Gallagher's Travels

Divas Diana Ross, Anita Baker, Jill Scott For
Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival

Legendary singer, Diana Ross, dubbed the 'Most Successful Female Music Artist of the 20th Century;' eight-time Grammy Award winner, Anita Baker; and two-time Grammy winner Jill Scott are set to thrill fans at the 2008 Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Organizers of the annual Festival made the announcement on November 1 during their New York kick-off at the Providence Restaurant in Manhattan. Ross and Baker and slated for the January 24-26 event, billed as 'The Caribbean’s Biggest Party.'

Ross is a global entertainment icon and a legendary musical treasure whose music has, for decades, inspired romance, happiness and joy. She kicked off her "I Love You" tour earlier this year in the US, featuring songs from her new Manhattan/EMI Music Marketing studio album, 'I Love You,' as well as other solo hits and Supremes classics, including 'Some Day We’ll Be Together,' and 'I’m Coming Out.' She’s slated to bring the curtains down on the festival on Saturday, August 26th.

Baker, born in Toledo, Ohio, was one of the definitive quiet storm singers of the '80s with her debut album, 'Rapture,' in 1986 which went on to become a platinum, Grammy winning smash that produced two all-time quiet storm classics in "Caught Up in the Rapture" and "Sweet Love." Baker is slated to perform at the Friday, November 25.

Scott is an R&B singer known for hits like "Gettin' In the Way," the Grammy winner "Cross My Mind," "Whatever" and the new 2007 song, "Hate on Me" from the album, 'The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3.' And she’s currently starring in the Tyler Perry movie, 'Why Did I Get Married.' Scott is set to open the Jazz Festival on Thursday, January 24.

Additionally, Trinidad-born, UK-raised singer, Billy Ocean, revered in the mid-70s to 80s for hits like 'Caribbean Queen' and 'Suddenly,' is set to grace the festival. Ocean recently returned to the touring circuit after an almost 15-year hiatus.

Other artists slated to perform at the festival to date include reggae crooner; South African trumpeter and flugelhornist Hugh Masekela; Ryan Shaw, an exciting new artiste whose music is described as "new school meets old school," Jessica Yap; Yerba Buena and pianist Marjorie Whylie.

"Air Jamaica Jazz is now one of the most highly anticipated events on the annual entertainment calendar," said Executive Producer and Head of Turn Key Productions, Walter Elmore. "We have great plans for this show and expect it to be one of the best yet. We have grown from strength to strength, moving from 1,500 guests in 1997 to 40,000 earlier this year."

Meanwhile, fans are being urged to grab tickets early as organizers will be printing a limited number to ensure the comfort level of fans is not compromised at the venue, the Aqueduct at Rose Hall, Jamaica.

Dubbed the 'Art Of Music,' the festival is a three-day musical event that welcomes 40,000 patrons each year. It has become the showcase for unforgettable music on two stages, delicious Jamaican and international cuisine and an overall great time.

The Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, since its introduction in 1986, has attracted thousands of patrons from the USA, Europe, the Caribbean and Jamaica. International artistes that have performed at the festival include Alicia Keys, Kenny Rogers, Norah Jones, Julio Iglesias, Roberta Flack, Lou Rawls, Dionne Warwick, India Arie, Nancy Wilson, Earth Wind and Fire, Kenny G., Michael McDonald, Gladys Knight, Kool & the Gang, Al Jarreau,Branford Marsalis, Brian McKnight Harry Belafonte, Babyface, Stephanie Mills, George Benson, Erykah Badu, Gladys Knight, Michael Bolton, and many more.  And to bring the Jamaican flavor well known names such as  Ziggy Marley, Morgan Heritage, Third World, Toots Hibbert, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Maxi Priest, Beres Hammond, Monty Alexander, Ritchie Stephens, and many other Jamaican talents have made their mark on the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues stage.

In addition to its main objective of world-class musical entertainment, the festival prides itself on introducing many local and foreign talents to the world through its "Art of Music" initiative, which seeks out and showcases new talent to an audience to which they would not otherwise have been able to reach.

Over the years the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival has sought to creatively partner with companies that wish to associate themselves with a high quality event and it has been fortunate to have garnered strong support from various corporate and government agencies.

This year the festival is being presented by key title sponsor, Olint along with support from Air Jamaica, the Jamaica Tourist Board, Scotiabank, Oasis Bottled Water, Viva Sparkling Water, Audi, Vitamalt, Power, and Charmin.

For more information log on to AirJamaicajazzandblues.com or call Air Jamaica Vacations to make travel plans today.

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Take Your Conscience on Vacation
New Voluntourism Program in Belize

A 4-night / 5-day vacation program from the recently opened Casa del  Caballo Blanco Eco-Lodge in Belize allows you to take your conscience on vacation—and have fun too.

"Toucan Eco-Tour" available through Nov. 30, 2007 (see below for more dates and programs) is $815 per  person. Included are a supervised participatory avian/biodiversity  learning experience, breakfasts, dinners and some lunches, accommodations,  off-site archeological tours and airport transfers. Local taxes, bar tab, optional activities and service charges are not included.

Casa del Caballo Blanco, a six-cabana, eco-friendly accommodation, shares 23 acres with the not-for-profit Casa Avian Support Alliance (CASA) whose purpose is to understand and support the biodiversity of Belize that attracts and sustains over 530 species of migratory and resident birds spotted in a given year.

The project undertaken by Jodi and Vance Benté, lodge proprietors and  Alliance founders, is in cooperation with the Government of Belize's efforts to protect critical habitat, the loss of which threatens the avian population.

This is the first voluntourism program of its kind in Belize.  It has been endorsed by the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Tourism Program  (http://www.rainforest-alliance.org), Belize Audubon Society, Friends for Conservation and Development and Birds Without Borders.

Toucan Eco-Tour

Upon arrival at Philip Goldson International Airport guests are transferred to the lodge for dinner and an in-depth orientation. The next morning you hike a newly established 900-meter nature trail where, on a recent morning, 30 species of birds were sighted in the bush and overhead.  Participants are then free to assist on site with nest-box building, maintenance and feeding as well as habitat restoration, trail building and signage. Optional afternoon activities include canoeing the Mopan and Macal rivers, exploring the hills on horseback or birding with a staff naturalist. Later, guests gather on the patio for a cold beer or glass of wine before enjoying a Belizean dinner prepared by a resident chef with locally produced ingredients.

The next day is an early morning departure for a day-long tour of the dramatic ruins of Tikal National Park (across the border into  Guatemala), a 222-square-mile nature preserve that's home to 410 species of birds and many animals. This largest known Mayan site (it once covered over 74 square miles) housed some 100,000 people at its zenith sometime between 800 BC to 900 AD. Tikal's largest pyramid, Temple IV, reaches 231 feet skyward; the panoramic view from its summit reveals temple ruins rising from the adjoining plazas and the dense Peten jungle reaching to the horizon. There's a shopping stop at El Remate, a small village, or at Melchor de Mencos, Guatemala, at a bustling market place with textiles, ceramics, masks, wood and stone carving, leather goods, and jewelry available.

The following morning guests pursue tasks with staff and perhaps the  CASA biologists before donning headlamps on a river tubing excursion in caves on the Caves Branch River.

On departure day, depending on air schedules, guests may have time to visit the Belize Zoo enroute back to the airport.

About Casa del Caballo Blanco

The Casa's hacienda-style Main House celebrates the region's
 Hispanic culture with high, beamed ceilings, tile floors, hand-made furniture and interior design features hand-crafted by local artisans to evoke the footprint of an ordered, spiritual world of centuries ago. Nestled on a hillside overlooking the Mopan River Valley, the location provides a stunning view of the Mer de Verde, the "Green Ocean," a site that could likely have been used in a similar manner by the Mayans. The guest quarters, six thatch-roofed, fully screen cabanas, all have en-suite bathrooms, refrigerators, hand-crafted furniture and Mayan-inspired fabrics.

Meals served in an airy, thatch-roofed dining room include Mayan food prepared in centuries-old Quiché, Mopan and Yucatecan traditions.
 Creole foods combine exotic Hispanic and Caribbean flavors. All produce is fresh from Casa's own gardens and local markets and prepared locally by Belizeans.

About Casa Avian Support Alliance (CASA)

On-site facilities provide a haven for avian wildlife recently freed from captivity or treated for injury or illness. Here birds can heal, rehabilitate and eventually be released back into their natural habitat.
 The facility is dynamic and will evolve annually with the guidance and cooperation of the Forest Department, Belize Audubon Society, Friends for Conservation and Development, Aves Sin Fronteras, and other organizations and experts from the avian community.  Visit the alliance website for more information, http://www.casaavian.org

Lodge guests are also welcome to join its Passport Program that over time will showcase a half dozen other properties in the Americas with organizations who have similar goals and missions such as avian support.

For information on year-round educational programs and vacation packages, please visit http://www.casacaballoblanco.com or call 707-974-4942.

NOTE: Habitat destruction, global warming and the illegal poaching and capture of exotic fauna are real world problems that affect us all.  E.O. Wilson, citing work done by leading wildlife biologists on the destruction of rain forests in the Americas, suggests that within a century, "The stage will be set…for the inevitable loss of 12% of the 704 bird species in the Amazon Basin and 15% of the plant species in South and Central America."  

The founders of Casa del Caballo Blanco Lodge and sponsors of the associated Casa Avian Support Alliance have created a facility and a program that address the needs of the avian community and the conservation of biodiversity, each of which are substantial assets of the Belizean people; the facility and program are being developed in recognition of the global consequences of the conservation of Belize's biodiversity with respect to the ecology of the America's.  A percentage of each tour package will be donated to the CASA center to assist with medical supplies and other expenses related to the management of the facility.

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ROMARE BEARDEN'S LEGACY LIVES ON

St. Maarten is the beneficiary of the generosity of one of the 20th century's most outstanding artists.

This African-American artist, one of the leading art figures of the 20th century, whose works are currently on exhibit at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., made St Maarten his second home. In the nurturing climate of the island, his talent blossomed and spilled over into cultural programs for the local community. Over the years, Romare Bearden taught, encouraged and championed the cause of local talent, helping to create a movement on-island which is as vibrant today, as it was in the lifetime of the acclaimed painter, sculptor and music composer.

When the current Bearden exhibit opened at the National Gallery of Art, the works of seven local St. Maarten artists, Ruby Bute, Joe Dominique, Cynric Griffith, Gloria Lynn, Ras Mosera, Maximiliaan Phelipa and Roland Richardson were on display simultaneously at the Parish Gallery in Washington, D.C., honoring the master, while achieving success in their own right, with several paintings being sold to private art collectors.

The Bearden legacy is alive and well and living in St. Maarten, where painters, sculptors, composers and musicians express themselves, projecting the colors, rhythms and life of their vibrant, yet gentle land. Ras Mosera, one of the St. Maarten artists with much success in Washington, D.C., simply put it that Bearden is to St. Maarten what art is to the psyche.

Romare Bearden's rich colorful St. Maarten paintings continue to attract many viewers. Local artists exemplify Bearden's influence and inspiration in their own work, creating memorable paintings depicting the life and culture of St. Maarten, and exhibits at the Nanette Bearden Fine Arts Gallery.

"It's a very exciting time for us - we've been able to expose our local St. Maarten artists to the art aficionados of the U.S. Capital and we've recently opened a second outpost of the gallery near to the cruise ship pier. Visitors to the island want to experience the art and culture and I think that the popularity of our artists and our opening a second outpost shows that." says Dorothy Dow, director of the Nanette Bearden Foundation, a philanthropic organization set up by the artist's wife. Nanette Bearden, an artist in her own right, continued her late husband's work until her own death in 1996.

Garnering energy from Nanette and Romare Bearden's sojourn on the island, the fine arts are flourishing in St. Maarten. "Through our art we share our culture with visitors who come to our island," states Maximiliaan Phelipa. Many artists have exploded on the scene, expressing through their work St. Maarten's finest traditions. Island art is available to everyone visiting the island. Get to know St. Maarten through our art is fast becoming a slogan among them.

About St. Maarten

An island, which gracefully transforms European cultures into Caribbean living, St. Maarten attracts visitors from the world over. Although only 37 square miles in size, this little island has a big reputation for its restaurants, hotels, lively nightlife and great shopping. The island is the smallest territory in the world shared by two sovereign states, the Netherlands and France. The result is an unique combination, which incorporates the best of two very diverse cultures, affecting the very lifestyle of the islanders and the tourists they welcome.

For more information about Dutch St. Maarten, contact the St. Maarten Tourist Office at 675 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Tel.1-800-786-2278, or visit www.st-maarten.com.