Seattle is not just a great place to drink coffee, it’s a great place to make and hear music.

And you shouldn’t have to wait until you’re in the city to start your aural adventure.

That’s why I’m delighted to learn that this weekend Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
will be kicking off the Sea-Tac Airport Music Initiative.

The program will include overhead music featuring local artists such as Fences, Beat Connection and Allen Stone, along with local legends ranging from Ray Charles to Heart and Nirvana.

There will also be safety and informational announcements read by local musicians such as Ben Gibbard, LeRoy Bell, Macklemore, Jerry Cantrell and Sir Mix-A-Lot, and video segments on the terminal monitors.

But wait, there’s more:

The project will include a web-based music player available via the airport’s free WiFi and an Android mobile app, that will offer links to the music playlist, videos and local concert listings. (iPhone, Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry apps should be coming soon.)

It’s going to be party-time all the time at Sea-Tac.  So I hope the TSA doesn’t start pulling people out of line for dancing.

I’ll have lots more information shortly, but in the meantime, here’s a video of some of the music you’ll likely hear.

Categories: Events, Music
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The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport’s Terminal 1- Lindbergh turns 50 this month and, to celebrate, there are special events, shopping discounts and a call for travelers to share memories on the MSP Facebook page.

Here are few highlights:

“A marriage proposal in the rotunda at the F and G concourses. The guy got down on one knee right in the middle of traffic. The couple told us (Travelers assistance) that they had meet in the MSP Airport and that is where he wanted to propose. She said yes…..”

“I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, but moved up here in the early 70′s when I was in college. I recall at that time that the Lindbergh Terminal had pay toilets. $.10 to use a stall! …”

“I remember when they filmed Airport there- mom & dad brought me to the airport to watch them film the scene where Van Heflin buys the insurance at the little insurance kiosk, which was located in the upper level where the shops are all located now (If I recall correctly). Can’t watch the movie without recognizing ‘my’ airport.”

MSP has also posted some photos from its archive. My favorite is this one of the Beatles arriving at the airport in 1965.

And, if you read through the list of 50 ‘fun facts’ about MSP’s Terminal 1 – Lindbergh, you’ll learn that there was once both a drugstore and a children’s nursery in the Ticketing Lobby, that the first baggage carousels were installed in 1970 and that the pay toilets weren’t removed until the mid-1970s.

Categories: Airports, Events, Exhibits, History
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Free Wi-Fi on Delta Air Lines

From now till January 2, 2012 passengers on Wi-Fi equipped Delta airplanes will be able to use the in-flight Gogo Wi-Fi for free for 30 minutes each flight.

It is a partnership with eBay, so you can continue shopping on that one site for the entire flight.

More info on free Wi-Fi on Delta Air Lines here.

Holiday music at JFK and LGA airports

Jazz trios, quartets and quintets from the New York Pops orchestra and up to 25 members of the performance choir from the Choir Academy of Harlem will entertain American Airlines passengers with holiday music at LaGuardia and JFK International Airports during the next few weeks.

In LaGuardia Airport, performances will be in the Central Terminal Building, American Airlines Concourse D, Gate D5.

• Dec. 14, 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The New York Pops Jazz Trio
• Dec. 20, 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The New York Pops Jazz Trio
• Dec. 22, 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The New York Pops Jazz Quartet

At JFK International Airport, the concerts will be held in American Airlines Terminal 8, Concourse B Lobby by Gates 14 and 16.

• Dec. 16, 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The New York Pops Jazz Quintet
• Dec. 19, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Choir Academy of Harlem Performance Choir
• Dec. 20, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Choir Academy of Harlem Performance Choir
• Dec. 22, 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The New York Pops Jazz Quintet
• Dec. 23, 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The New York Pops Jazz Quintet

During their performances, The New York Pops will offer travelers an opportunity to win tickets to an upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall.

Photos with Santa

Southwest Airlines, Clear Channel Airports and Microsoft Windows are teaming up to offer free holiday photos with Santa at 19 airports around the country through December 24th.

Look for the holiday-themed kiosks , Santa and a “Windows 7 Elf” at some of the Southwest Airlines gates at these airports:

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
Detroit Metro Airport (DTW)
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
General Mitchell International Airport (MKE)
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL)
Logan International Airport (BOS)
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
Nashville International Airport (BNA)
Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC)
Oakland International Airport (OAK)
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
San Antonio International Airport (SAT)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
Tampa International Airport (TPA)

Categories: Airlines, Environment, Events, free Wi-Fi, Fun Stuff, Music, Wi-Fi
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Singapore’s Changi Airport is well-known for having a wide, wonderful and somewhat over-the-top array of attractions for travelers to enjoy while they’re stuck at the airport.

Among my many favorites are the giant indoor slide –

And the sunflower and butterfly gardens -

The airport goes all out during the holidays with floral displays and decorations and this year the airport has installed a series of giant topiaries (plants and shrubs grown and shaped into figures and structures) in the form of iconic landmarks from around the world. Look for the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, the Temple of Heaven, Singapore’s Merlion and others.

Categories: Art, Events, Holidays
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Feeling elfish? I am.

And this year I’m participating, once again, in a project called Passports with Purpose:  an ever-expanding group of travel bloggers who band together to raise funds for a great cause.

In 2010 the group raised more than $64,000 to build a village in India to improve lives of the Dalit (untouchable) population in India.

In 2009, almost $30,000 was raised to build a school in rural Cambodia (complete with a school nurse).

This year, the goal is to raise $80,000 to build two libraries for children in Zambia, through a partnership with Room To Read.

Contributions to the project are tax-deductible, but each $10 you kick in gets you an entry in a prize drawing for some incredibly cool and useful items; everything from hotel stays and airline tickets to electronics and travel gear.

I asked the folks at Minimus.biz to be my “prize partner” again this year.

So if you donate to the Passports with Purpose project, be sure to enter to win the Minimus.biz surprise box which is chock-full of at about $100 worth of essential, curious, luxury and really fun, travel-sized items.
(If that prize isn’t on the list yet, it will be shortly…)

Minimus.biz stocks travel-sized items in every category you can think of: food and beverage, household, pharmacy, cosmetics, toys & games, travel and survival. The first time I checked out the site I was looking for TSA-friendly hair care products, but I found a whole section of single-serving food products, travel-sized rolls of duct tape, toilet paper and seat covers, emergency supplies, a specialty boutique and themed kits like this one for germophobes.

Your donation of just $10 can really help. So please take a look at the project site and join me in making this year’s Passports with Purpose project a success.

Categories: Events
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