anti-fast food–in a concession environment. We (brought in) Ethan as our consulting chef…in order to help us make the food ‘restaurant-real.’

Stowell is the executive chef and owner of Ethan Stowell Restaurants, which includes Tavolàta, Anchovies & Olives, and How to Cook a Wolf. He is the acting chef at eight-month-old Staple & Fancy Mercantile, in Seattle’s gorgeously revamped Kolstrand Building in the Ballard neighborhood.

Best-known for his use of local ingredients and simple, seasonal food, Stowell was named one of the 2008 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine magazine and has been honored with multiple James Beard Award nominations for “Best Chef Northwest.” Santibañez and Pustari were added to the line-up to create programs featuring the signature concepts for which they are both nationally acclaimed–Mexican food and pizza. I might get into sports if this is the future of stadium food.

Winter in Alaska: Paws for Adventure dog mushing tour through Fairbanks (video)

by Darren Murph on

In the spirit of journeying during periods less traveled, I’ve embarked to Alaska this winter. Follow the adventures here, and prepare to have your preconceived notions destroyed along the way.



Video footage from my one hour Paws for Adventure dog sled tour in Fairbanks, AK

The more time I spent in Alaska during the winter, the more I asked myself why this wasn’t considered a tourist season. A week or so ago, Fairbanks was gifted with an atypical dumping of fresh powder, making the conditions more than perfect for a day of dog mushing. Following the races down at Fur Rondy, I headed up north to Fairbanks for a slightly different kind of dog race: one that began and ended at a homestead. Paws For Adventure is an Alaskan outfit that uses their stable of dogs strictly for casual runs — nothing competitive whatsoever. These pups were downright adorable, and I was able to sit down (with owner Leslie Goodwin) in a sled behind ten beautiful dogs. They hauled us along like champs, and they were thrilled to be doing it. I couldn’t help but make a few rounds praising them all afterwards, and even now, it’s one of the highlights of my trip to The Last Frontier. If you’re looking for a truly Alaskan adventure to partake in whilst in Fairbanks, look no further. Have a peek at the video above to get a gist of what to expect.

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[Images provided by Dana Jo Photography]

My trip was sponsored by Alaska Travel Industry Association, but I was free to report as I saw fit. The opinions expressed in this article are 100% my own.

Winter in Alaska: Yukigassen brings team snowball fighting competition to Fur Rondy (video)

by Darren Murph on

In the spirit of journeying during periods less traveled, I’ve embarked to Alaska this winter. Follow the adventures here, and prepare to have your preconceived notions destroyed along the way.



A vicious, vicious Yukigassen match at the 2011 Fur Rondy Festival

It’s late February in Alaska, and that can only mean one thing: Fur Rendezvous. 2011 marks the 76th year that this extravaganza has taken over the streets of downtown Anchorage, and for two solid weekends, locals and tourists alike flock to the city to gawk and participate. This year, the Fur Rondy board decided to spice things up a bit by adding one more event to the roster: Yukigassen. Translated from Japanese, it means “snow battle,” and that’s exactly what it looks like when played out. At this year’s festival, the first sanctioned Yukigassen tournament was held in America, giving the teams a chance to go on and compete at a higher level should they take the gold here in Anchorage.

It’s a blast to watch, and I can only imagine how much fun it’d be to take part in. It’s a little like paintball, but you’ll need to substitute snowballs for paint-filled pellets to really grok it. Teams have a stockpile of snowballs behind their flag, which can only be transferred forward to other teammates by rolling them on the ground (i.e. no tossing allowed). The goal is simple: be on the team that captures the opponent’s flag, or be on the team that has the last man / woman standing. It’s like dodgeball, but for angst-ridden adults with a bone to pick and plenty of steam to blow off. Here’s hoping this sport spreads from AK down into the lower 48, but for now, have a look at two teams battling it out in the video above and the gallery below.

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My trip was sponsored by Alaska Travel Industry Association, but I was free to report as I saw fit. The opinions expressed in this article are 100% my own.

Delta SkyMiles Medallion parking lot coming to Braves’ Turner Field

by Dana Murph on
Delta’s been Atlanta’s hometown airline for decades, and it looks like the bond between the two is getting a little stronger with the start of the 2011 Major League Baseball season. Delta Air Lines and the Atlanta Braves have announced a partnership that will lead to the opening of a new lot at Turner Field. Or, at least a re-branded portion of a lot. The current Green Park Lot — which is located directly across from the main entrance to Turner Field at the corner of Hank Aaron Drive and Ralph D. Abernathy Drive — will have 500 spots converted into dedicated spots for SkyMiles Medallion members. The upside here is the location; this is one of the closest places to park for the game, and should prove a perfect spot for tailgating activities. The downside is that you’ll still be required to pay the normal rate ($12 as of today) for parking.

In our opinion, Delta could’ve cut those who are Gold, Platinum or Diamond a break — possibly a free or discounted spot in return for their loyalty. As it stands, any Medallion member can show up and occupy the spot so long as they bring along their Medallion card, but there doesn’t look to be any price breaks in the cards. Still, it’s a nice (if minor) perk for being loyal to Delta, particularly for Atlanta-based Braves fans, and hopefully those with higher statuses will see a discount in their future. Hint, hint, Delta.

If you’re looking to take advantage, the SkyMiles Medallion Lot will available starting with the Braves scheduled exhibition games at Turner Field on March 29th and 30th. Their home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies is set for 7:35 p.m. ET, Friday, April 8, 2011.