Museums & Attractions
- Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris is running through Oct. 9 at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The exhibition is comprised of more than 100 masterpieces by Picasso from the permanent collection of Paris’ Musée National Picasso and is made possible because of the temporary closure of the museum until 2012 for extensive renovations. Works include paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints drawn from every phase of the artist’s career, such as Celestina (1904), from the artist’s Blue Period; the Cubist Man with a Guitar (1911); the proto-Surrealist Two Women Running on a Beach (1922); the Head of a Bull (1942) fabricated from a bicycle seat and handlebars; the six life-size bronze Bathers (1956) and the late self-portrait The Matador (1970). For more information, call 415.750.3600 or visit http://deyoung.famsf.org.
Programs & Packages
- Forever Resorts houseboats is targeting the incentive market with rentals from any of its destinations in Arizona, California or Nevada. The company rents its own custom-built houseboats at Lake Powell in Arizona, Lake Mead near Las Vegas and Lake Berryessa near Sacramento, Calif., among other locations. Each houseboat, which can sleep eight to 12 passengers, comes equipped with kitchens, dining tables and chairs, top-deck sun canopies, private staterooms, swimming platforms, waterslides and outdoor barbecue grills. The company can also arrange beach barbecues for groups. For more information, call 480.998.1981or visit www.foreverhouseboats.com.
Destination Dispatch
- The Maui GPS Tour Guide is a virtual tour guide that talks to vacationers as they drive around Maui. Using the GPS built into the iPhone or iPad 3G, the guide knows exactly where travelers are and alerts them to hidden beaches, scenic attractions and hikes, and also tells them about the island’s history, geography and unique plants and animals. The Tour Guide is split into five tours: West Maui, Central Maui, South Maui, Haleakala and the Hana Highway. Users select and purchase the tours they want from inside the application based on the regions they intend to visit. For more information, visit www.hawaiigaga.com/hawaii-iphone-apps.aspx.
Tech Update
- The Ritz-Carlton recently launched a concierge campaign with Foursquare. Tips will be populated regularly by concierges from all 75 Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide, so when a traveler checks into a destination, they can find local tips and information from a nearby Ritz-Carlton concierge. Rather than focus on what is going on inside the hotel, information will focus on what is happening outside the hotel, including top restaurants, new museums, last-minute events and general tips for tourists in the area. Foursquare users can follow The Ritz-Carlton on Foursquare at www.foursquare.com/ritzcarlton.
- Daily deal company LivingSocial is now offering LivingSocial Adventures, which recently launched in 30 cities, creating custom-designed experiences for groups that combine local activities, transportation and related services. The activities are researched, put together and led by LivingSocial employees, though the company also contracts with vendors. Among the initial offerings include sushi-making and sake-tasting outings in San Diego and Salt River kayaking adventures near Phoenix. For more information, visit http://livingsocial.com.
Event Calendar
- San Francisco’s cocktail heritage and bar talent will be toasted with a weeklong celebration this fall during the Fifth Annual San Francisco Cocktail Week, Sept. 19-25. The cocktail week is presented by the Barbary Coast Conservancy of the American Cocktail (BCCAC) and will be held in venues, bars and restaurants throughout the Bay Area. For more information, visit www.sfcocktailweek.com.
- Utah will be hosting the Moab Folk Festival from Nov. 4-6. The three-day music festival includes contemporary, traditional and roots music. The venue includes food, crafts and art vendors. For more information, call 435.259.3198 or visit www.nowplayingutah.com.
- The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival will be held Nov. 16-20. Now in its eighth year, the weeklong festival features wine-tasting seminars, cooking classes by James Beard award-winning chefs and a Reserve Tasting & Silent Auction. The festival culminates with a grand event, featuring over 170 wineries pouring 800 wines, 70 fine-dining restaurants and just over 30 gourmet food companies and culinary-related exhibitors. For more information, call 619.342.7337 or visit www.worldofwineevents.com.