| Snoozing in a luxury spa
Sleep has become the bottled water of the hospitality industry. It might be readily available for free, but hotels have been investing millions as they compete to provide guests with the dreamiest night’s rest ever. You can now slip between cashmere sheets costing thousands of pounds at the Principe di Savoia, in Milan; or choose from a 20-strong pillow menu at Frégate Island, in the Seychelles (including an antiageing one infused with vitamin E, and an eco-friendly version made from buckwheat spelt). It’s possible to engage the services of a sleep concierge at the Benjamin, in New York, and snuggle up on a mattress costing £14,000 at Cotswold House, in Gloucestershire. You can even do a Victor Kiam: Westin sells its Heavenly Bed mattresses from £1,200; adding the linen, pillows and duvet cover with overstuffed polyester insert will cost from £2,200.
12th Biennial Stonewall Jackson Symposium April 18-20
Students and scholars of the American Civil War and fans of Thomas J. “Stonewall" Jackson are gathering in Lexington, Virginia for the 12th Biennial Stonewall Jackson Symposium sponsored by the Stonewall Jackson Foundation on April 18 – 20, 2008. Registration for this popular event closes on April 7, 2008. The Stonewall Jackson Symposium will open on Friday night with a keynote address by D. Jonathan White, of Northport, Alabama, who walked the route of Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign in real time last spring. The program continues throughout the day on Saturday with presentations by John Coski, of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, speaking about items in the museum's collection associated with “Stonewall" Jackson; Dale Harter, of Bridgewater College, speaking about Jackson's protégés Raleigh Colston and J.R.
adult honors
WOMEN RECOGNIZED: Dr. Ferris Olin of Princeton and Jeanne M. Fox of New Brunswick are among the recipients of the 2008 Equality Awards announced recently by the Alice Paul Institute.
The awards honor individuals who have demonstrated a strong and long-standing commitment to advancing women's equality in New Jersey and the Delaware Valley through advocacy, litigation, business leadership, education, scholarship or artistic expression, said M. Elaine Jacoby, chair of the Alice Paul Equality Awards Committee. The awards will be presented at a gala dinner at 6 p.m. April 30 at the Hyatt Regency, Princeton. The Alice Paul Equality Awards are named in memory of Alice Stokes Paul (1885-1977). Fox was honored for her commitment to women's equality through lifelong mentoring, advocacy, promotion and support of women in both her professional and civic careers.
Chorale, brass ensemble featured in hymn festival
VALPARAISO | The Valparaiso University Chorale, which recently completed a 10-day West Coast tour, will be featured with the acclaimed Alice Millar Brass Ensemble during the David G. Truemper Memorial Concert on April 1.The fifth annual Truemper Memorial Concert is being performed in conjunction with Valparaiso's annual Institute for Liturgical Studies and begins at 8 p.m. in the Chapel of the Resurrection on campus.Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens and students. Call (219) 464-6950 to purchase tickets.This year's concert, exploring "The Church's Song in the Public Square," will feature the performance of a variety of contemporary hymns with commentary by the Rev. James Wetzstein, associate pastor at the university and an expert on liturgical art. New hymns from the recently-published worship books of both the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will be performed, along with Morten Lauridsen's "O Nata Lux," Samuel Barber's "Easter Chorale" and other works.The chorale is one of the nation's premier Lutheran collegiate choirs and earlier this spring presented the concert "Songs of Pain, Protest, Gratitude and Celebration: A Tapestry of Classical, Global and Gospel Psalmody," during the Central Division Convention of the American Choral Directors Association.
Halsey Institute to Host 'Young Contemporaries 2008'
The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston's School of the Arts will host the 23rd annual juried student art exhibition "Young Contemporaries 2008" today through April 25. There will be an opening reception today from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Halsey. "Young Contemporaries 2008" is co-sponsored by the Halsey Institute, the Department of Studio Art, and the College of Charleston's Visual Arts Club. "This year's juror is Marc Trujillo, an urban landscape painter whose work borders on photo-realism. The artist depicts the big-box retail stores, self-service gas stations, and fast-food chains that make up a large portion of the urban landscape," says Mark Sloan, the Halsey's director. Trujillo lives in Los Angeles. The Studio Art Department at the college offers instruction in painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and photography.
Another Record-Setting Year for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo(TM)
The 2008 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo celebrated another great year of agriculture, education, entertainment and Western heritage. The 76th annual Show featured several new attractions, including the Vintners Corral wine garden, where visitors could taste award-winning wines from the Shows International Wine Competition; the Sky Ride, which took carnival-goers 65 feet above Reliant Park; two new miniature cattle shows; and a public speaking contest for students. RODEOHOUSTON(TM) Super Series -- The top 50 cowboys and cowgirls in each of seven events were invited to participate in the second year of the RODEOHOUSTON Super Series, competing for a share of more than $1.3 million in prize money, the richest purse in regular-season PRCA rodeo.
|
