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Short Takes

Museums & Attractions

    • Tucson’s Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures opened in August. Among the collections is one of the oldest miniature houses in the U.S., a Brooke Tucker house, created in 1775. The 15,560-square-foot museum is fashioned as a mini time machine, by which the visitor sets off on a self-guided tour through different lands and times both real and imagined. Inside are over 160 miniature houses and room boxes from notable artisans. For more information, call 520.881.0606 or visit www.theminitimemachine.com.
    • After being closed for more than a year, the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Scottsdale will open its Virginia G. Piper Theater in October following a $16 million renovation. Large groups can break out of the boardroom and into the new theater, which has seating for more than 830 people and can host performances, lectures, films and cooking demonstrations. The center also offers a variety of other meeting spaces such as its stage, atrium and Theater 4301, allowing it to serve groups of up to 900 people. Groups can also arrange to attend the performances. For more information, call 480.994.2787 or visit www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org.

Programs & Packages

    • The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco is reaching out to corporate executives, meeting planners and conference attendees with a message that "It’s Not Extravagant, If It Produces Results." To attract groups, the hotel is offering its Meetings Within Reach, which includes a number of value-added components for groups booking 10 or more nights at the hotel this year. The components include a general session meeting room, high-speed Internet access in one meeting room, 20 percent savings on audiovisual needs and select suite upgrades. Meetings must be booked by Sept. 30 and held by Dec. 31. For more information, call 415.364.3459 or visit www.ritzcarlton.com/meetings.

Kudos

    • The Marquis Los Cabos recently introduced its Hotel with a Heart initiative, in which one dollar of every seven spent on food and beverage will be given to a charity of a group’s choice. Groups also can choose to allocate the monies toward a choice of local charities including The Red Cross, Los Cabos Children Foundation and Liga Mac. This initiative is for groups of 10 rooms or more. The Marquis Los Cabos also donates 5 percent of the hotel’s annual revenue to the staff’s education and health care in its Marquis University. For more information, call 877.238.9399 or visit www.marquisloscabos.com.