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THE CALIFORNIA ZINFANDEL TRAIL

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ZINFANDEL ADVOCATES & PRODUCERS LAUNCHES THE CALIFORNIA ZINFANDEL TRAIL

The California Zinfandel Trail is Geared for Virtual and Live Exploration of Zinfandel

Website Tool Creates Travel Itineraries – ZAP Hosts Virtual Tours

The California Zinfandel Trail: EXPLORE CALIFORNIA – Find Your Flavor.

Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) announced that it officially launched The California Zinfandel Trail, as of March 29, 2021. Zinfandel lovers and the Zinfandel-curious now have a powerful new tool to explore wineries and plan custom itineraries. This new platform is designed to boost tourism and raise interest in wineries that produce America’s time-honored heritage wine, Zinfandel.

“Consumers and wineries alike will benefit from this fast-track connection directly to Zinfandel winemakers, featuring small production artisanal wines that are available to consumers only by visiting the winery in person or virtually,” according to ZAP Executive Director, Rebecca Robinson. “So many of these wines are from historic vineyards and come with wonderful, colorful family stories that are the fabric of American agricultural heritage,” she continues.

Mindful of travel restrictions due to the COVID 19 pandemic, virtual visits and tastings have been made available, in addition to the traditional in-person winery tastings and experiences. Visitors should contact wineries in advance about their latest visiting policies and experiences.

The Zinfandel Trail website includes an easy-to-use interactive map of California’s Zinfandel wineries for plotting and planning itineraries to vineyards across California. Here, visitors can explore Zinfandel winery experiences by region, such as vineyard and winery tours, specialized tastings, picnicking, food service, and pet-friendly policies. In addition to winery listings are featured winery to winery routes with beautiful Zinfandel vineyard images, regional travel blogs, points of interest, and winemaker stories.

In addition to the California Zinfandel Trail mapping website, ZAP is also creating virtual tours and tastings offered for sale to those wanting to sniff, swirl, and sip while enjoying a themed tour on Zoom hosted by travel experts. The first three-part series will begin in late April with a tour of Sonoma Valley, followed in May by sessions on Women in Wine and in June, Vineyard Tours.

Virtual Tour dates:

Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Tour | Thursday, April 29, 2021 – 4:00 p.m. PDT

HOST: Tim Zahner, Executive Director, Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau

Women in Wine Zinfandel Tour | Thursday, May 27, 2021 – 4:00 p.m. PDT

HOST: Lauren Mowery, Travel Editor, Wine Enthusiast Magazine

Zinfandel Vineyard Tours | Thursday, June 24, 2021 – 4:00 p.m. PDT

HOST: Paul Rubio, award-winning travel journalist AFAR, Conde Nast Traveler and more

The virtual sessions will provide photographic essays, interactive discussion, and in-depth guided tastings from three wineries based on each theme–the next best thing to visiting the wineries and vineyards in person.

Visit this website to learn more about the virtual sessions and secure your spot.

“This program gives us the opportunity to expand Zinfandel’s appreciation and reach through a new platform,” explains Robinson.

Over the last several years, ZAP has successfully reached millions of consumers to improve awareness and adoption of Zinfandel, America’s true heritage wine grape variety. The “Zinfandel Stories” and “Legendary Zinfandel Vineyards” campaigns were delivered with the aim to preserve, protect and continue to grow Zinfandel, both in the fields of California and as a wine category.

“Conditions are slowly improving for travel,” says Robinson. “We’re confident, based on our previous campaign successes, that we’ve got something special here, a unique tool that will last into the future, for when tourism rebounds.” Until then, we’ve developed what we believe are very entertaining, educational virtual sessions that will make people excited to hit The California Zinfandel Trail when they’re ready.”

About Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP)

Created for Zin lovers by Zin lovers, Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. ZAP is dedicated to advancing public knowledge and appreciation for American Zinfandel and its unique place in our culture and history. ZAP actively involves hundreds of wineries and thousands of enthusiasts. Together, ZAP is gaining a national and international understanding of Zinfandel as America’s grape, serving as an innovator and industry leader in the world of wine. ZAP members enjoy benefits throughout the year including access to ZAP’s Premier Winery Experience program. ZAP can be found online on their website, on Facebook and Twitter.

Funding for California’s Zinfandel Trail was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM190100XXXXG008. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.

Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago Extends Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit

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DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, LIGHTHOUSE ARTSPACE CHICAGO ANNOUNCES EXTENSION FOR IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH EXHIBIT THROUGH NOV. 28

Initial Block of Tickets Sold Out; New Block of Tickets on Sale Wednesday, April 7 at 10 a.m.

Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago, a new venue within Chicago’s recently renovated landmark Germania Club Building, today announced that due to popular demand the U.S. premiere of the blockbuster art experience Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit will extend its dates to November 28, 2021 after having sold out the current block of tickets. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, April 7 online and by phone at 844-307-4644.

Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago, a three-story facility located at 108 W. Germania Place, is dedicated to immersive art presentations, merging the boundaries between entertainment and culture to give visitors the sense that they are encountering art as never before. Utilizing the building’s Victorian Era architectural details, 35-foot-tall walls and multiple levels (including balconies), the venue will present vibrant immersive art exhibitions that surround the viewer on all sides.

The venue’s first presentation,Immersive Van Gogh, is a visually spectacular digital art exhibition that has received widespread critical acclaim. Immersive Van Gogh invites audiences to “step inside” the iconic works of post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh, evoking his highly emotional and chaotic inner consciousness through art, light, music, movement and imagination. The Italian creative team who pioneered digital experiences in Paris has created a custom design to fit the gracious Neo-Classical architecture of the exhibition’s Chicago home.

The hour-long, walk-through experience has been designed with health and safety as a priority. Capacity will be limited in accordance with the City of Chicago’s safety protocols. Additional safety precautions include touchless ticket-taking, temperature checks upon arrival, hand sanitizer stations, social distancing markers throughout the venue, and digitally projected social distancing circles on the gallery floors to ensure appropriate spacing. All guests must wear a face covering at all times during their visit to Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago.

Immersive Van Gogh was designed by creative director and Italian film producer Massimiliano Siccardi, with original, mood-setting music by Italian multimedia composer Luca Longobardi,who provided a score that combines experimental electronic music with pure, ethereal and simple-seeming piano.Vittorio Guidottiis the Art Director. Siccardi and Longobardi are both pioneers of immersive digital art experiences in Paris, where they were part of the team that created the world-renowned Van Gogh, Starry Night exhibition, among others. With more than 70 projectors illuminating over 15,000 square-feet, visitors to Immersive Van Gogh are encircled from head-to-toe in Van Gogh’s brushstrokes and colors, including animated details from works such as Self Portrait with Felt Hat (1888), The Bedroom in Arles (1889), Irises (1889) and The Starry Night (1889).

“Immersive Van Gogh is a new way of encountering art, as it quite literally surrounds viewers on all sides with the brilliant work of one of the greatest painters of all time,” said Immersive Art Space Co-Producer Corey Ross. “Both connoisseurs and new admirers of Van Gogh’s work are guaranteed a breathtaking perspective on the influential artist’s oeuvre. Merging state-of-the-art technology, theatrical storytelling, animation and some of the finest works of art ever created, Immersive Van Gogh is a uniquely mesmerizing experience that seemingly transports the viewer into the artist’s mind to see these timeless works as never before.”

“Despite being unknown throughout his life, Van Gogh’s artwork has created a lasting impact through its emotional richness and simple beauty,” said Massimiliano Siccardi, Immersive Van Gogh designer. “Both myself and Luca Longobardi are very excited to once again bring Van Gogh’s legacy to life in a way that is unique to the beautiful architecture of the Germania Club Building.”

The premiere of Immersive Van Gogh in Chicago was described as “a feast for your eyes” by WTTW Chicago and “impressive…(with) clever touches (and) emotional resonance” by the Chicago Tribune. The Daily Herald said the exhibit “reimagines masterpieces for a digital age” and TimeOut Chicago called it “a visual spectacle… the future of experiential art.”

Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago is operated by Immersive Art Space LP, a partnership between co-producers Corey Ross, Svetlana Dvoretsky, Maria Shclover and Irina Shabshis. The venue also features a merchandise/gift shop. Future plans include additional immersive art shows as well as live performances.

Ticket prices start at $39.99 for adults ($24.99 for children 16 or younger) with untimed and flexible ticket options available. The venue is easily accessible by public transportation and has ample parking in the nearby James House parking garage. For more information about Immersive Van Gogh, visit this website or call 844-307-4644. Follow the exhibition on social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Vincent van Gogh

Legendary Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890) is recognized as one of the world’s greatest and best loved artists. He was born in the Netherlands to his father, Theodorus van Gogh, and his mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus, a moody artist whose love of nature, drawing and watercolors was passed on to her son. He worked at his uncle Cornelis’ art dealership when he had already been fluent in French, German and English, as well as his native Dutch. He fell in love with English culture when he was transferred to the Groupil Gallery in London in 1873.

During his short life he painted more than 2,000 artworks ranging from ordinary household items and self-portraits to surreal landscapes that inspire awe. Van Gogh was a post-Impressionist painter whose work — notable for its beauty, emotion and color — highly influenced expressionism in 20th-century art. He struggled with mental illness and remained poor and virtually unknown throughout his life.

He was tragically admitted to a psychiatric hospital after offering his severed ear to a woman at a local brothel. For hope, he turned to painting and nature, until one day when he went out to paint in the morning with a loaded pistol in his hand and reportedly shot himself in the chest. In his 37 years alive, Van Gogh only sold one painting, The Red Vineyards, to his brother Theo.

Mount Music Talent Management Relocation

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Virginia is For Music Lovers: Mount Music Talent Management Relocates to Virginia from LA, Signs Tall Boy Special

Los Angeles talent agency relocates to Richmond, Virginia, and signs TikTok sensation Tall Boy Special

Founded in Los Angeles in 2017, Mount Music & Entertainment is making the move across country, relocating to Richmond, Virginia. The move gives the agency a chance to expand the roster of talent that it represents and manages. The latest talent Mount Music & Entertainment has signed is Tall Boy Special, a TikTok sensation that combines music and comedy. With the recent re-brand and name change, the agency is growing their expanding list of talent, to include not only musicians and songwriters, but actors, comedians, writers, and more.

“Comedy has been very important in my personal life, with many of my close personal friends being comedians, so it feels like a natural progression for MME to develop beyond the scope of music and start representing a multi-hyphenate act like Tall Boy Special,” explains Dave Mount, military veteran and founder of Mount Music & Entertainment.

Mount Music & Entertainment manages artists in a wide range of genres, including soul, pop, R&B, comedy, and pop country. It specializes in providing an individualized management experience that is designed to suit the needs of each of its clients. Some of the talent it represents include Erin & The Wildfire, a Richmond-based group, and formerly the agency represented Meghan Linsey.

It is one of the many companies that have decided to relocate after being inspired by COVID to consider changes to their business model. During last summer, the company had the opportunity to get to know the music in the area. They became passionate about the city and all it has to offer to those in entertainment, prompting the agency to make the move across country. The Richmond area is gaining fame for its underground music scene. In 2019, Forbes called it “the underground music city everyone needs to visit.”

“We are excited about making the move to Richmond and look forward to expanding our roster and growing as an agency there,” added Mount. “This move and new signing comes at the perfect time, as people are ready to move on and up. This is the next chapter in Mount Music & Entertainment, and we’re ready for it.”

Tall Boy Special is comprised of multi-hyphenate musicians, comedians, actors, writers, directors and producers Alex Kagy, John MacGregor and Zack Barker. They are most recently known for their viral TikTok success, where they have amassed nearly 20,000 followers and 100,000 likes by showcasing their many talents. They are currently working on their first studio album. To get more information about them and get links to their social media pages, visit their website.

Mount Music & Entertainment offers entertainment industry consulting services, in addition to talent management. Its experiences include consulting a wide range of artists and private equity firms. It specializes in music law, expert witness testimony, litigation support, investment analysis, licensing, publishing, streaming, and more. Clients include Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, and RocNation. To learn more about the company, visit their website.

About Mount Music & Entertainment

Founded in 2017 in Los Angeles, Mount Music & Entertainment offers talent management to those in a wide variety of genres. The company was started by David Mount, a military veteran who is a lifelong guitarist and songwriter. David participates in the Recording Academy’s annual District Advocate Day. To learn more about the company, visit their website. Follow them on Instagram and Twitter.

Reversing the Aging Process At A Cellular Level

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By: Greg Macpherson, pharmacist, author, “Harnessing the Nine Hallmarks of Aging”

You might think that the occasional gray hair, fine line and wrinkle starting to stare back at you in the mirror is a sign that time is starting to have its impact felt, but these visible changes as we age are just a symptom of what has been going on at a cellular level inside your body for decades. We all know that you can’t change time, but recent advances in our understanding of aging at a cellular level mean that in the not too distant future we will be able to change the impact that time has on our cells.

And it’s about time. Right now, despite the decades and billions of dollars that have gone and continue to go into attempting to understand and solve the diseases associated with advancing age like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and cardiovascular disease, we have not made the progress we should.

Researchers are now starting to ask the question – what if we change track and seek to understand the aging process? By slowing aging, we not only spend decades longer in good health, but we push the diseases associated with old age down the road–possibly avoiding them all together.

Why We Decline with Age

With better questions come better answers, progress, and breakthroughs. Nearly a decade ago, in the absence of a single theory regarding aging, scientists reached a consensus on nine key areas of our cells that decline in function as we age. These key areas are called the nine hallmarks of aging, and they all have something in common. If you make them worse, you age faster. If you make them better, you slow the aging process down.

Identifying the hallmarks of aging has given researchers cellular targets to focus on, and has unleashed an incredible amount of human capital focused on solving, or at least reducing, the ravages of aging on our bodies. Researchers armed with tens of billions of dollars in research grants and private equity are now racing to find the answers. And the prize is huge–resolving the aging process, deferring the diseases of older age and extending the time we spend in middle age in good health by decades will transform humanity and will both disrupt and create a trillion dollar industry overnight.

Progress is being made at an accelerating rate, and there are now therapies that have been proven in mice models that are now making their way into clinical studies. Rapamycin, a pharmaceutical that is typically used for organ transplant recipients, because of its ability to help the body avoid rejecting the organ, is now understood to extend life in mice by up to 60%. Senolytics, molecules that help the body identify and remove senescent cells that increasingly accumulate as we age and literally poison the healthy cells that surround them, have extended life in mice by up to 30%. Metformin, a drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes has been identified to significantly reduce cancer rates and extend life.

And these are just a few of the compounds that have been identified that shift the effect of time on our bodies. These and more molecules being developed right now, plus strategies for healthy aging that have been identified from the blue zones around the world where people live to 100 and beyond at a much higher rate than the rest of us, are amongst the many healthy aging strategies that I featured in my book, “Harnessing the Nine Hallmarks of Aging, to Live Your Healthiest Life.”

As a pharmacist with 30 years of experience, I have spent the last decade working in the biotechnology arena associated with anti-aging, translating the complex world of anti-aging science to make it available for the rest of us. By understanding the nine hallmarks of aging–adopting simple strategies from the blue zones, and sharing the breakthrough molecules that have not been available to humans in previous generations– I’ve put together a step-by-step, healthy aging strategy. We can all adopt this strategy and, in the process, significantly alter our aging trajectory and making healthy aging much more of a certainty.

Why DNA Matters

One example of a hallmark of aging is “genomic instability,” which is another way of saying that the negative changes to our DNA in our cells that happen as we age. Your DNA is your cellular instruction set and defines what it means to be a human versus every other living species on our planet. Your DNA is responsible for the difference between a skin cell and a heart cell, a neuron and an insulin producing cell.

Your DNA are molecules that sit at the center of almost every single cell in your body, helping it function, live and thrive. Your DNA does this in an incredibly hostile environment as it deals with the external stress of pollution, mutagenic foods and chemicals, UV light and X-rays, and the internal insults of oxidative stress. Due to these factors your DNA is damaged between 50,000 and 100,000 times per day, per cell.

Because of the importance of having a healthy instruction set, your cells spend a huge amount of resource on the repair and maintenance of your DNA and as we age, and this process starts to decline, which has significant effect on the health of your cells. Take a quick look at the back of your hand compared to the skin on the inside of your wrist to get a sense of the difference between cells exposed to UV damage that hits your DNA.

DNA damage is happening right now in every cell in your body, and over time it affects the ability of your cells to function effectively. Starting as early as your 30s, by supporting DNA repair and maintenance through making lifestyle changes and by taking molecules, like hobamine, NMN and apigenin, as outlined in my book, it can help your body keep your DNA and the other hallmarks of aging in good shape. By following the roadmap of this breakthrough strategy in a healthy aging, you will age better than previous generations have ever been able to achieve.

Biography

Greg Macpherson is a pharmacist, entrepreneur and author of, “Harnessing the Nine Hallmarks of Aging: To Live Your Healthiest Life.” For more than a decade, he has been working in the biotechnology sector, specifically focusing on the aging process at the cellular level. This work led him to discover ways to harness the nine identified, scientific hallmarks of aging, which is the premise of his book that addresses the natural aging process, how to age more favorably and simple strategies to slow the aging process and build a functional longevity plan. Beyond theory and concept, Macpherson has used his entrepreneurial spirit to further develop solutions to this new paradigm of aging, described in his book, by launching SRW Laboratories, a science and research based company that curates the latest biotechnology research to formulate natural products designed to help slow the onset of aging and disease, and develop evidence based solutions for those who are experiencing age-related health concerns. SRW, which stands for Science, Research and Wellness, is Macpherson’s natural world laboratory that will develop the preventative formulas from nature required to slow down the aging process based on the nine hallmarks of aging, which include mitochondrial dysfunction, telomere attrition and cellular senescence, to name a few. With aging being the single biggest risk factor for developing disease, Macpherson’s mission to slow the aging process at a cellular level could help millions of people delay the onset of diseases associated with advanced aging like Alzheimer’s and heart disease.

1000 Mile Battery Vehicles

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Many Routes to 1000 Mile Battery Vehicles, Reports IDTechEx

It is easy to make 1000-mile battery-electric vehicles, and the effect on market uptake will be profound. For example, a typical city-dweller today might charge only once every two months and vacation where chargers are rare.

With solar bodywork having done some of the job, even feeble existing chargers will cause little delay in charging time. Indeed, solar bodywork is a “get-you-home” feature that is capable of suddenly making battery-electric vehicles acceptable in most of the world– increasing their market potential and accelerating economies of scale in production, making battery-electric vehicles more affordable. Meanwhile, today’s EV would be easier to sell to country dwellers if they had a folding solar panel “lifeboat” offered as an optional extra. See the IDTechEx report, “Solar Vehicles 2021-2041 2nd Edition”.

Learn from the sea. Many solar boats can already be bought with effectively infinite range because they have so much area available for solar. Some have the generating capacity to supply three houses on arrival. For heavier sea-going ships, adding wind turbines works because at sea, the wind is rarely head-on at a speed less than the craft’s. The large Manta ocean clean-up boat from Sea Cleaners is the latest example. Even energy-independent ships are possible by combining these technologies with others.

Land vehicles lag in energy-independent technologies because they have less surface area per passenger, but the newly viable single-crystal silicon on the sides (as demonstrated by Sono Motors at CES 2021) is a step in the right direction. Student solar racers get energy independence using 3–5 compound solar that is unaffordable for most applications as yet. They also get ultra-low drag factors by squeezing the riders. Nonetheless, these things benchmark what is coming to a car, robot shuttle, and truck near you.

For example, following solar golf cars, Aptera, a Californian solar car start-up, promises 1000 miles for those willing to mix it with Class 8 trucks while sitting in a three-wheeled egg. More mainstream, Tesla and Lucid already get past 500 miles range by utilizing low drag factor, light-weighting, more efficient power electronics, and other strategies such as aluminum monocoque, even before adopting solar. Indeed, Tesla Roadster doubles the battery to get 620 miles. Lightyear solar family cars approach 500 miles range with exceptionally extensive solar bodywork, but also offer more efficient in-wheel motors. More efficient motors have been important for Tesla’s exceptional range, and better motors are on the way. See the IDTechEx report, “Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles: Land, Water, Air 2020-2030”.

When feasible, Elon Musk wants solar that unfolds on arrival and will pump more than one kilowatt. Many vehicles are largely glass, but solar building windows are obviously coming to vehicles, starting with Hyundai promising a translucent solar roof.

In 2018, Tesla began to adopt wide-bandgap semiconductors (silicon carbide) in the Model 3’s main inverter, which are more efficient and save on the weight and space of the cooling equipment. Supercapacitors are barely used in on-road BEVs, but they can improve range in many ways now they appear with higher energy density and at a lower price. They grab more braking energy, and they facilitate deep discharge of the newer batteries that can tolerate such things.

The roadmap of other range-extending technologies is equally rich. Infrared harvesting surfaces under the vehicle may work in hot countries. On top and sides, adding perovskite to silicon will grab infrared and light over a much wider spectrum, increasing electricity by at least 10% (multilayer perovskites promises 100%). Autonomous taxis, shuttles, and buses dispensing with the weight and space of the driver can go further. In windy countries, wind turbines that erect when the vehicle stops can be viable. Indeed, the US Department of Defense funds trials of electricity generation by using tethered drones from vehicles, up where the wind is stronger and more consistent.

Raghu Das, CEO of IDTechEx, advises, “VW Group and many others work on structural batteries and supercapacitors to increase range – no more dumb bodywork. Meanwhile, Tesla and Lucid commercialize a first step in that direction. Equally challenging, but still a possibility is using higher voltage to increase range beyond the current focus on charging time. 800-1000V is pioneered by VW Group, Lucid, Rivian, GM, Hyundai, Kia, and other carmakers and their suppliers such as Hitachi, Borg Warner and others. In principle, it increases efficiency and lightens weight.”

“We are currently working on the start of production for several premium 800-volt projects,” says Bert Hellwig, who is responsible for electric drive system development at ZF. “We supply a Chinese OEM with the complete electric driveline, including power electronics, for several models. For a European sports car manufacturer, ZF provides power electronics for a high-voltage application. Further series start-ups are already on the horizon.”

There is much more. Thermal management and all materials and systems can perform better and get lighter, both of which increase range. See the IDTechEx reports, “Materials for Electric Vehicles: Electric Motors, Battery Cells & Packs, HV Cabling 2020-2030” and “Thermal Management for Electric Vehicles 2020-2030”. For example, a transparent heater film applied only where needed on vehicle interiors has been shown to save up to 30% of that electricity.

Meeting all these factors in the middle is intermittent catenary and intermittent road rails and coils–charging vehicles as they hurtle by– and an increasing number of cars able to charge other cars (Sono Motors’ Sion is again an example). Batteries charge fast initially, so the profusion of lamp post chargers topping up in London, for example, can be a good alternative to scarce and expensive fast chargers, particularly as vehicles double their range. Battery improvements promise large range increases. Volkswagen targets 40% more energy density by 2030. In other words, vehicle designers can now choose which of the many routes to 1000-mile range they will pursue with plenty of choices.

For the whole picture, see the IDTechEx report, “Electric Vehicles: Land, Sea and Air 2021-2041”.

For the full portfolio of Electric Vehicle research available from IDTechEx, please visit this website.

LA ESCAPAR: SPRING SUMMER 2021

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SAINT MOJAVI INTRODUCES SECOND SUSTAINABLE “MADE TO ORDER” COLLECTION

Last Fall, Saint Mojavi introduced their first “Made to Order” collection to consumers. The brand’s founder and designer, Teresa Pinedo, wanted to drastically cut waste and be more thoughtful with each style she created. After seeing the success of implementing this business practice, both in popularity with consumers and in the reduction of her eco footprint, Pinedo developed her second sustainable collection.

The Spring Summer 2021 “LA ESCAPAR” Collection is a collective of silhouettes designed for the jet-set fashionista who has been yearning for an escape. It is an uplifting collection full of color and playful prints to incorporate joy and hope after such a tumultuous year.

“There is a sense of spirituality behind every collection and this collection is for those who have been longing for a deeper meaning or just an escape,” shares designer Teresa Pinedo.

Mixed media fabrics like the Green Polkadot Botanica and the Tri-Color Seersucker Plaid are just a glimpse of how picturesque this collection truly is. Reversible Facemasks and Elbow-High Gloves give you fashion with safety. The sustainably sourced pre-loved, recycled fabrics are from local markets in Los Angeles, making this collection apart of the global initiative to decrease waste and improve our efforts in climate change.

Shop Saint Mojavi’s collection HERE.

See who has been wearing the Saint Mojavi HERE.

Soneva In Aqua Experience

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SONEVA INTRODUCES SAILING EXCURSIONS TO THE MALDIVES’ UNSPOILED GOIDHOO ISLAND

Four-Day Soneva in Aqua Experience Includes Surfing Uncrowded Breaks, Diving Among Shipwrecks, Spotting Marine Life and Snorkeling In Untouched Reefs

Setting sail from Soneva’s original barefoot luxury resort Soneva Fushi, the new four-day, three-night Goidhoo experience aboard the Soneva in Aqua yacht offers an ultra-luxury escape to this unspoiled island in the south of the Baa Atoll, 30 miles from Soneva Fushi. As the island of Goidhoo, which can only be reached by boat, is not often frequented by divers and surfers, it offers a rare untouched paradise full of vibrant marine life and corals.

Soneva in Aqua is a refined yacht that combines Soneva’s iconic barefoot luxury with the sense of freedom and adventure associated with a private boat charter. The 75-foot yacht sleeps a maximum of four adults and two children and has two spacious bedrooms with en-suite showers, while the master cabin has a glass-bottomed spa tub set into the floor for viewing the marine life. There is also an on-deck Jacuzzi, daybeds for lounging, dining area, bar, lounge and library. The crew consists of the captain, mechanic, head chef, wellness therapist and signature Soneva Barefoot Butler. A dive master, surf instructor, photographer and astronomer can be added on request.

Diving and snorkeling sites around Goidhoo include the Corbin, a 400-ton French ship that set sail from St. Malo in search of trade in the East, but met its end off the shores of Goidhoo in 1602. Guests are welcome to search for buried treasure and bars of silver that the ship was supposedly carrying. The Naamuli Wreck can also be explored, with remnants of an old steel ship spanning approximately 164 feet over the reef.

The entrance of Goidhoo Corner offers diverse marine life, including Napoleon fish, lobster, nurse sharks and turtles. The Rose Garden is a shallow snorkeling site that offers a spectacular display that looks like a huge underwater garden of rose-shaped coral. Protected inside a lagoon, the Inside Tilla is best explored at night when all the nocturnal marine creatures come out and the reef comes to life. The Soneva in Aqua crew have often spotted manta rays and whale sharks while anchored within the lagoon.

When it comes to surfing, the Goidhoo Pass is well known for producing some of the best waves in the Baa Atoll, with local surf competitions often being held here. Guests can also visit a local island for a cultural experience, or even join in on a soccer match with locals.

The cost of the Goidhoo four-day, three-night charter is priced at $9,900 for three nights, which includes all food and beverages for the duration. This cost excludes standard dive and surf instructor rates, which are priced at $750 and $600 per day, respectively, for two guests.

For more information about Soneva, visit this website.

ABOUT SONEVA
Soneva is a pioneering family of hospitality properties, offering holistic encounters in luxurious and inspiring environments – from world class resorts to outstanding natural locations. Soneva Fushi, Soneva Jani and Soneva in Aqua in the Maldives, and Soneva Kiri in Thailand rebuke the traditional concept of luxury and instead promise the luxury of time, purity and solitude. Every day, guests are encouraged to discover sandy feet, inspired minds and full hearts. Combining luxury with a conscientious approach to sustainability and the environment, and proactively changing the nature of hospitality, it delivers intuitive service and meaningful experiences to the guests.

Vilnius International Film Festival Winners

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Vilnius International Film Festival Announces 2021 Award-Winning Films

Vilnius Film Festival’s 26^th edition concluded April 5, 2021 with the announcement of European Debut, Short, and Audience Award competition winners. This year’s innovative, COVID-safe festival format was a collaboration between the film industry and the Lithuanian capital’s six top hotels, creating a vacation-at-home experience, where audience members enjoyed a virtual opening ceremony with a red carpet and collaborations with local talent, and watched a program of the year’s top international titles from the comfort of luxurious local hotels. “The opportunity to book hotel rooms to watch movies came just in time for an audience hungry for travel, new places, and experiences. According to the hotels, their occupancy rates reached pre-pandemic levels over the course of the three-week festival,” says Go Vilnius Director Inga Romanovskiene. Preliminary data also reveals that 100,000 viewers tuned in to this year’s diverse lineup of titles.

In a field rich with exciting new films, several stand-out titles took home competition prizes. The five-star jury line-up for the European Debut Competition included Venice Film Festival Artistic Director Gaia Furrer, filmmaker/producer Denis Côté, MUBI VP of Content Daniel Kasman, M-films production company founder Marija Razgutė, and filmmaker Lili Horvát. Director Itonje Søimer Guttormsen’s feminist, tragi-comic fable Gritt took home two European Debut Competition awards—both Best Film and a Best Actress award for star Birgitte Larsen. Best Actor was awarded to Pierre Deladonchamps for his role as the sinister central drifter in Peter Dourontzis’ Rascal, while Ainhoa Rodríguez was named best Director for Destello bravió, her precise portrait of women in small-town Spain. Special Mention was awarded to Tim Leyendekker’s boundary-pushing reconstruction of a notorious case of deliberate HIV transmission, Feast.

Other awards include Short Competition winners, judged by film critic and Cannes Critics’ Week programmer Nanako Tsukidate, director and cinematographer Camille Degeye, and filmmaker Ignas Meilūnas: Best Film winner Places, Vytautas Katkus’ intimate portrait of friendship, and Special Mention awardee Fish Like Us, Raphaela Schmid’s short in which various lives and stories unfold at a Chinese restaurant. Viewers were also able to weigh in on this year’s program, awarding Audience Awards to Best Film Quovadis, Aida?, Jasmila Žbanić’s story of a woman caught in the male game of war; Best Short Film The Little Bird and the Bees, Lena von Döhren’s vibrant animated short; and Best Lithuanian Film Swamp, an intimate character study from director Klementas Davidavičius.

“We’re glad that the language of film transcended our physical separation, providing an unparalleled sense of community and closeness,” said CEO of Vilnius IFF Algirdas Ramaška, thanking fans for their support. “Together with our partners, we were able to provide safe experiences-following quarantine restrictions, such as the private screening rooms in hotels-that surely left indelible memories.”

EUROPEAN DEBUT COMPETITION
Best Film: Gritt (dir. Itonje Søimer Guttormsen)
Best Actress: Birgitte Larsen (Gritt)
Best Actor: Pierre Deladonchamps (Rascal)
Best Director: Ainhoa Rodríguez (Destello bravió)
Special Mention: Feast (dir. Tim Leyendekker)

SHORT COMPETITION
Best Film: Places (dir. Vytautas Katkus)
Special Mention: Fish Like Us (dir. Raphaela Schmid)

AUDIENCE AWARDS
BEST FILM: Quo vadis, Aida? (dir. Jasmila Žbanić)
BEST SHORT FILM: The Little Bird and the Bees (dir. Lena von Döhren)
BEST LITHUANIAN FILM: Swamp (dir. Klementas Davidavičius)

The Vilnius Film Festival is supported by the Lithuanian Film Centre, co-funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union, Vilnius City Municipality and Go Vilnius. Vilnius IFF Kino Pavasaris is an independent private initiative.

To learn more about Vilnius Film Festival, visit this website.

More info on tourism in Vilinius here.

The Weeknd Donates 2 Million Meals

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Superstar The Weeknd Donates 2 Million Meals to Hungry People in Ethiopia Through the United Nations World Food Program

This $1 million donation will provide lifesaving food to those living in the Tigray Region

Multi-platinum selling singer, songwriter and record producer Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, has donated $1 million to World Food Program USA, the U.S. affiliate of the United Nations World Food Program, which was the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, in support of hunger relief efforts in Ethiopia. The significant donation, which equates to 2 million meals, will provide lifesaving food to those affected by conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray Region.

This generous gift will support the U.N. World Food Program’s efforts to ramp up emergency food assistance response to reach up to 2 million people in the next six months. So far, the humanitarian agency has provided corn, rice and vegetable oil to 60,000 people in towns in the eastern and southern parts of the region. In addition to delivering emergency food assistance in Tigray, the U.N. World Food Program has started providing nutrition support for vulnerable pregnant or breastfeeding women as well as children in the region, planning to reach 875,000 people. The U.N. World Food Program has also delivered three rounds of monthly food rations in the two accessible and operational refugee camps in Tigray.

“My heart breaks for my people of Ethiopia as innocent civilians ranging from small children to the elderly are being senselessly murdered and entire villages are being displaced out of fear and destruction. I will be donating $1 million to provide 2 million meals through the United Nations World Food Program and encourage those who can to please give as well,” said Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd).

“We are extremely concerned about the food security situation in Tigray,” said World Food Program USA President & CEO Barron Segar. “As poor households exhaust food stocks, people will fall deeper into emergency levels of hunger. This generous donation from The Weeknd will provide immediate lifesaving food for people who need it urgently.”

The government estimates that 4.5 million people need emergency food assistance until late this year and has requested the U.N. World Food Program support 1.4 million of them. The outbreak of conflict in Tigray last November coincided with the peak harvest period, meaning employment and incomes were lost, markets were disrupted, food prices rose and access to cash and fuel became very difficult.

About the United Nations World Food Program/World Food Program USA

The United Nations World Food Program is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

World Food Program USA, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, DC, proudly supports the mission of the United Nations World Food Program by mobilizing American policymakers, businesses and individuals to advance the global movement to end hunger. Our leadership and support help to bolster an enduring American legacy of feeding families in need around the world. To learn more about World Food Program USA’s mission, please visit this website.

About The Weeknd

Filtering R&B and pop through an ambitious widescreen lens, The Weeknd took over popular music and culture on his own terms. The multi-platinum and Diamond certified star is one of the most listened to artists in the world on Spotify (over 51 billion streams) and is a top 10 artist of all time for RIAA singles. His 2020 album After Hours is the #1 most streamed R&B album of all time (followed by his 2016 album Starboy at #2), and his 80’s nostalgic track “Blinding Lights” went 5X RIAA-certified platinum and broke the record for Billboard’s longest-running #1 on its US radio chart. The track quickly became his fifth to go #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Alongside his gilded musical career, he’s graced the covers of TIME, Forbes, Variety, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, and GQ along with late night TV stages with heralded performances on SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and the VMA’s where he accepted the awards for Video of the Year and Best R&B. In recent times he has made acting appearances in TV and film with 2019’s film Uncut Gems as well as starring in and co-writing an episode of the hit show American Dad. He generously shares, with over $2M in donations made in 2020 to various charities. The continuous record breaking of charts, sales and streams, headlining the biggest festivals and stadiums in the world including this year’s Super Bowl, and his ever mysterious public persona combined solidifies The Weeknd as one of the most compelling and significant artists of the 21st century.

Chris Crowley’s “The Practical Navigator”

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Chris Crowley is the author (with the late Henry S. Lodge, MD) of “Younger Next Year“, the New York Times bestseller, with over two million copies sold in twenty-three languages. A former Wall Street trial lawyer, Crowley’s debut work of fiction is “The Practical Navigator” now available everywhere books are sold.

Read below for an excerpt adapted from “The Practical Navigator,” a literary legal crime thriller.

July 1988, Broken Harbor

Harry’s death was utterly like him: orderly, decisive, and oddly considerate. He sailed to Maine without telling a soul—left a note saying he was going on a business trip but of course he wasn’t. He picked up his boat in Marion and sailed overnight to Broken Island, seven miles off the coast of Maine, near the Canadian border. It’s a big boat, over fifty feet, but it has all kinds of gadgets so it wasn’t hard for someone like Harry to do it alone. Actually, he wasn’t entirely alone. He had stopped at the New York apartment and picked up Gus, the big black Newfoundland, to keep him company on this . . . this journey, I guess. He got there late in the afternoon, furled the sails, and set the anchor with his usual care. Then he fed the dog and had something himself, down below. Put the dishes in the sink and opened a bottle of wine, which he took up into the cockpit. A very good bottle of wine, but he only had the one glass. It was a sacrament, I imagine; he didn’t really drink.

No one was there so I can’t tell, but it looks as if Harry sat there for quite a while, with Gus at his side. I see them with great clarity: there is Gus, with his huge head on Harry’s lap and Harry calmly looking around, his hands working the thick black fur around Gus’s neck and ears. Or I see them both, sitting up now, looking at the beach and that remarkable shoreline, the sun going down over the Cut. It is the loveliest place. Then he shuts Gus down below. One imagines the intimate business of getting Gus down the steps. Harry stands at the bottom of the companionway, and gets his arms around him (a face full of fur, legs every which way; Gus’s great face is interested but relaxed: they’ve done this a hundred times). Then he picks him up, all hundred pounds of him, and gently sets him down on the cabin sole. Sets out some water. Harry put him below because he didn’t want him to see. Or more likely, he was afraid the dog would jump in and try to save him, as Newfies are bred to do.

Then, after he had lowered the guardrail on the starboard side, he got the Camden marine operator to call the sheriff, Bud Wilkerson, over in Hanson, and told him what he was about to do. Hung up before Bud could say anything, but wanted him to know so he’d come out and get the dog. Then he put on his commodore’s cap—an old-fashioned hat with a small, shiny visor and a narrow crown, the kind worn in the Navy in World War I. Do you remember the photos of Admiral Sims? Like that. That was one of a number of affectations at the Great Arcadia Yacht Club of New York, Boston, and Mount Desert, of which Harry had recently been commodore. That and the pips, the four raised brass-and-enamel symbols of his rank on each epaulet. Then Harry sat down on the gunwale with his back to the water. And blew his brains out. Here’s an interesting thing. Just before he did it, he tied a float to his leg. When he shot himself, his body went over the side, as he intended. Not a drop of blood in the boat. But it floated. So my friend Bud wouldn’t have to dive for it when he got there. Imagine thinking of that, in the closing moments of your life. Well, Harry—my brother, Harry—had a weakness for order. More than a weakness, a passion.

He was a subtle man, entirely capable of making his way in a dark and uncertain world. But his great passion was for order. That was the real business of his life: not making an astonishing fortune as a very young man or becoming a cabinet officer, but preserving order. Against the sweet, dark pull of the Labyrinth, as it spins away, under the city, under our lives.

“The Practical Navigator” is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indie Bound, and as an ebook.