To celebrate Mother’s Day, many concessionsaires at O’Hare and Midway International Airports in Chicago will be offering discounts for mothers on Saturday May 7th and Sunday, May 8, 2011.

To prove you’re a mom, show a photo of your kid or kids (or any kid or kids… ) at the time of purchase and you’ll receive a 15% discount on selected food, beverage and retail items at participating concessions displaying this sign.

Categories: Air Travel, Holidays
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Mother’s Day is Sunday May 8th and volunteers at Jacksonville International Airport will once again be on duty handing out about 1000 red, white and pink carnations to moms passing through the terminal.

This flower thing has become a tradition at JAX airport.  Back in 2009, volunteers handed out carnations on Valentine’s Day and again on Mother’s Day and the response was so positive that they decided to keep going.

(From the George Eastman House collection, via Flickr Commons)

Jacksonville International Airport offers travelers some other nice perks year-round. There’s an art gallery that hosts a variety of temporary exhibitions and permanent art that includes the work of Gregor Tuck, who cataloged the wide variety of gendered pictograms and glazed them onto the tiles surrounding the restroom entryways on Concourse C.

And if your mother was here, you’d know what she’d say… “Go before you get on the plane…”

Categories: Airports, Art, Exhibits, Free Stuff, Holidays
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Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is participating in St. Louis’ Historic Soulard Mardi Gras celebration with a display of historic posters and the unveiling of five new Mardi Gras-themed rocking chairs.

The chairs were painted by local artists and will join the fleet of Lambert Rocks chairs.

The airport is also showcasing official Mardi Gras Posters that date back nearly 30 years.

Look for these colorful, festive displays in the lower level of Terminal 1 and the upper level of Terminal 2

“St. Louis Mardi Gras events began in February and will culminate with the River City Casino Grand Parade on March 5 and the Lumiere Place Light Up the Night Fat Tuesday Parade on March 8.”

Categories: Art, Exhibits, Holidays
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As I write this, there are still a few more hours left to Valentine’s Day here in Seattle, so I’m taking the opportunity to share a few tidbits from the day.

At Florida’s Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), volunteers continued their tradition of handing out Valentine’s Day carnations to arriving and departing passengers.  (They do this on Mother’s Day as well).

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum shared this cute Charles Lindbergh-inspired Valentine:

And, although it’s not polite to listen in to other people’s conversations, today while waiting in line at a coffeeshop, I overheard this heartwarming conversation between two men:

He #1: “So where are you taking your wife for Valentine’s Day dinner?”

He #2: “Nowhere. We went out yesterday.”

He #1: “So what? That was yesterday. Today is a new occasion.”

Categories: Fun Stuff, Holidays
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Flying somewhere for Valentine’s Day?

Consider visiting one of the “Surprisingly Romantic Places” I discovered for a slide-show story on Bing Travel.

There’s Verona, Italy, which is finishing up the annual Verona in Love festival today with love-themed concerts and dance performances, a heart-shaped market, a minute-long community kiss and free entry to historical sites, including Juliet’s home and tomb. For Valentine’s Day, the Juliet Club awards a “Dear Juliet” prize to the best of more than 5,000 letters that arrive in town each year seeking advice in matters of love.

In Atlantic City, where the slogan is “Always Turned On,” the Convention and Visitors Authority hosts a free Valentine’s Day group wedding, civil-union and renewal of vows ceremony. A champagne toast and wedding cake are included, but you’ll need your own New Jersey marriage or civil union license, available after a three-day mandatory waiting period.

Love doesn’t always last, but in Zagreb, Croatia, lost love is at least lovingly memorialized at the Museum of Broken Relationships. Two artists — they were once a couple themselves — curate a collection of memorabilia, love tokens and other items donated by those whose broken hearts are now, hopefully, on the mend.

Find more Surprisingly Romantic Places.

Categories: Holidays
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