Posts in the category "Festivals":

On the first Sunday of each month, the terminal at Düsseldorf International Airport turns into an event space. One Sunday last winter a circus showed up. Last month, it was a platoon of chefs.

This coming Sunday, it will be dancers.

During “Dance Terminal, Dance, ” professional dancers will descend on the airport to teach and perform Latin dance moves and compete in a dance tournament.

Travelers can watch the championship tournament, take a turn on an airport dance floor or join a workshop in Salsa, Merengue, Disco, Neotango, Bachata, West Coast Swing or Dirty Dancing.  There will also be a kids’ disco and performances by a variety of dance groups, including Step Dance World Champion Bernd Paffrath.

So when was the last time you danced at the airport?

Categories: Airports, Entertainment, Events, Festivals, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Layover, Music
No Comments »

Some airports are pulling out the stops this summer and throwing parties for travelers.

One example: Miami International Airport is hosting themed weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) events from noon to 3 pm through the end of August.

Havana-themed party at MIA to feature dominoes tables

This weekend’s theme is Havana Nights and will include domino tables, mojito demonstrations, a DJ, rumba dancing and cigar rolling.

MIA Havana-themed party to feature cigar rolling

August 6-9 it will be a Miami-themed Kids Weekend.  August 13-16 will focus on music. And from August 20-23 get ready for a flamenco dance show, Latin food sampling, photo opportunities, games and more.

Flamenco dancing coming to Miami Airport

Photo courtesy National Endowment for the Arts Millennium Project, via Flickr Creative Commons.

All photos courtesy Flickr, via Creative Commons.

Categories: Air Travel, Airports, Entertainment, Events, Festivals, Fun Stuff, Kids, Layover
1 Comment »

Stop by any weekday at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and chances are you’ll hear some really great local music. Austin is just chock full of great musicians (“You can’t spit without hitting a Grammy winner” is how someone once explained it to me) and the airport takes advantage of that with four post-security performance spaces and eleven live performances each week.

Next week, from Monday, July 19^th through Friday, July 23^rd, it’s “Kid Band Week,” with performances scheduled from 3:30 to 5:30 pm at the airport’s Asleep at the Wheel stage at Ray Benson’s Roadhouse by Gate 10.  If you’re around, you should definitely check it out.

Here’s the line-up:

Monday: The Peterson Brothers Band: blue music from brothers Glenn (13) and Alex (11).

Hide Away (By Freddie King) Live @ Momo’s

Peterson Brothers Band

Tuesday: 15-year-old bassist and vocalist Livvy Bennett.
“Bennett is a member of Aftermath, an Austin band that won the first SchoolJam USA National Teen ‘Battle of the Bands’ contest January in Anaheim, Calif.  At the event, Bennett was named “Best Bassist.”

Wednesday: The Aviators. The classic rock group is made up of six students, age ten to thirteen, from the Natural Ear Music School.

Introducing the Aviators!

The Aviators

Thursday: The Apple Trio, an all-girl string trio.

And Friday: The Fireants, the group that won “Best Teen Band” at the 2008-2009 Austin Music Awards.

Fireants “Frankenstein” Edgar Winter Cover

Fireants

Categories: Entertainment, Festivals, Fun Stuff, Kids, Music
No Comments »

On the first Sunday of each month you’ll find a party or some sort of unusual event going on in the vast public lobby area of Dusseldorf International Airport (DUS).

Last Christmas it was a circus, complete with aerialists and clowns. Last month, the airport was the site of the 2010 German’s best parkour championship. And during the winter Olympics, they trucked in snow and built the world’s largest indoor ski jump right there in the lobby.

What’s on tap for this month’s “Airlebnis,” or air experience?

On July 4^th from 11 am until 6 pm, the airport will be hosting a food festival at the airport.

Open to travelers and the general public, “The Terminal Cooks” will include celebrity cooking shows and the opportunity to sit down at one of two long dining tables for a 6-course gourmet meal.

No time to dine? The ‘air experience’ will include cooking classes and lectures on everything from cocktail mixing and sushi rolling to table etiquette and napkin folding.

Categories: Airports, Etiquette, Events, Exhibits, Festivals, Food, Fun Stuff
No Comments »

Here’s great news for anyone who finds themselves stuck at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on the weekend.

The Observation Deck at the top of the Theme Building, which has been closed since 9/11, will finally re-open to the public this Saturday.

(A view of the old version of the observation deck; courtesy LAX. New version: under wraps!)

There will be a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday morning (June 21, 2010) but the official public hours of the deck will be Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Go take a look through the new telescopes and enjoy the view!

Orlando Airport getting Google-ized?

According to this story in the Orlando Sentinel, the Orlando International Airport (MCO) is in discussion with Google for a two-year deal in which Google would pay the airport more than $100,000 a year to sponsor the existing (free) airport Wi-Fi and provide a variety of other amenities, including free Internet kiosks for passengers traveling without laptops and phone booths at the international gates offering free long distance calling.

Sounds like Google is talking to other airports about this same sort of ‘experiment,’ but no word yet on where.

And this sounds like fun:

(courtesy Hot Rod)

This Saturday (June 19^th, 2010) Kansas City International Airport will be hosting its fourth KCI Cruise. Not a sailing ship cruise, but the sort of cruise where hundreds – in this case up to 500 – owners of classic, muscle and special-interest automobiles gather in a parking lot to show off their cool cars.

The event runs from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. (weather permitting; wouldn’t want anything to happen to those cars!) and money raised from the sales of donated food and prizes will go to area charities. The prizes are nothing to sneeze at. They’ll be giving away Frontier Airlines tickets, Chiefs and Royals tickets, Justin Bieber concert tickets (!), hotel stays and more. For more details and for directions to the event, see the KCI Cruise page on the Kansas City International Airport website.

Categories: Airports, Architecture, Events, Festivals, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Layover, Observation Decks, Openings, Wi-Fi, free Wi-Fi
No Comments »