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Short Takes - West January 2010

Museums & Attractions

  • The GRAMMY Museum recently unveiled its newest special exhibit, Michael Jackson: A Musical Legacy. Residing on the museum’s fourth floor, the exhibit serves as a follow-up to the earlier Michael Jackson: HIStyle exhibit, which opened last February, and the temporary memorial display, erected just after the King of Pop’s passing. Including Jackson’s trademark fedora and gloves, six elaborately embellished jackets, original lyrics, a Jackson 5 stage costume and more, the exhibit includes additional artifacts never before exhibited in a museum. Across eight video monitors, visitors can watch footage of Jackson’s appearances on the annual GRAMMY Awards and other rare footage. A new interactive experience allows visitors to dance on a floor of light-up tiles, mimicking Jackson’s own moves in the Billie Jean music video. The exhibit will remain on display through this summer. For more information, call 213.765.6800 or visit www.grammymuseum.org.
  • After 83 years, California’s Santa Monica Pier in November was designated as the official western terminus of Route 66 by the Route 66 Alliance, an organization that promotes and preserves the historic roadway between Chicago and Santa Monica. A replica of the once lost "End of the Trail" sign was unveiled at a ceremony last November at the Southern California landmark. The sign’s unveiling was a tribute to a historic and famous sign that read "End of the Trail" that once stood overlooking the Santa Monica Pier during the 1930s. For more information, call 310.458.8900 or visit www.santamonicapier.org.

Programs & Packages

  • In light of the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver recently put together the 2010 Gold Medal Meeting Package. Offered now through 2010, the package is customized to each group and includes a list of available Olympic-themed activities, including snowshoeing at Cypress Mountain; ice time at General Motors Place, home of the NHL Vancouver Canucks; a motivational speech from an Olympic athlete; and team-building activities at the Olympic Oval. Olympic venues are inaccessible through March 2010. For more information, call 604.689.9333 or visit www.fourseasons.com/vancouver.

Kudos

  • By partnering with Orlando charity Clean the World, Colorado-based RockResorts is collecting used soap and shampoo from its collection of eight hotels and enabling the organization to provide the supplies to needy people in homeless shelters and impoverished countries around the world. Recently, Clean the World delivered a shipment of 45,000 bars of soap to Cap Hatien, Haiti. The organization also distributes soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion and bath gel to domestic homeless shelters. With the RockResorts partnership, Clean the World will begin distributing these necessities to Colorado homeless shelters as well. The donated soap is processed by Clean the World in partnership with Orlando’s Central Care Mission, a long-term men’s recovery home that takes homeless men off the streets and helps them recover from addictions. The soap would otherwise end up in landfills across the U.S. In addition to Haiti, Clean the World has distributed soap internationally to other missions and charitable organizations, including the Floating Doctors, World Vision, the Salvation Army, Covenant House and more. For more information, call 303.404.1800 or visit http://rockresorts.com.