Travelsmartplanet

In 1984 an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC was an International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture. Of the 165 important paintings and sculptures mentioned, only 15 were created by women. The furor of this inequity started the Guerilla Girls movement to end gender and racial discrimination in museums everywhere . They created defiant and humorous pamphlets, videos, books and posters shown around the world. This call to action was to erase the double standard.

Founded in New York City in 1985, the Guerilla Girls movement has been challenging feminine bias in art, politics, film, and pop culture since then. The catalyst was a 1984 exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC which was an International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture. Of the 165 important paintings and sculptures mentioned, only 15 were created by women. The furor of this inequity started the Guerilla Girls movement of defiant and humorous pamphlets, videos, books posters, posted around the world. They had had enough of gender and racial discrimination in museums everywhere. This call to action was to erase the double standard. It took the US film industry’s  Academy Awards community until 2018 to get to the same place.

Not surprising as it is in Seattle, Wa, at the Museum of Pop Culture there is a section relating to the development of video games. Walk through this doorway and you can play some.

Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF) brings more than 150 international cutting edge films to RVA, plus industry panels, Q&As, live musical performances, red carpet awards, and entertainment mixers that usher the spirit of Hollywood into Virginia’s  Bowtie Cinemas, various music venues, and the historic Byrd Theater, a venue touted by USA Today as “one of the top 10 places to still see a movie in splendor in the United States.”

With more than 20 countries represented, the RIFF Official Selection consists of a diverse range of films (features and shorts), music videos, and screenplays across all genres.

RIFF is known for placing a heavy focus on music each year. The 2018 Festival will again include more than 50 music performances, industry networking events, panels, music business roundtable discussions, industry mixers, and more. On top of providing great entertainment from some of the music industry’s hottest talent, RIFF utilizes this area as a platform for filmmakers and musicians to forge new working relationships. Top awards will be given out across a variety of music categories during the annual red carpet awards.

Location: Various
Date: Mon, Apr 23, 2018 – Sun, Apr 29, 2018
Tel: 804-219-0675
rvafilmfestival.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitrichmondva.com

Festival Ballet Providence presents The Little Prince, based on the popular book written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, first published in 1943.

The charming fable tells the story of a young boy as he explores and makes sense of a strange new world after falling to Earth on a tiny asteroid. It’s a tender tale of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss.

This interplanetary exploration and adventure comes to life in this multi-media adaptation by choreographer Boyko Dossev, which includes an original video and stop-motion animation, bringing the story to life.

Admission includes post-show meet-and-greet where audience members have a chance to meet and mingle with the characters while enjoying complimentary milk and Seven Stars Bakery cookies.

Order tickets by phone: 401-353-1129 or Online

Location: FBP Black Box Theatre, 825 Hope Street, Providence, RI
Dates and Times: Sat. March 3: 4pm, Sun March 4: 1pm & 4pm,
Sun March 11: 1pm & 4pm
Tel: 401-353-1129
festivalballetprovidence.org/chatterBox.php
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: goprovidence.com

The excitement of the fashion runway come to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts this spring with Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style. showcasing highlights from the iconic designer’s 44-year career.

Drawn from the collection of the Fondation Pierre Bergé—Yves Saint Laurent,  and other private acquisitions, this impressive compilation offers an intimate and extensive view at the lifetime achievement of Yves Saint Laurent, one of history’s most avant-garde  and influential fashion designers.

Featuring 100 examples of haute couture and ready-to-wear garments—some never shown publicly before—this exhibition reveals Saint Laurent’s artistic virtuoso, as well as his working technique, and the origins of his design inspiration. Witness his immersive operative process from his first sketch and fabric selection to the various stages of production and fitting before a final garment was realized.

In addition to haute couture ensembles and ready-to-wear clothing, Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style also includes accessories, photographs, drawings, films, and video from the Fondation’s vast archive.

Photo by David Stover © VMFA

The exhibition traces the trajectory of Saint Laurent’s style as it developed over the course of his career, beginning in 1953 with the Paper Doll Couture House that he created when he was a teenager, the exhibition is a journey from his first days at Dior in 1958, through his groundbreaking designs in the 1960s and 70s and the splendor of his final runway collection in 2002.                            

Location:Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard, Richmond, VA 23220
Dates: Until August 27, 2017
Hours: Daily: 10 am – 5 pm, Thu & Fri: Until 9 pm
Tel: : 804-340-1405
vmfa.museum
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitrichmondva.com

William Wegman (American, b. 1943) is an internationally-renowned artist with a prolific career spanning five decades. He is well known for his photographs of his beloved Weimaraners, a collaboration that began with his dog, Man Ray, in Los Angeles in 1970.

The exhibition of William Wegman: Improved Photographs at Telfair Museums – Jepson Center for the Arts highlights his use of humor to find unexpected and surprising ideas within everyday objects and scenarios. So much fun to see the dogs all dressed up or in unusual poses all done with incredible artistry.

Included in the exhibition are drawings, paintings, altered photographs, 20 x 24 inch Polaroids and a selection of early videos from the 1970s to present day.  Across all these media, Wegman demonstrates a continual interest in working and reworking his imagery, thus “improving” it with his particular sense of logic and play.

On August 5th,  1 – 4pm,  is William Wegman Free Family Day at the gallery.  Say goodbye to the “dog days” of summer and kick off the start of the school year with a family day devoted to the art of William Wegman. Participate in gallery activities, make your own altered photos and postcards, and find out more about Savannah dogs available for adoption.

Photo Credit: William Wegman Eye-on, 1997 Color Polaroid 24 x 20 inches

Location: Jepson Center for the Arts, 207 West York St., Savannah, 31401
Date: Until Aug 13, 2017
Hours: Sun -Mon 12-5pm. Tues-Sat 10 – 5pm
Tel: 912-790-8800
telfair.org/wegman
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitsavannah.com

If you like to dip your toes into casino waters, head to the Hollywood Casino Perryville, the first gaming facility to open in the state of Maryland. Smaller in size, not too noisy  and a friendly atmosphere makes for a pleasurable experience.

With over 850 slots, there is a good mix of classic favorites and some of the newest technology. including the Ellen (Degeneres) video slot machine. There are also 20 tables highlighting classic casino games. They also offer off-track betting.

If you’re like us and prefer to do a little shopping instead of trying your luck, step inside the Rodeo Drive Gift Shop for a good selection of Maryland souvenirs, collectibles from Hollywood’s classic movies , unique gifts and souvenir Hollywood Casino items.

As for eats, the Celebrity Bar and Grill, casual dining venue, features a variety of entrees each with its own special flair. Celebrity Bar and Grill offers FREE live entertainment every Saturday night and weekly trivia contests and karaoke nights.

Guests must be 21 Years or older to enter the Casino, restaurants and shops.

Location: Hollywood Casino, 1201 Chesapeake Overlook Pkwy, Perryville, MD 21903
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Tel: 410-378-8500
hollywoodcasinoperryville.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: seececil.org

Why not get away with your family to Almonte, ON, just west of Ottawa . The very first reason is that Ed Atwell of Healthy Food Technologies (hft) has figured out how to make low-fat donuts that are scrumptious. He “tricks” the donuts by frying them (in zero trans fat oil) for 1/2 the time and then baking them at the same temperature. Watch the video to see him explain the process he invented.

Now take a walk around the corner and pick up your to-go-with coffee at fair trade high quality Equator Coffee Roasters. They roast the beans right there, having bought them from small-scale farming communities and paid the farmers well. Do not  miss the Oh-so-Canadian maple-flavored latte. It’s worth driving there just for that! Kids can enjoy the hot chocolate.

Next you can pick up snacks for the car or yummies to take home at Dandelion Foods co-op before a 45 min. drive to Wheelers Pancake House and Maple Sugar Camp. D
andelion Foods co-op sells whole, local and organic foods and some for specialty diets. Here you can buy the famous Hummingbird chocolate bars favored by Prime Minister Trudeau. Note the PB & Joy (with peanut butter) and the spicy Mayan.  Please bring back the Empire Cheese caramelized onion cheddar cheese for me.

For lunch and fun, at Wheelers Pancake House you can visit the Maple Museum and the Chainsaw & Logging museum and the kids can have fun in the playground. Handy men and women will be mesmerized by Mark Wheeler’s dad Vernon’s collection of hundreds of chainsaws. Everyone will enjoy his “largest collection of pure maple syrup artifacts” which help explain the history of the maple sugar industry. From First Nations wooden spigots to the plastic lines of today, syrup pour-ers, molds, pails, and everything else related to this sweet topic, it’s all here at this 38-year family business. Don’t forget to leave room for the freshly made pancakes and delicious syrup right from their trees.

For the grand finale, we visited Keith and Elizabeth Adam’s alpacas and llamas at their  Serendipity Farm. For retirement they decided to raise alpacas for the fun of it. The couple exudes their enjoyment of spending their golden years with these elegant, fluffy friends. They’ll chatter about the little quirks of each of the animals as well as the work associated with raising them.

Alpacas produce fiber that is as fine as cashmere, soft, silky and much warmer than sheep’s wool, while also wicking moisture away from the body.
In their little shop you can buy scarves, gloves, purses, as well as fiber felted sheets, alpaca and fiber rovings and handspun yarn.

Leave some time too for the local shops which wind their way along the downtown streets. Yes there’s plenty to do in Lanark County for a low-key interesting getaway weekend. We are not sure how this area attracted so many hippie/free trade/entrepreneurial types who seem to care for the planet. You can feel virtuous spending time and money in this town.

Equator Coffee Roasters, 451-A Ottawa St, Almonte, ON K0A 1A0, Tel: 613-256-5960
www.equator.ca

Dandelion Foods, 541 Ottawa St, Almonte, ON K0A 1A0,  Tel: 1-613-256-4545
www.dandelionfoods.ca

Healthy Food Technologies, 25 Industrial Rd., Almonte ON  Tel: 613-256-9900
(HFT) https://www.facebook.com/HFTinc

Wheelers Pancake House and Maple Sugar Camp, 1001 Highland Line, McDonalds Corners(Lanark Highlands), ON K0G 1M0 Tel: 613-278-2090
www.wheelersmaple.com

Serendipity Farm Alpacas & Llamas,  929 South Lavant Rd, Lanark, ON K0G1K0  Tel: 613-259-3304 or 613-222-6303
www.serendipityalpacas.ca

www.lanarkcounty.ca

Colleton Museum & Farmer’s Market was re-purposed from a former grocery, the Colonial Food Store, and it explores the history of Colleton and is home to thousands of objects from Colleton County and South Carolina.

The outside window offers a peek into inside exhibits, like the old time general store, the story of the Tuskegee African American WWII pilots, animals of the ACE basin, a postcard and Coca Cola collection and local silhouette artist Canew Drew’s cutouts. We marveled at the shoe-fitting Adrian X-ray fluoroscope machine which showed you, your Mom and the salesman how the bones of your feet fit into your shoes.

You can watch a video about rice plantation culture and how the black slaves brought the techniques and tools that made their masters rich. See if you can find the snake, turtle and fish painted into the floor. There’s a gift shop and a yummy cafe. The range of exhibits are free and open to the public.

Location: 506 E. Washington St, Walterboro, SC 29488
Hours: Tues 12-6 pm, Wed-Fri 10-5 pm, Sat 10-2 pm
Tel: 843-549-2303
colletonmuseum.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions:
walterborosc.org