Travel news from the sources

Music returns to MoMA Sculpture Garden

Musical performances return to New York's Museum of Modern Art at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden in July and August.

The Museum's free Summergarden series returns to the Sculpture Garden for four Sunday evenings beginning July 11, 2010.

Summergarden, a tradition that began in 1971, is part of MoMA's long history of presenting jazz and new music concerts in an outdoor setting.  MoMA once again welcomes the participation of The Juilliard School and Jazz at Lincoln Center, whose collaboration makes possible Summergarden's continuing programs of musical premieres.

Celebrity's four Solstice ships to sail Caribbean

News from Celebrity Cruises:

Celebrity's four Solstice-class ships will sail in Europe in the summer of 2011, then head for the Caribbean for the winter of 2011-2012.

The Solstice ships will join four other Celebrity ships, offering itineraries ranging in length from 4 to 14 nights out of five homeports.
 
The new Celebrity Silhouette, launching in 2011, will sail from Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey, from November 2011 to April 2012, alternating Southern and Eastern Caribbean voyages of 12 nights.

Carnival Dream offers high-energy laser show

Carnival Cruise Lines’ new 130,000-ton Carnival Dream will introduce the line’s first outdoor laser shows that will combine the latest in laser technology with rock music to provide guests a unique and exciting nighttime entertainment option.

Carnival Dream’s laser shows will be the first ever for a North America–based cruise ship.

The 15-minute nighttime laser shows will feature choreographed lasers projecting brilliant aerial patterns of blue, red and green set to music by popular artists such as Styx, Rush, Van Halen, Boston and Pink Floyd. 

Smoke machines will be used to enhance the laser light effects in the starry, moonlit sky, creating an ideal setting for guests to relax on Carnival Dream’s expansive open deck.

New New York hotel offers Lennon tickets

The MAve, a modern boutque hotel, opened in New York City July 2, including complimentary tickets for John Lennon: The New York City Years at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex for guests who choose a one-night rock star swift stay.

The Lennon exhibit showcases rare or never-seen artifacts, films, and music commemorating Lennon's life in New York City.

Melding iconicism, creative flair, and New York cool, The MAve is at 62 Madison Avenue in the Flatiron District. In 24 hours, guests can have a quick treat at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, visit the Empire State Building at night for an unforgettable view of the city and linger into the early morning hours in a cozy lounge, all within walking distance of the hotel.

“Lucy” Fossil travels to New York City

The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia will open in Times Square on June 24. The icon of paleoanthropology— the famous 3.2 million-year-old hominid known as Lucy — will be on display through Oct. 25, 2009.

“Recent scientific research conducted on Lucy illustrates that she still has stories to tell,” said Dirk Van Tuerenhout, curator of anthropology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. “Even though she lived more than 3 million years ago, Lucy continues to give us clues about what it means to be a human.”

With 40 percent of her skeleton intact, Lucy remains the oldest and most complete adult human ancestor retrieved from African soil. Other important paleoanthropological discoveries will also be represented including an overview of known fossils discovered in Africa, Asia and Europe which completes the current account of human evolution as it is known to scientists today, setting the stage for a more in-depth presentation of the importance of Ethiopia’s fossil record. 

Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia opens at Discovery Times Square Exposition™, a new state-of-the-art exhibition in the former printing presses building of The New York Times at 226 West 44th Street.