Fundraising cruise will benefit MS Society

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/03/2005 (7757 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CARLSON Wagonlit Travel and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada are organizing a fundraising Panama Canal cruise aboard the Celebrity Summit next February. The 14-day cruises departs Los Angeles Feb. 12 and arrives in Fort Lauderdale Feb. 26.

For every cabin sold, a $150 charitable donation will be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Early booking group prices start at $2,295 per person, double occupancy, and include the cruise and one pre-cruise night at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton. Air fare is extra.

A presentation on the cruise will be held Wednesday at the Canad Inn, 1824 Pembina Hwy. at 7 p.m. Admission to the presentation is $3. Call Christine at 946-1559 by Tuesday to reserve a seat.

See www.cwtgroups.ca

CBC Museum unveils Happy Gang exhibit

THE CBC Museum in Toronto has a new exhibit on the Happy Gang, the Monday-to-Friday lunchtime radio show that ran for 22 years and featured popular songs and corny jokes. In 1937, the Happy Gang troupe of musicians, led by singer-pianist Bert Pearl, made their first broadcast on station CRCT, a CBC affiliate in Toronto. The show moved to the CBC network four months later.

The exhibit pays tribute to “Canada’s first radio stars” with photos, an original scrapbook, fan letters, autographs and the Connsonata organ (circa 1947) that Kay Stokes played.

“Bert Pearl and The Gang provided a boost to the public’s morale during the war years and brought much entertainment to the show’s many fans throughout its lengthy run,” the CBC says.

The museum is the Canadian Broadcasting Centre at 250 Front St. West. Admission is free.

See www.cbc.ca/museum

Solos highlight Toronto festival

SOLO performances by both established and new artists are the theme of a three-week arts festival at Toronto’s Harbourfront beginning April 13.

With 19 mainstage productions, World Stage: Flying Solo offers “an abundance of virtuosity, ingenuity, physical prowess, versatility and agility,” organizers say.

Shows include Christian McKay performing the Canadian premiere of Rosebud: The Lives of Orson Welles, a hit at the 2004 Edinburgh Festival; Alon Nashman’s performance of Kafka and Son, adapted from Franz Kafka’s Letter to His Father; British stand-up comedian Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure about wild places on the web; and Tim Crouch’s performance of My Arm, described as “a study of bloody-mindedness, modern art and how the things we do when we’re 10 stick with us for life.”

See www.harbourfrontcentre.com

London best place to eat, magazine says

THE British are not known for their fine cuisine, but Gourmet magazine’s March issue suggests that perhaps they should be.

“At this moment, London is the world’s best place to eat,” declares the magazine’s editor, Ruth Reichl. She says London is “a city filled with chefs at the top of their powers, and all they want to do is make their guests happy.”

The magazine’s cover story includes “London A to Z,” covering everything from breakfast — like herring roe on toast, or prunes and porridge, at St. John Bread & Wine (94-96 Commercial St.) — to “gastropubs” such as Anchor and Hope (36 the Cut) or the Coach and Horses (26-28 Ray St.), where you can get good food along with your beer.

Reichl’s favourite coffeehouse is revealed as the Monmouth Coffee Co. at 27 Monmouth St., and the magazine also offers recommendations for eating outdoors, including Luscious Organic at 240 High Street Kensington, or Cafe in the Garden at Russell Square.

Indian restaurants such as Amaya at 19 Motcomb St. and the Painted Heron at 205-209 Kennington Lane are listed as well, along with cooking schools, hip bars, best food stalls at various markets, and post-theatre dining.

China’s wonders compiled at website

SOPHISTICATED travellers who’ve compared their favourite destinations against the Hillman Wonders of the World — an online list compiled by travel writer Howard Hillman — can now check out their knowledge of China’s wonders.

Hillman has created a 63-page guide to China at www.hillmanwonders.com/china and he’s revised his list of 1,000 wonders to include his take on that country’s most glorious destinations. China earned 60 spots on the Wonders of the World list, more than any other country, with wonders like the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Hong Kong Harbour, cruising the Li and Yangtze rivers, and the Qin Terra Cotta Warriors.

Italy earned the second-highest number of hits on the list, followed by the United States, India, France, Japan, Spain, Germany, Egypt and Greece. Hillman is the author of 25 books and an avid traveller.

Outdoors magazine lauds females guides

DO you think of working as a hunting and fishing guide as a mostly male occupation? The March issue of Outdoor Life profiles five of the best guides in North America — all of whom happen to be women.

Heidi Gutfrucht, a guide in northwestern British Columbia between the Stikine and Iskut rivers, has never missed a day of hunting in 25 years, according to the magazine. Maine-based fishing guide Bonnie Holding hosts fly fishing clinics for women recovering from breast cancer.

Alisha Rosenbruch-Decker is featured on the cover of the magazine in her native Alaska, where she specializes in trophy brown bear and sheep hunts. Niki Atcheson of Butte, Mont., grew up hunting dangerous game in Africa, while Dusty Byrd, an Alaskan guide, specializes in drift boat trout and char fishing.

Spring break tips: skiing, climbing, sledding

LOOKING for a new spring-break destination? Consider these recommendations from the March issue of Outside magazine.

Spring skiing — not to mention snowboarding and dogsledding — is big in Crested Butte, Colo., where Crested Butte Mountain Guides (www.crestedbutteguides.com) offers a four-day “Spring Break Blast” in the backcountry, complete with alpine hut.

Tulum, Mexico, is just 90 minutes from Cancun but you won’t have to share the beach here with everyone else on spring break. And the Mayan ruins are spectacular.

Joshua Tree National Park in California offers world-class rock climbing and a secluded desert playground just 250 kilometres from Los Angeles. A beginner’s course in climbing is offered from Vertical Adventures (800-514-8785).

Finally, Cabarete in the Dominican Republic is known as a kiteboarder’s paradise, and the downtown strip is jammed with bars, restaurants, hotels and the beat of merengue music.

New hotel in the DR offers extreme sports

AS interest in extreme sports — challenging physical activities like mountain biking, rock climbing and skateboarding — grows, so do options for participating.

Extreme sports fans have their own hotel now, the flagship for a chain that will be devoted to this type of recreation. The hotel, called EXtreme Cabarete, opened recently in Cabarete on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The area is world-renowned for kiteboarding, which involves sailing through the air in a harness attached to a kite propelled by the wind.

The new hotel will also have a below-ground skateboard ramp, and it’s minutes from Encuentro Beach, a favourite among surfers. Scuba diving, river-rafting and other outdoor activities are all available in the area. . The company plans to open other hotels around the world over the next few years.

See www.extremehotels.com

North Carolina holds mountain sports fest

ASHEVILLE, N.C., is gearing up for the annual Mountain Sports Festival, scheduled for April 29-May 1. Events include mountain biking, road biking, paddling, adventure races and skateboarding. The three-day event draws nearly 20,000 people.

See www.exploreasheville.com

Spring comes early to Frisco arboretum

SPRING comes early in San Francisco, and March is the perfect time to visit the Strybing Arboretum, a 22-hectare horticultural oasis in Golden Gate Park.

The arboretum has 26 separate gardens with 7,500 varieties of plants from around the world, from brugmanias in the South American collection to the new Australian garden’s lilly-pilly tree, which bears edible purple fruit. The magnolias will also still be in bloom in March, and the rhododendron flowers will be on their way.

Admission to the arboretum is free. It’s open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends and holidays. Call 415-661-1316 for details or visit www.sfbotanicalgarden.org.

Compass is compiled by Paul Pihichyn from press releases, wire service reports and personal contacts. Fax 204-697-7412; e-mail paul.pihichyn@freepress.mb.ca