Dallas is one of the great cultural centers of Texas as well as the nation. And theatre in Dallas is one of the thriving artist genres that is well respected and strongly supported by the community. It is frequently theorized that any city or civilization is only as great as its arts and this is demonstrated by those found in Dallas. The Dallas Theatre Center is one of the great establishments in the city that offers a diverse selection of plays from various genres and styles. In addition, they have a strong focus on education and performance based outreach programs that are popular with the community.

The fall season at the center begins with a full force production of William Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Kevin Moriarty is directing this favorite among the bard’s history plays and it will be presented in the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center . The play will open on September 10 and run for a month concluding on October 10. The next production also represents the diversity of shows presented by this company. Rain, by Regina Taylor, will have its world premiere in a co-production with the Goodman Theatre. It is scheduled to open on November 5 and will run through December 5. Check for the Dallas hotel rates on specific days if you plan to be in town for this or other productions.

Dallas Theatre Center is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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If you’ve come to Manila, Philippines, then it’s likely you have an interest in history, and one of the best ways to find out the stories of this 439 year old city, founded in June of 1571 by three Spanish conquistadors, is to get out of the hotel suites and take a walking tour of sites that have existed for centuries.

On the Old Manila Walks tour , you’ll discover the actual story behind the fusion of so many countries — of Malasia, China, Spain, America, and Japan. Starting out with the original walled city of Manila, the Intramuros walk takes you to the origins of Manila four centuries ago, beginning at the Plaza Roma. You’ll make your way to the Manila Cathedral, then the San Agustin Church and Museum Complex, followed by the Barrio San Luis, and the Intramuros Wall. As part of the tour, there’s an optional fine-dining lunch or dinner in a pre-war home close to Malacanang Palace. The Legarda mansion serves classic Filipino menus here, in a 1930s style setting. The walk lasts approximately three hours.

If the walking tour hasn’t tired you too much the first day, and if you can rouse yourself from the comfortable rooms at the Manila hotels , then you might work your way through Chinatown in Binondo. Here, you’ll start at a 16th century Baroque cathedral, and work your way to a Chinese shrine. You’ll start at Plaza Calderon dela Barca, and continue on to the Basilica de San Lorenzo Ruiz, finally ending at Ongpin Street and the Carvajal Alley Market, simultaneously experiencing the culture, history, and cuisine of Manila.

Old Manila Walks Through Intramuros and Chinatown is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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There are so many things to see and do when you visit Seattle, Washington that many people are completely engaged in the standard tourist attractions, while others are so overwhelmed by what all the city has to offer that they completely miss seeing the obvious sights. And that’s a pretty difficult thing to do seeing that you will almost literally run into the Pike Place Market if you head to the western edge of the city and the Space Needle can be seen from all over and is one of the major landmarks and visual recognition points. But overlooking these aspects of two of the most famous and popular attractions in the city, it can be easy to understand how they are completely missed with so much else to do and see.

The Seattle boutique hotels will likely remind guests, as if that is actually really even necessary, that the Space Needle and market are there and will also guide visitors in the right direction. Again, that’s not a difficult task. However, they are also excellent guiding resources for other cultural attractions in the city such as the Seattle Art Museum , which will open its highly anticipated Picasso exhibit this October and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra . In addition, there are numerous theatre companies throughout the city and great live music venues. Rounding this off with great restaurants and fabulous shopping opportunities it easy to forget to visit, wait what are they again?

Seattle Symphony and Art Museum is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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There are many quality cultural establishments and respected arts organizations in the city of Sydney that contributes to its overall atmosphere of sophistication and style. Companies such as Opera Australia and numerous theatre organizations as well as museums contribute to this image. The Opera Australia is the country’s principle opera house, which is fitting due to its name, and is also the third busiest opera in the world. It has received international recognition and acclaim, and has one of the longest standard seasons, which lasts for eight months out of the year.

It has an extremely large audience base and can record well over 200 performances a year with an attendance that surpasses 300,000 patrons. It is one of the principle attractions for many people who are visiting the country and staying in one of the great hotels in Sydney and tourists account for a large portion of the audience. However, that does not overshadow or even compare to the enormous amount of support and respect it receives from the community. The company has one of the highest rates of funding that comes directly from ticket sales. One of the most famous performances given by the company occurred in the early 1990s and featured Dame Joan Sutherland in Baz Luhrmann’s production of La Boheme by Puccinni.

Opera Australia in Sydney is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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Many people who want to visit New York have plans to tour some of the great museums in the city. And while this is one of the popular tourist activities, as well as one that is frequently engaged in by residents, it is important to know that you don’t actually have to go to a museum in Manhattan to see great art. The city is full of public art and sculpture as well as privately commissioned works that come and go across the city throughout the year. This is one of the ways that residents are extremely lucky, they constantly have a flow of great art appearing on their city streets and rarely have to step foot into a gallery to see it. However, and this is the important part, they do go to the galleries and museums. New York has one of the highest are enthusiastic and supportive communities in the world, and this is part of what makes the city thrive.

The guests in Manhattans best hotels are more than encouraged to visit some of the great museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum , among many others, as well as some of the great galleries. However, it is also extremely fulfilling and can be a special part of your trip to take in some of the public and privately commissioned art that is out in public spaces.

Parks throughout New York are full of art. Central Park has numerous sculptures and exhibit areas, it also happens to be across the street from the Met, and visitors have the opportunity to view them as they enjoy a relaxing afternoon. Some of the other current outdoor art installations include Stephen Vitiello’s A Bell For Every Minute, which is a dynamic sound installation. It can be found on the 14th street passage. Various artists contributed to the installation at City Hall , which is titled Statuesque and features various alternative sculpture interpretations. Wherever you go in New York, you are more than likely to find some beautiful public art.

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Which one of the fifty states is commonly known as being the mother of presidents? That’s not a trick question, and with a little bit of consideration it can probably be figured out. Virginia has been the birthplace of more Presidents of the United States than any other state in the nation. Eight of the country’s presidents were born in Virginia, and the state is known for being an essential contributor to the early establishment and development of this great nation. So, who were the presidents? Our nation’s first president, George Washington, starts the list and is followed by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, John Taylor and Woodrow Wilson.

When you look at that list you notice there are some pretty major names on it, and while all presidents play an essential role in the country, names like James Monroe, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are major symbolic personalities. And while we have all learned about them and their contributions to this country, what about the others? How much do we know about John Taylor and Zachary Taylor and what all happened during the course of their presidencies?

John Taylor was president from 1841 to 1845 and was nicknamed the accidental president because he assumed the position after the death of the incumbent. He was born in Charles City and studied at William and Mary College . He served on the Virginia legislature earlier in his career. Zachary Taylor was president for only a little over a year, dieing from Cholera while still in office. He was born in Orange County and his father had served with George Washington during the Revolutionary War. The best hotels Virginia are full of enthusiastic tourists and many of them contain pictures and information on these early presidents. It frequently comes as a surprise to tourists that so many presidents were born here, though it’s definitely a point of pride for the state.

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Seattle, Washington; surrounded by the snowy peak of mountains in the distance and by the sparkling water Elliott Bay , is a magnificent city to not only visit, but to live. With a modern skyline, the most friendliest people, coffeehouses in abundance, lakes, parks, great restaurants, and a hot club scene, Seattle has is all and so much more.

Today, Seattle attracts not only the high-techies whom work for Boeing and Microsoft , it also attracts the people with businesses like Starbucks and Amazon, also a more artistic crowd that want to be a part of the best music, the best theatre, performing arts and one of the best outdoor activities this side of the Mississippi. This unique and diverse combination of people is what makes Seattle great. Seattle’s solid economy has made this city an international destination for both tourists and companies wanting to conduct business.

When you arrive, you’ll immediately feel a ‘joy of living’ that permeates every space, and is felt by all the people living in and around this charming city. Even the best Seattle hotel will make your time in Seattle feel like they’ve let you in on a wonderful secret and that you’re a big part of what makes Seattle work. It’s also Seattle’s great outdoors, the trails, the lakes, and mountains that will make you feel like you’re a part of something more, of something grand.

Most people don’t understand how anyone could live in a place where it constantly rains and where the sun barely peaks out from under the cloud banks, but those are the people who have never been to Seattle, because once they do come for a visit, their attitude changes and they begin wonder why it took them so long to visit this spectacular city in the Northwest. The down-to-Earth ambiance, tweaked by innovative technology is irresistible. Ask any Seattleite and they’ll tell you that they moved here from another state and that it was the best move they’ve ever made.

The Joy of Living in Seattle is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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The Staples Center in Los Angeles has been receiving a lot of attention most recently for being the place where the NBA Finals were played. And while the city of Los Angeles is as known for being the home of stars as it is for angels, a great number of them, stars that is, turned out to watch game seven of the Championship series. Jack Nicholson is well known for being a Lakers fan and has been a common figure at their games for decades. Meanwhile, younger generations of stars have joined the crowd and it is common to see celebrities in the stands during the games. Of course in Los Angeles, it is common to see celebrities almost everywhere.

So, what goes on at Staples Center now that the games have ended and basketball will not resume until October? Does it just sit quietly until Artest, Gasol , Brown and others return for next season? Will all of these and the rest of the team return for next season? Well, that’s a question that can’t be answered here, though of course the Staples Center will not remain quiet and it is full of sporting and entertainment events all year long. And there is always something going on there to entice the guests in one of the 5 star hotels Los Angeles .
Currently the WNBA is in full swing and the Los Angeles Sparks play their home games in the Center.

Other events that will occur there this summer include the popular Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, which take place during a large part of July. Meanwhile Rihanna will also be performing there next month and has a concert scheduled for July 21. In August, Lady Gaga will be performing two concerts in-between Sparks home games and the second of her two shows was recently added. She is scheduled to perform at the Center on August 11 and 12. As the year progresses and we plan to head back into basketball season Shakira and Justin Bieber are on the concert lineup schedule.

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Like so many things in the world that are not what they seem, Miami is always vastly more complex than surfaces could ever reveal. The surfaces here are terrible appealing however, and the sights are often so spectacular that there isn’t necessarily pressing for a deeper look. A morning on the beach, time at a club, and then a pleasant sleep in a 5 star hotel, Miami doesn’t demand more than pure enjoyment.

But sometimes fate plays a part and reveals the truth even when one might not be looking. Ben Vereen , the extraordinary talent who’s graced stage and screen through a remarkable career, was born in Miami. Or maybe not. It wasn’t until he was applying for a passport when he was a young man that he discovered that he was actually adopted. This was after he’d graduated from New York’s performing arts high school, and already started to turn heads in theaters.

He wouldn’t meet his sister until 2006, long after he’d established himself as a major celebrity, having performed the role of Alex Haley’s ancestor Chicken George in Roots. One of his greatest roles, the entertainer in All That Jazz , is also a breathtaking study in slight of hand. Throughout the film, the audience sees him as a recurring television personality, thoroughly show business to the bone, and absolutely chronic in his inability to narrate reality without radical flourishes.

By the final scene, the long death sequence of the main character, we see him revealed as a kind of angel, welcoming the dying man to the other side. It’s performed with a kind of slickness and sly awareness that speaks of both healer and trickster characteristics.

And in another spin, where fate took a hand in his own personal life, when he was in an auto accident in 1992, he wandered from his car and was struck by another car. It could well have been fatal, but instead, he survived, and saw the accident as a chance to clean up his life, to work through his own grief, and to begin again. Inspiring millions in films and in life, he is a great humanitarian as well.

Ben Vereen’s Miami is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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Is it the first time you have visited Amarillo Texas? One of the many reasons to visit a new place is to spend sometime doing something that you wouldn’t normally do in your own town. While in Amarillo get out and spend some time doing things the way the forefathers of the area did. This was land that was hard won by some real tough cowboys. If you don’t live in a cowboy state you may want to experiences a small part of what the cowboy life was all about. One of the ways to be a cowboy for the day is to get on horseback at the Old West Stables in Palo Duro Canyon State Park . The Native Americans and Cowboys have been riding horses in this canyon for hundreds of years and now it is your turn. While on your adventure you can learn about the famous Colonels of the U.S. Calvary who rode horses on some of the same trails. This is a great way to get out into the local landscape and enjoy the high desert views. You can get directions from your hotel. Amarillo is only twenty seven miles northwest of the canyon so it will be a day outing.  

If you are in town during the summer you may want a day to cool off a bit. One of the hot spots in town to get a thrill and a cool down is at Splash Amarillo+http://www.splashamarillo.com/ . Especially if you have the kids with you on a summer vacation. This will be a must stop for keeping them entertained. This water park has water slides and a large wave pool. Parents with little kids will find a special place to watch them play. The older kids may find a break from the water at the arcade. There snack bar is always full of enough food to keep the whole family going for a nice long day out in the sun.  

No matter what adventure you choose bring lots of sunscreen and drink lots of water.

Water Slides and Horse Rides in Amarillo is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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