Disney’s Wedding Pavilion

Playing Your Song: Detroit Concert Venues Feature the Biggest Names in Music

Up for some music? Want to see your favorite music performer in action? Love the live experience of a concert? Detroit’s capacity for handling big crowds and drawing the biggest names in music makes it a prime destination for concert-goers. This is Motown after all – the city where the likes of Stevie Wonder and the Supremes launched their careers. Rising stars and local bands still find an enthusiastic welcome for music of all kinds in Detroit City.

Fox Theatre

The preservation of the Fox Theatre is one of Detroit’s proudest achievements. The 5,000-seat palace of the arts, arguably the most opulent in the nation when it opened in 1928, was designated a national landmark in 1989 after an $11 million renovation. The Fox is now busy with concerts, family-oriented shows and a wide variety of other offerings. It’s the anchor of the Theatre District and perhaps Detroit’s greatest civic treasure. In 2008, the Fox welcomes American pop band The Jonas Brothers; Grammy award-winning R&B, soul and jazz singer Jill Scott; and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, recipients of the 2007 Grammy award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, for the track Gone Gone Gone. Audiences can also catch big-name entertainers like comedians Chris Rock and Frank Caliendo.

Joe Louis Arena

Home of the 10-time Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings, Joe Louis Arena proudly stands along the banks of the Detroit River. The 20,058-seat arena is Detroit City’s largest indoor venue and regularly hosts exciting attractions, including professional sports, college hockey, concerts, circuses, and even Disney on Ice shows. The People Mover stops at its door, so concert goers can park elsewhere downtown and reach the arena quickly. The Foo Fighters are set to rock Joe Louis Arena in 2008. Def Leppard with REO Speedwagon and Styx will also make an appearance here and later in the year, Rush makes a stop at Joe Louis during their extended Snakes & Arrows World Tour.

Cobo Arena

Situated near the Detroit River, the Cobo Arena is one of Michigan’s finest event sites, entertaining national and international audiences for over four decades. While the Detroit Basketball Championships are held here, so are some of the greatest rock and roll concerts in the world – Slipknot, Madonna and KISS, to name a few. Contemporary bands such as Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Bush, Oasis, Blink 182, and the Goo Goo Dolls, as well as seasoned veterans like Bob Dylan play here. Cobo hosts several sporting and civic events, rallies, gatherings, and location shoots.

DTE Energy Music Theatre

Originally known as the Pine Knob Music Theatre, due to its proximity to the nearby Pine Knob ski area and golf course, the DTE Energy Music Theatre was renamed in 2001 when DTE Energy purchased the area’s premiere outdoor amphitheater. Despite this change, many people still continue to call the venue “Pine Knob” or “the knob.” Many of music’s greatest stars have performed at the theater, including Chicago and Eddie Money. The Detroit venue is also on some of the biggest tours of the summer concert season, including Ozzfest, Gigantour, and Reggae Sunsplash. Canadian power-trio Rush have regarded the DTE as their favorite venue to play in the United States. The blockbuster Police tour makes its stop at the DTE in the summer of 2008. Tim McGraw and Gingantour with Megadeath are also scheduled to appear during the May to September concert season.

Meadow Brook Music Festival

Located at Oakland University, the Meadow Brook Music Festival accommodates up to 8,000 in the expansive outdoor pavilion and lawn seating area. The Meadow Brook Music Festival is the official summer home of the renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra, in addition to being one of the top concert venues in Michigan, showcasing the musical talents of James Taylor and His Band of Legends in 2008.

Palace of Auburn Hills

Detroit’s premier auditorium-style concert venue is often referred to simply as the Palace, and is home of the Detroit Pistons and hosts numerous concerts and special events throughout the year. Some of the venue’s past big-name entertainers include Sting, David Lee Roth, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. In early 2008, the Spice Girls performed at the Palace as part of their reunion tour The Return of the Spice Girls to a sold-out crowd. The 2008 season also includes Avril Lavigne, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Santana, Kanye West, Tom Petty, and Celine Dion.

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Founded in 1914, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra is one of the United States’ most prestigious and accessible orchestras. In 2003, it launched the Max M. Fisher Music Center, a performing arts complex, which has become a popular venue for musical concerts of various genres, including some of the most popular jazz concerts in town. The Max houses the famous Orchestra Hall, the Music Box, Atrium, and Allesee Hall. Excellent acoustics and state-of-the-art facilities make every performance memorable. The Max also has facilities to host conferences, private concerts, banquets and weddings. The Chieftans, Ireland’s musical ambassadors, make their appearance at the Fisher in 2008, as well as five-time Academy award-winner John Williams, followed by New Orleans Jazz and the Mambo Kings.

Hotels in Florida

Florida is synonymous with entertainment and relaxation. Located in the south of United States in the heart of Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, Florida has everything to offer for the visitors; from beaches with extensive blue waves and white sand, to luxurious hotels and restaurants, to its famous and busy streets.

One of the most famous hotels in Orlando, Florida is the Clarion Hotel Universal, a fashionable 3-scale diamond hotel located in the popular International Drive resort area. This hotel offers exceptional personal service, comfortable and affordable accommodations, and in-room amenities.

The Clarion Hotel Universal is a family-friendly hotel that displays all the amenities thereby making it a favorite choice for families who go for vacation in Orlando, Florida. It has secure and kid-friendly surroundings and is a great location. Visitors with kids will surely enjoy the hotel’s promo “Kids Munch Free Program”, free accommodations for parents, and room for kids up to 18 years old with full American breakfast buffet, super Nintendo and video games in every room.

Clarion Hotel Universal is renowned for its great dining and friendly service with distinctive dining settings to satisfy every taste of their visitors. It features casual dining with a Caribbean flavor at the “Sharky & Jack Bar and Grille”.

As the consummate host, Clarion Hotel Universal offers 2,442 square feet of extensive finest meeting and banquet rooms and amenities, having ideal settings for any kind of sales presentation, group gatherings, business meetings, conference and event meets, gala social events, wedding receptions, reunions, holiday parties or any other special events.

Clarion Hotel Universal Accommodations:

?FREE shuttle transportation to Universal Orlando, Islands of Adventure, City Walk, Discovery Cove and Sea World Adventure Park.

?FREE full American breakfast buffet for kids aged less than 10 years as a part of this great hotel’s “Kids Munch Free Program”.

?FREE accommodations in parents’ room for kids up to 18 years old.

?FREE daily newspaper at the guest help desk.

?FREE high-speed wireless Internet access in public areas.

?303 recently-renovated luxury guest rooms, with 18 mini-suites and a wet bar, microwave oven, and refrigerator.

?Leisure rooms including a micro/fridge unit.

Pool and Sports facilities:

?A massive sun deck and a huge outdoor heated pool
?Two large whirlpool spas
?Lighted tennis court and basketball court
?Electronic game room

Meeting and Event Facilities:

?2,400 square feet of private meeting and banquet rooms ideal for business meetings
?Catering services
?Fax machine & photocopy and printing services
?High speed “wired” access in meeting rooms

Hotel Services:

?Self-service laundry facilities
?Same day valet laundry and dry cleaning

Transportation Services:

?Car Rentals: Enterprise Rental Car maintains an office in the hotel and offers a full line of automobile sizes and makes. Different size van rentals are also available.

?Free scheduled transfer bus transportation going to Universal Studio’s Escape, Islands of Adventure, and City Walk.

?Transfer bus services can be arranged to Walt Disney World, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom through the hotel’s guest services desk.

?Suitable and inexpensive way to explore and enjoy everything the International Drive Resort Area has to offer. I-Ride Trolleys operate year-round, seven days a week, from 7 in the morning up to 12 midnight, between Belz Factory Outlet World to Sea World with convenient stops along the way.

Location:

?Just off the world famous International Drive, across the street from Wet-n-Wild water park.

?Minutes to the Mercado shopping, Pointe Orlando, Belz Factory Outlet Malls, dining and entertainment pavilion, the New Mall at Mellienna, the Florida mall and many of the top attractions that put the “Magic” in Orlando.

?2 miles away from Orange County Convention center.

?9 miles away from Orlando International Airport.

?10 miles away from Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, MGM Studios, Epcot Center and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Enjoy A Botanical Paradise In The Middle Of St. Petersburg

These days the words “inner city” usually conjures up images of decay and desolation, but in St Petersburg the inner city is graced with a tropical paradise. It is the Sunken Gardens, the city’s oldest museum and the home of the oldest tropical plants in the region.

The Sunken Gardens is not only a nice place to stroll and enjoy the plants, it offers guided garden tours, horticultural workshops, special events, field trips and has become the venue for corporate and private events. Weddings are even held there.

The Sunken Gardens started out in 1903 when a St. Petersburg plumber, George Turner, purchased six acres and drained a lake using clay tiles. He then turned the rich soil into a garden that soon attracted neighbors and other visitors. Seeing this as an opportunity to make some extra cash he started charging five cents for admission. His family kept the operation going for three generations, improving the gardens and inviting visitors. Finally, in 1999 the City of St. Petersburg purchased the gardens and developed it as a prime cultural and educational center.

The site has a trail that covers one mile and it is full of tropical and sub-tropical plants. Almost all the plants have markers indicating the botanical name, the common name and their country of origin. In case you were wondering about the name, the gardens drop 15 feet below street level and hence it is called Sunken Gardens.

If you want more than a casual stroll through the gardens, then check out the calendar of horticultural workshops. You can learn how to grow orchids and roses in Florida, the basics of bonsai, pruning and propagating plants, and much more.

Local residents can also take advantage of the volunteer opportunities at the Gardens. Become a “Garden Assistant” and help maintain the grounds or you can lead visitors on guided tours or work during the special events and workshops at the Sunken Gardens.

The Sunken Gardens is also a choice spot for corporate and private events in St. Petersburg. The Museum’s Garden Room, a 2600 square foot room that can seat 175 people and its smaller Classroom are suitable for all kinds of events. Private parties, seminars, luncheons and retreats are just some of the events that have been held here. The Museum’s central location amidst shopping, hotels, restaurants and other downtown facilities makes it a convenient location for special events.

If you ever dreamed of getting married in a fairy tale location, the Wedding Lawn of the Sunken Gardens is the kind of place that you are looking for. You can get married on the lawn or under a canopy of shade trees in the Oak Pavilion and then hold your reception in the Garden Room.

The normal opening hours of the Sunken Gardens are Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Sundays noon to 4:30 p.m. Admission is as follows: Adults $8, Seniors (55+) $6, Children (2-11) $4. There is free parking on the site and the whole area is handicapped accessible. Sunken Gardens is located at 1825 Fourth Street North, St. Petersburg. For more information call 727-551-3102.

Wedding Bells In The Offing – Weddings In Florida

When you have decided on a destination wedding, Florida can be a great venue. The white, sandy beaches and tropical climate, coupled with breathtaking views of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico will certainly make a wedding in Florida an affair to remember, both for the wedded couple and their family and guests. There is a great deal of options available, and there are many event coordinators available to help you plan your wedding.  Whether you choose a formal wedding or an informal one, there are options available for all kinds of tastes and budgets â?? something that has made Florida weddings the most popular kind.

Here are some of the wedding opportunities in Florida:

Beach Wedding – With miles and miles of scenic coastline and ocean vistas , a wedding with a beach setting and theme is probably one of the most popular choices available for couples wishing to get married in Florida. There are plenty of options available even in the beach wedding â?? you have barefoot weddings, weddings scheduled at sunset or sunrise and you even have a wedding on water. Florida is the only state with a floating chapel for those who want to get married on water. The choice of decorations for the venue and the wedding cake is invariably based on shells and flowers. The wide choice in venues makes this type of wedding a favored one. In addition, there are personalized services on offer in addition to options for exchanging vows in the local tradition.

Resort Weddings â?? With the large numbers of resorts, weddings in Florida have only got easier to arrange. Resorts offer wedding packages with several options such as green weddings in which services are held in an eco-friendly manner in natural habitats, garden weddings and of course, the ubiquitous beach wedding. Such events are usually popular in the Florida Keys, the Panhandle and Southwest Florida, but there are resorts available all over Florida and you can have a wedding in the resort of your choice. Most resorts throw in a complimentary stay at the honeymoon suite for the newlyweds. There are resort weddings to suit all kinds of budgets and you need to look into what exactly you are going to get for the money that you pay before selecting a package.

Disney Weddings â?? When you are considering a wedding in Florida, can Walt Disney world stay out of your list? Yes â?? you can get married at the wedding pavilion in Walt Disney World or at one of the hotels or resorts run by the Walt Disney Corporation. There are beach, spa, resort and garden weddings in Florida on offer, with the guarantee of having a fairy tale wedding arranged for you down to the last detail.

Once you have your mind set on a wedding in Florida, you just need to choose one of the wedding planners operating in Florida to get started on planning your dream wedding â?? formal or informal, on water or on land. You can get married luau-style too, if you so wish!

Kid Stuff At The Epcot Flower Fest In Orlando

The whole family can enjoy the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, running at Walt Disney World Resort now thru May 16, 2010.

In fact, there is plenty of kid stuff at the Epcot Flower Fest in Orlando. While the adults are enjoying the amazing flowers and gardens, children will enjoy everything from creating their own coloring pages to fun-filled playgrounds.

The annual festival offers a variety of new adventures this year, including some new coloring stations at The Princess and the Frog Wedding Bayou.

Each station is placed near large cutouts of the characters in a beautiful garden setting. Kids can then use pre-printed pages to place on the stands and make crayon rubbings. Similar coloring page stations can also be found in the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden.

The crayon creations are only part of the fun for kids. When they complete a picture, they will also receive fairy and festival stickers along with cardboard crowns themed around The Princess and The Frog movie.

Another popular attraction for the children is daily storytelling. At 2 pm each day of the Festival, storytellers will help bring Disney characters to life by offering up a variety of adventurous tales.

Kids can also learn all about the water cycle when they reach the Water Wise Herbs & Vegetables display area. Each child is given coloring pages that explain the rain cycle while also providing instructions on how to create their very own rain gauge from a quart jar or two-liter plastic bottle.

Kids will get plenty of exercise just strolling around Epcot. But if you want them to work off a little extra energy, you’ll find a variety of exciting playground areas. The Let’s Get Moving play area offers to distinct play zones. One is specially designated for the younger ones, ages 2 to 5. The other half is for kids age 6 years and older. In addition to Disney music, there are also a number of Disney character topiaries surrounding the playground.

More play areas can be found in the France pavilion of the World Showcase when older children can expend their energies on a rope net, structures with tall walls, rock climbing and more. Meanwhile the younger ones will find another fun play area in the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden.

Spring is in the air so make plans for your Orlando family vacation and enjoy the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival at Walt Disney World Resort. For more informatin log on to http://www.orlandothemeparkvacations.com/

Broadcast Your Dream Wedding

These days many couples are whisking away to some pretty exotic places to say “I Do” Then there are those who don’t want to go exotic but still want to have their weeding in a beautifully romantic place, such as the Wedding Pavilion at the Grand Floridian Resort, Walt Disney World. While this sounds great to the excited couple, it may not be so exciting for those friends and family members who cannot join them.

Destination weddings have exploded to include a little over 15 percent of all weddings—quadrupling in under a decade. However, the problem of disgruntled guests and ultimately, empty seats, has remained steady.

Live video streaming services is now the answer to the problem of absent guests at the couple’s dream wedding by providing an inexpensive, uncomplicated technological solution. Now, live video streaming services can capture the wedding, during and after the actual ceremony.

When planning a wedding, the bride and groom of course get caught up in what they want. They have grandiose dreams what their perfect wedding should be like and where it should be held. Then, reality sets in. Suddenly brides and grooms realize that many invited guests cannot make it to the wedding due to travel costs, health concerns or conflicts. The number one reason many guests cannot attend is the high cost of travel. It doesn’t stop there though. Travel is not only expensive but if also requires many people to request time off of work, which becomes an issue as well. This huge realization ca often cause the couple to feel guilty for indulging in their dream wedding being held in a non-traditional location.

In today’s age of growing technology, it is now possible to broadcast the event live so those who are unable to attend can still be there, in a way. Keeping the technology simple, live video streaming services can be used worldwide and by both professionals and amateur videographers.

Those guests who cannot make the live event can receive information explaining the login protocol and reminding them of the date and time. If the guest forgets to watch in real time, the video is available for download moments after the nuptials are made.

With live video streaming services; there is no need for the bride and groom to feel guilty about the location they choose for their wedding. They can still have their dream wedding in any location they choose and be assured all guests will be able to experience the event.