The Destination Celebrates Chinese New Year with Special Experiences, Décor, and Culinary Offerings

Chinese New Year and the Year of the Tiger will be celebrated in spectacular fashion this February in Las Vegas. Resorts throughout the destination commemorate the occasion with an array of festive décor, vibrant and authentic experiences, and decadent culinary offerings and will present vibrant lion dances, inviting visitors to be a part of the festive experience. ARIA Resort & Casino celebrates the Lunar New Year with a main lobby that has been embellished with festive décor to honor the Year of the Tiger, including a hand-sculpted solid chocolate tiger and a 196-foot dragon that weaves its way around a money tree made of 88 golden coins symbolizing wealth and good fortune. Bellagio Resort & Casino presents a festive Lunar New Year display at the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens. On display through Saturday, March 5, the “Eye of the Tiger” installation was designed to bring prosperity and luck to all who visit, using the ancient practice of Feng Shui to create a serene environment. Made of more than 5,700 plants, the display is complete with lotus flowers, gold coins, silk-lantern chandeliers, and an 8,000-pound golden representation of the Tiger. Wynn Las Vegas commemorates the Year of the Tiger with festive décor throughout the resort, including gold-leafed tiger sculptures and hanging grand silk dragons in the Wynn Atrium. Beijing Noodle No. 9 at Caesars Palace, offering Northern Chinese in an elegant atmosphere, will offer Lunar New Year specials in addition to its extensive and authentic menu of noodles, soups, and handmade dumplings. Several MGM Resorts International restaurants are celebrating the Year of the Tiger with festive menus and specials, including a prix-fixe menu at Hakkasan Restaurant at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. Other dining highlights include a traditional Dim Sum brunch at Jasmine inside Bellagio Resort & Casino, Hainanese Style Half Chicken at Lemongrass inside ARIA Resort & Casino, Fresh Abalone with Sea Cucumber at Blossom inside ARIA Resort & Casino, and Japanese Uni Sashimi at Morimoto inside MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. Wing Lei at Wynn Las Vegas, the only Chinese restaurant in North America to hold a Forbes Five-Star rating, brings back its Chinese New Year Brunch from Friday, Feb. 4 through Sunday, Feb. 6 and Friday, Feb. 11 to Saturday, Feb. 12.

Rebuild Foundation and Anthony Gallery announced a yearlong partnership to present a series of exhibitions spotlighting the importance of Black space, Black art and Black artists at the Stony Island Arts Bank in 2022. Run by Chicago native Isimeme “Easy” Otabor, Anthony Gallery, which is located in the Fulton River District of Chicago, will collaborate with artist Theaster Gates’ Rebuild Foundation to highlight emerging and established contemporary artists working in the field of African and Black American identity. Rebuild Foundation and Anthony Gallery kicked off the series on January 20th with ‘Is where it’s at!’, a special exhibition from Chicago-based Nigerian American artist Adeshola Makinde. ‘Is where it’s at!,’ a presentation of new and existing works drawing upon the celebrated EBONY and JET Magazines, pays homage to the Johnson Publishing Company’s reign in documenting, celebrating and amplifying all aspects of Black life in America. The exhibition’s title is a nod to musician Nina Simone’s “Young, Gifted and Black” performance at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, marrying themes of Black empire, Black life and Black music found throughout the archives at the Arts Bank. Makinde, whose work is informed by a strong social justice and activism lens, has had his work featured in collaborations with notable brands Nike, Nordstrom, Soho House, and Notre, to name a few. ‘Is where it’s at!’ opened at 5pm on Thursday, January 20. The exhibition will be on view at the Stony Island Arts Bank Thursdays through Sundays from 12pm to 6pm from January 21, 2022, to February 27, 2022. Rebuild Foundation and Anthony Gallery will collaborate throughout the year to produce and present a number of exhibitions at the Arts Bank. For more information about this collaboration, please visit www.rebuild-foundation.org.

Multicultural Travel News – News from St. Augustine, NYC, Catalonia, Albuquerque, Maui, MMGY Global, Las Vegas and Topeka

News Briefs:

• St. Augustine to Celebrate Rich African American History During Black History Month
• NYC & Company Launched New Content Hub Highlighting Asian Culture and Experiences Across New York City
• To Barcelona and Beyond, Catalonia Welcomes Travelers With New Experiences
• How to Celebrate Native American Heritage Month in Albuquerque
• Celebrate the Holidays With the Spirit of Aloha
• New-York Historical Society to Expand Its Home on Central Park West For Itself and For The American LGBTQ+ Museum
• U.S. Hispanic Travelers Spent $113.9 Billion on Domestic Travel According to Vistas Latinas: A Landmark Study on U.S. Travelers of Hispanic Descent
• The Neon Museum Las Vegas Launches Guided Tours in Spanish
• TOPEKA: Latinx community fuels growing population

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Augsburg, Bavaria: The Jewish Museum in Augsburg shows two exhibitions reflecting on Jewish life in the city. The exhibition “Jews through the Eyes of Others” (until September 4, 2022) questions clichés, prejudices, exaggerations, generalizations, and categorizations and asks the question: what role do Jewish museums play in perpetuating such projections? The exhibition “The End of the Testimony” (until June 5, 2022) focuses on memories of contemporary witnesses, and the question of how to maintain statements of oral history for the next generations. It shows written testimonies and video interviews of contemporary witnesses and focuses on the question of how we want to deal with this legacy in the future. Berlin: The New Synagogue which opened in 1866 is today the home of the Centrum Judaicum, which sees itself as a link between the past and the future. It serves as a site of research and documentation and brings Berlin’s vibrant Jewish history to life. The exhibitions “Under the wedding sky – weddings in Jewish Berlin” and “Telling Jewish Berlin. Mine, yours, ours?” (until June 12, 2022) unfold a mosaic of stories, experiences, and emotions, revolving around individual perspectives and personal relationships. The 28th Jewish Film Festival Berlin | Brandenburg (JFBB), the largest Jewish film festival in Germany, will take place this year from June 14 to June 19, 2022, in numerous venues in Berlin and Potsdam. The JFBB program aims to enliven political and historical debates, counter anti-Semitism, narrate Jewish themes beyond stereotypes, and offer points of contact for the audience. On the program are feature films, documentaries, retrospectives, international films of all genres, high-end TV series, (contemporary witness) talks, and panel discussions. Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia: On December 29, 2021, the Gürzenich Choir presents the concert “Georg Friedrich Handel: “Saul”, Oratorio for solos, choir and orchestra” (1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST). Georg Friedrich Handel’s colorful oratorio “Saul” tells the royal drama of the first kings of Israel, and the struggle for rule over the Israeli people. Dresden, Saxony: In Dresden, the exhibit “Rethinking City History: Perspectives on Jewish Stories and Present Lifes” (until March 31, 2022) retraces the complex Jewish life in the capital of Saxony. Until today, objects of the Jewish past can be found in living rooms, basements, or garages, finding a new place within the exhibition. Guided tours, a blog series and a YouTube video provide a deeper insight into the project. Frankfurt, Hesse: The Jewish Museum Frankfurt is showing “Our Courage – Jews in Europe 1945-48” (until January 18, 2022). The exhibition is the first project of its kind to present the diversity of Jewish experience in the early post-war period from a pan-European, transnational perspective. The program is available for download here. Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg: On January 7, 2022, the public reading “His memory as a blessing – Jewish biographies in Freiburg” (12:30 EST – 3:00 EST) takes a literary look at the people and stories associated with the city’s Jewish history. The Freiburg Israelite Community offers religious courses for all age groups, a wide range of cultural activities, and tours of the synagogue. Jena, Thuringia: On January 19, 2022, the panel discussion “Jewish life in Germany: aspired to, achieved or lost ‘normality’?” (12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST) is a project of the theological faculties in Erfurt and Jena, which examine the diverse relationships between Jews and Christians. In Thuringia, Jewish life traces back 900 years. During this time, there were many relationships between Judaism and Christianity, and there is still a lively dialogue until today. Reason enough to analyze the status of current mutual relationships: where are we standing? What are the living conditions like? Is there a ‘normality’?”

Today, Black history can be seen and celebrated throughout the year in St. Augustine – from the downtown Plaza de la Constitucion to the beaches of Anastasia Island. But, there’s no better time to experience this rich heritage than Black History Month. Narrated tours, museums, historic sites, and concerts are just a few ways to experience the rich history of the Black experience in the Nation’s oldest city. Leading up to Black History Month, The St. Augustine Film Festival will feature the premier of Freedom on Our Mind on January 22, a film made in St. Augustine, and multiple screenings at the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center on January 21 & 22. These additional screenings include Wade in the Water: Drowning in Racism; Fireburn: The Documentary; and Go-Go City: Displacement & Protest in D.C. www.staugfilmfest.com. The Lenny Foster Photography Exhibition: “Where We Stand” will be on display at the St. Johns County Courthouse daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, through April 22, 2022. Work from this series provides a glimpse into the rich African American history of Florida’s Historic Coast. Admission is free. From February 18 – 25, 2022 Fort Mose State Historic Park will host the inaugural Fort Mose Jazz and Blues Series featuring some of America’s most well-known and accomplished performers including The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, Amythyst Kiah, Gregory Porters, and more. The Series includes five unforgettable performances over two weeks. On February 19 Resilience Family Fest will feature cultural dance and musical performances, historical reenactments and more at the city’s Solomon Calhoun Community Center. The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center chronicles more than 450 years of St. Augustine’s black history through exhibits, arts, lectures and live performances. The Lincolnville Jazz at the Excelsior will feature performance by Eric Carter & Company on February 11 and Longineu Parsons II on February 26. I Lived Here as Well – A Woman’s Story, the story of urban slavery from the woman’s perspective is a guided tour led by costumed actors taking place which take place each Thursday- Saturday in February and March at Ximenez Fatio House Museum. For the most up-to-date event information visit www.FloridasHistoricCoast.com/events.

NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau for the five boroughs of New York City, launched a new centralized and permanent resource for locals and visitors, The Asian Experience in NYC, available at nycgo.com/TheAsianExperience. Continuing the organization’s mission to highlight and celebrate the culturally diverse communities throughout the five boroughs, the new content hub includes refreshed and new neighborhood and culture guides, videos, interviews, articles, roundups of Asian-owned businesses and more, and will be updated on an ongoing basis. The Asian Experience in NYC features new and recently added content spanning the vibrant Asian communities in the City, including  Koreatown, Chinatown, Sunset Park and Flushing neighborhood guides and itineraries; a guide to Malaysian culture in New York City; special interviews with Asian community leaders, including Moonlynn Tsai and Yin Chang (co-founders of Heart of Dinner); and more. The Asian Experience in NYC also spotlights annual content, including how to Celebrate Lunar New Year—a new video highlighting The Asian Experience in NYC will launch during Lunar New Year 2022—and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month; as well as various guides to support the City’s Asian community, including Asian-Owned Restaurants, including all-you-can-eat spots Laojie Hotpot, Akino and Picnic Garden, among others, and Asian-Owned Shops, like Pearl River Mart, Imperial Ballroom and more. The new content hub also includes Support for the Asian Community in NYC and Beyond. Chinatown and Flushing were among the first neighborhoods to be impacted by the pandemic, and since then, NYC & Company has stood in solidarity with the Asian community and created this guide to help actively uplift and support these communities. This guide shares links to organizations such as Stop Asian Hate, Stop AAPI Hate, Organizations Against Asian Hate and more, to donate and learn about anti-Asian violence, as well as educational resources on ways to stop anti-Asian violence while traveling and in local communities. New content and information will be added on a regular, ongoing basis at nycgo.com/TheAsianExperience.

Native Americans have inhabited the region now known as New Mexico for thousands of years, and their presence is felt throughout the state. This culture is reflected in nearly every aspect of life within Albuquerque – from the city’s art and architecture to its festivals and culinary traditions. This influence extends into the present day among New Mexico’s 23 Native American pueblos, tribes and nations, ensuring this way of life continues to endure. Locals and visitors can immerse themselves in Albuquerque’s indigenous culture through the following: Learn about the Pueblo people at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Centerand dine at the Indian Pueblo Kitchen. Explore ancient carvings atPetroglyph National Monument. Shop for Native American art and jewelry at Bien Mur Indian Market Center, Palms Trading Co., the Indian Pueblo Store and many other galleries and stores throughout the city. Experience murals by Native American artists. Enjoy a beer at Bow & Arrow Brewing Co., the first brewery in the country owned by Native American women. Stay at Hotel Chaco, Albuquerque’s newest luxury hotel, built with inspiration from the ancient pueblo culture of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. To learn more or plan your trip to Albuquerque visit www.visitalbuquerque.org.

The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua experience is rooted in Hawaiian culture and offers its guests a myriad of packages to enhance their trip. For example, guests can take a guided hike at Pu’u Kukiu Watershed that focuses on the unique natural communities followed by an interactive Q&A session with the tour guide. During the holiday season, guests can also participate in cultural activities such as Lei making with flowers sourced locally and Hula lessons. These activities not only offer guests a unique Hawaiian experience, but also teaches guests about the traditions and culture. For more information, visit https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/kapalua-maui/hotel-overview/holiday-season.