Entertainment

Souvenir Sunday at Spokane Int’l Airport

Airplanes, Airport shops, aviation, Entertainment, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs, , ,

Toaster plane at Spokane Airport

Traffic was slow heading into Spokane International Airport on Friday because most drivers had their eyes on the sky.

I don’t blame them: the USAF Thunderbirds and other military flight demonstration teams were practicing for this weekend’s Skyfest 2010 at Fairchild Air Force Base.

Skyfest 2010 Fairchild Base air show

Inside the airport, flights were delayed while practice flights took place. So there was plenty of time to shop for souvenirs.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t in the concourse with the Simply Northwest store, which is filled with a wide variety of local and regionally made items such as wine, chocolates and Bumble Bars.

Bumblebars at Spokane International Airport Simply North shop

Nope, I was in the other concourse. The one with just a small souvenir section in the newsstand.

But, lucky for me, there was a shelf filled with one of our favorite Souvenir Sunday categories:  Candy “poop.”

I’m really not sure what makes this an appealing food or souvenir item, but we’ve seen Cardinal Poop (Indianapolis), Pelican Poop (Fort Myers, FL) and Armadillo Droppings (throughout Texas).  So it’s no surprise that at Spokane International Airport, there’s an entire shelf of Moose Poop and Bear Poop.

Souvenirs at Spokane Int'l Airport

Next time you’re stuck at the airport, check out the souvenirs. If you find something that’s about $10, is “of” the city or region and is a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. Your souvenir may end up featured on Souvenir Sunday at StuckatTheAirport.com. And if it is, you’ll get a fun souvenir from us.

Tidbits for travelers: Free stuff at Vancouver Airport; fresh art at Tucson Airport

Art, Entertainment, Events, Exhibits, Free Stuff, , , ,

Welcome Poles Vancouver Airport artwork

If you have a choice about when to travel to or through Vancouver International Airport (YVR) this summer, choose a Friday.

YVR is entertaining pretty much anytime, but this summer, the airport is throwing Take Off Friday parties with face painting, DJ’s, and free treats and samples from airport shops such as Daniel Le Chocolate Belge and the Absolute Spa.  You can also enter a sweepstakes to win weekly prizes such as a tour of the airport or a night at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, where many of the (very soundproof) rooms have great views of the airfield.

The party takes place each Friday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. through the end of August in the Departures Level of the Domestic Terminal.

While you’re there, be sure to check out YVR’s free, pre-security observation area and all the great art.

JADE CANOE VANCOUVER AIRPORT BILL REID

(YVR photos courtesy Vancouver International Airport)

And if you’re at Tucson International Airport (TUS) any time before September 30th, 2010, make your way to the Center Gallery to see Peter Kresan’s photographs.

Kresan specializes in nature, desert landscapes, national parks and monuments, with special attention to geological features. The work on display features Arizona locations, including images of Sonoran desert wildflowers, Mexican poppies and the Sacred Datura flowers at the Grand Canyon.

Tucson Airport photos by Peter Kresan

Chock stone in the Dive of the Buckskin Gulch. Paria Canyon, Northern Arizona.

Tucson Airport Peter Kresan photos

An aerial view of Monument Valley in northeastern Arizona
and on the border with Utah.  Most of Monument Valley is in Arizona and is part of the Navajo Reservation.

Thanks, Peter, for sharing your photos.

Kid Bands return to Austin-Bergstrom Airport (AUS)

Entertainment, Festivals, Fun Stuff, Kids, Music, , , , , ,

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 19th through Friday, July 23rd, 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

Free Wi-Fi & fresh art at Philadelphia Int’l Airport

Art, Entertainment, Events, Exhibits, Free Stuff, free Wi-Fi, Music, Wi-Fi, , , ,

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has kicked off its summer-long “Just Plane Fun” program and well, it looks like fun.

Guy at laptop

Last week, just in time for the busy 4th of July holiday travel weekend, PHL announced that the airport-wide Wi-Fi service would now be free.

Now that’s fun!

This week? Well, there’s not much that can match free Wi-Fi for excitement, but on Wednesday there will a CPR/AED (Automatic external defibrillator) workshop.  And on Thursday and Friday – live music.

For times and locations, see the PHL website.

What’s next? Throughout the summer, travelers are promised art demonstrations, pep rallies with local pro sports teams and team mascots and, our favorite, free stuff.

Last week, the airport also unveiled a new art exhibit honoring the Liberty Bell.

PHL Mayor Nutter art exhibit

(Philadelphia Mayor Nutter was at PHL for the exhibit opening)

Picturing Liberty: Philadelphia’s Legendary Bell includes 50 black and white photographs about the history and legacy of this iconic American item. The exhibit is in Terminal A-East, post-security through June 2011.

Free classical concert at Orlando Airport; free terminal tour at San Jose Airport

Air Travel, Airports, Architecture, Art, Design, Entertainment, Exhibits, Power Outlets, Seating, , , , , , ,


As part of its Liberty Weekend festivities, the Orlando International Airport (MCO) will present a free concert by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert will take place at 8 pm, on Saturday June 26, 2010 in the atrium of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, which doubles as the public lobby area for gates 60 to 129.  All attendees will get three hours of complimentary airport parking.

Saturday June 26th and Sunday June 27th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, unticketed visitors are invited into Silicon Valley’s Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) for a sneak peek at the new high-tech Terminal B.  The new building includes seating areas with built-in power ports and public art that includes German multi-media artist’s Bjoern Schuelke’s Space Observer, an interactive, two-story tall robot-like structure with three legs and propeller-equipped arms.

San Jose Airport public art "Space Observer"

(Watch a Space Observer movie.)

Registered visitors will be able to walk through the terminal, see the art, buy a souvenir and enter drawings for prizes that will include airline tickets and travel packages.

If you plan on visiting the terminal, you’ll need to register in advance on the SJC website by Wednesday, June 23rd and pick the day and time you want to stop by.

In the meantime, here’s a link to a great photo slide show of the San Jose Airport through the years from The Mercury News.

Parkour Championship at Düsseldorf International Airport

Airports, Contests, Entertainment, Events, Fun Stuff, , ,

If you’re going to get stuck at a German airport, try to make it Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS) on the first Sunday of the month.

That’s when DUS has is its “Airlebnis” (air-experience) events and if you were there yesterday, Sunday, June 6, 2010, you would have seen athletes and visitors literally bouncing off the walls – and everything else  – as DUS became the obstacle course for the  German Parkour Championship.

What’s Parkour?  Take a look at this:

There area oodles of other parkour (freerunning) videos on the web, but you get the picture… this is a really zany, potentially dangerous, but really fun-looking sport. But what kind of sport exactly?

According to Parkour US:

“Parkour or l’art du déplacement is NOT an extreme sport, rather it is a physical discipline that allow one to overcome their obstacles to get from point a to point b in the most efficient using the possibility of human body. Such movement may contain running, jumping, climbing, vaulting and other movements that may help the efficiency.”

At DUS, Parkour competitors – traceurs – were tested in two categories: speed and style, including “execution, flow, creativity, level of difficulty, and overall showmanship” and participants included the current world champion, a 15-year old from Germany.

The men and women who perform parkour make it look easy. So for novices who wanted to give it a try, there were professional instructors on hand to give lessons.

I’m waiting for the results of the championship and some photos from the day, so please be sure to check back. But in the meantime, I’m heading outside to practice.

Schiphol getting world’s first airport library

Air Travel, Airports, Delays, Entertainment, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Layover, Reading, , ,

Library at Strahov Monastery

(Strahov Monastery library, Prague. Photos courtesy Curious Expeditions , via Flickr)

Over the years I’ve heard from one or two US airports that were toying with the idea of letting their local library have a cart somewhere in the terminal where travelers could check out and return library books.

But so far, it seems nothing much has come of that.

Now comes word that, come July, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will have the world’s first airport library, complete with books, films and music. According to Radio Netherlands:

As the airport library is a place where people will pass time and then leave on their flights, visitors will not be allowed to take books, DVDs or other items away. There will, however, be a separate ‘download room’. A new device will allow visitors to not only watch films, but also to download them to mobile phones.

A brilliant idea! Hopefully other airports will team up with local libraries and do the same.

And, for fun and inspiration, take a look at this Librophiliac Love Letter from Curious Expeditions – a round-up of some of the world’s most beautiful libraries. Schiphol’s new library may not end up looking like any of these, but I bet they’ll create something quite inviting.


Jazz in the Atrium series at Atlanta airport

Entertainment, Events, Festivals, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Music, , , ,



(The Eldridge Simms Jazz Quintet during 2009 Jazz in the Atrium music series. Photo courtesy ATL)

The 33rd annual Atlanta Jazz Festival is taking place throughout the month of May, with a giant 2-day festival Memorial Day weekend in Piedmont Park and, for lucky travelers, two weeks of live jazz performances at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

ATL’s ninth annual Jazz in the Atrium music series, featuring mostly local artists, will take place in the airport Atrium from 5-7 pm each weekend from May 17th through the 28th.

Here’s the line-up:

May 17 Tony Waters
May 18 Charles Marshall
May 19 After Hours Quintet
May 20 Darren Winters
May 21 Gary Harris

May 24 Trey Wright
May 25 Takana Miyamoto
May 26 Mike Blackburn
May 27 Joe Jennings
May 28 Eldridge Simms Jazz Quintet

Party at Pittsburgh International Airport

Air Travel, Art, Entertainment, Events, Exhibits, free Wi-Fi, Fun Stuff, Kids, , , ,

To celebrate five years of service to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), Southwest Airlines will be throwing a little party at its PIT gates starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Gate games and decorations are promised, but with Southwest, well, you never know quite what will happen.

Even without a Southwest party, Pittsburgh Airport has a few special amenities worth applauding.  There’s this giant  aluminum and iron mobile by Alexander Calder suspended over the air-side central atrium:

PIT also has free Wi-Fi, exhibits from The Andy Warhol Museum, a T-Rex model on loan from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and an exhibit honoring Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Miami International Airport

Art, Entertainment, Lounges, Restaurants, ,

If you’re going to be at Miami International Airport on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th), be sure to stop by the Corona Beach House Miami.  The new Corona-themed restaurant in the American Airlines Terminal, between Gates D23 & D24, will be having a kick-off party between 3 and 5 pm with a live mariachi band providing the music.

The restaurant offers a “mock vacation scene” with petrified palm trees and mosaic glass tile ceiling, and a menu that includes Corona beer cheese soup, braised pork shank carnitas and other authentic Mexican dishes.

And while you’re at MIA, be sure to look around at the airport’s temporary and permanent artwork, including Teresa Camozzi’s Temporary Altars, which are mobiles made of chiffon panels in the tradition of Tibetan Thankga paintings – portable references for meditation.

Look for these in the South Terminal J, East Elevator Lobby, near Club America.

The South Terminal is also now home to two giant murals Brazilian artist Carbyé created in 1960 for the American Airlines terminal at JFK.  The murals were set to be demolished along with that JFK terminal, but were rescued, repaired and relocated at MIA.