Seeking to Enhance their Guests’ Beauty and Body Care Regimen, Marriott Hotels Partners with THANN and Acca Kappa Green Mandarin Collection for New Amenities Launch

Marriott Hotels, the flagship brand of Marriott International and THANN, a natural Thai skincare line, recently announced a partnership to reinvigorate the guestroom beauty experience by rolling out a new amenities line in Marriott properties throughout the Americas and Asia. The partnership marks Marriott’s continued dedication to improving every touch-point that allows guests to “Travel Brilliantly” at their hotels. While THANN amenities are rolling out in Marriott hotels in the Americas, Latin America and parts of Asia, Acca Kappa, an Italian amenities line, will simultaneously roll out their Green Mandarin Collection in Marriott Hotels properties in Europe and the Middle East.

Propelled by growing consumer demand of its customers for undiscovered high-end products, Marriott Hotels selected THANN for its increasing global appeal, leading its expansion in the US market. Formulated through artful natural therapy and modern dermatological science, the THANN amenities are made from high quality raw materials and botanicals and presented in imaginative packaging.

Today’s world travelers are sophisticated and savvy – they expect touches of luxury that reflect their inspirational lifestyle

Acca Kappa Green Mandarin Collection

and sense of style and exploration. Marriott will offer guests such an aspirational and uplifting sensory experience through THANN’s Aromatic Wood Collection – a line that balances Nutmeg essential oil with the sweetness of Orange and Tangerine essential oils. THANN’s high-end amenities will be available in all Marriott Hotels properties throughout the US and Canada by the end of October 2013 and in Latin America and Asia by the end of 2013. In addition to being featured in Marriott Hotels’ guestroom bathrooms, the Aromatic Wood Collection will also be available for purchase on www.shopmarriott.com.

The THANN Aromatic Wood Collection consists of the following:

Aromatherapy Shampoo (8.45 fl. oz.) – $26.00

Aromatherapy Conditioner (8.45 fl. oz.) – $26.00

Body Lotion (11.15 fl. oz.) – $36.00

Aromatherapy Shower  Gel ( 11.15 fl. oz.) – $29.00

Rice Bran Oil Soap Bar (3.5 oz.) – TBD

Aromatherapy Hand Wash (8.45 fl. oz.) – $19.00

Marriott’s partnership with THANN adds to the brand’s effort to reimagine the future of travel on a global scale. Re-designed lobbies and public spaces known as Greatrooms are being rolled out for the next generation of travelers who seamlessly blend work and play in an increasingly mobile and global world. With the expansion of mobile check-in feature on the Marriott Mobile App, guests can now check-in to most Marriott Hotels properties in the United States and Canada using their smartphones. As the industry leader in hosting meetings, Marriott is introducing new concepts designed for the new mobile worker including Workspring at Marriott, Red Coat Direct and Workspace on Demand. Additionally, Marriott Hotels has recently unveiled its innovation lab, “The Underground,” located beneath the company’s headquarters in Bethesda, MD where work is underway on a revolutionary new guest room.

“Marriott Hotels is on a journey to reimagine the future of travel and THANN amenities will elevate the guest experience at our hotels,” said Matthew Carroll, vice president, Brand Management, Marriott Hotels. “Our research shows that customers rank bathroom amenities among the top five most important influences on their overall guest room experience. Partnering with THANN will also enable Marriott to meet another customer desire for the introduction of new amenities on a regular basis. As THANN’s products continue to become available in North America, we are excited to be among the first to offer the brand’s products to our guests.”

Leading Expert on Addiction, Eating Disorders, Trauma and Recovery Launches New Blog

“ABUNDANT LIVING” BY DR. KIM DENNIS OFFERS VALUABLE INFORMATION AND INSIGHTS FOR WOMEN IN THE RECOVERY COMMUNITY

As a leading expert in the areas of addiction, eating disorders, trauma and recovery, board-certified psychiatrist and addictions specialist, Kim Dennis MD, has launched her own blog titled, Abundant Living. Dr. Dennis brings a new perspective to her blog as she herself is a physician in recovery. Her passion is sharing her knowledge as a woman in recovery first and foremost. To visit the new blog, go to http://drkim.timberlineknolls.com/

As she wrote in her introductory article on the new blog: “My ultimate wish is to carry a message of hope and real life recovery

Dr. Kim Dennis, CEO & Medical Director, Timberline Knolls. (PRNewsFoto/Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center)

experiences to the hundreds of thousands of women and girls who are sisters in the journey each day. My goal is to provide inspiration, humor, connectedness and knowledge that no one in recovery is ever alone; that God is full of grace and love for each and every one of us. It is one small way I can give back to the many incredible women who have given so much to me throughout my lifetime.”

“Dr. Kim”, as she is affectionately known by residents at  Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, is a board-certified psychiatrist and addictions specialist who has worked with more than a thousand women and adolescent girls. She specializes in eating disorder treatment, addictions recovery, trauma / PTSD and co-occurring disorders and maintains a holistic perspective in the practice of psychiatry. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and obtained her medical degree from the University Of Chicago Pritzker School Of Medicine. She completed her psychiatry residency training at the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she served as chief resident. In 2013, she was named “Outstanding Clinician” by Addiction Professional Magazine.  As CEO & Medical Director at Timberline Knolls, she supervises the medical staff and sets the overall vision and direction for the treatment program.

“Abundant Living isn’t about material things: it’s about health and wellness and happiness, having an abundance of joy and spiritual well-being,” said Dr. Dennis. “My wish is to carry a message of hope and real life experiences to the hundreds of thousands of women and girls living in recovery.”

Abundant Living regularly offers information and resources for women in recovery as well as their loved ones and family members. It reveals insights that may help those currently struggling with a disorder or addiction and those who are living in recovery. Readers get to know Dr. Dennis on a personal level and her viewpoints on many timely topics affecting those in recovery.

“I want my readers to find strength in being a woman and support for their life-long recovery journey,” adds Dr. Dennis. “My goal is to provide hope, humor, connectedness and the knowledge that we are not alone, that God is full of grace and love for

Timberline Knolls. (PRNewsFoto/Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center)

each and every one of us.”

The  Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center (www.timberlineknolls.com) is a leading private residential treatment center for women and adolescent girls (ages 12 – 65+) with eating disorders, substance abuse, trauma, mood and co-occurring disorders.  Located in suburban Chicago, residents receive excellent clinical care from a highly trained professional staff on a picturesque 43-acre wooded campus.  Women and families seeking Christian treatment can opt for specialized Christian-based therapy.  For more information on Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, call us at 877.257.9611.

OPEN HEART, The Moving Story Of Rwandan Children On A Life-Saving Journey To Receive Open Heart Surgery, Debuts Oct. 14, Exclusively On HBO

OPEN HEART, spotlighting an Italian cardiologist in Northern Sudan as he fights to save young patients who have traveled from Rwanda for this high-risk procedure, debuts MONDAY, OCT. 14 (10:20-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Heart disease is often associated with an unhealthy lifestyle in the West, but in Sub-Saharan Africa treatable maladies such as strep throat can lead to rheumatic fever that causes heart damage, especially in young children and teenagers. Though it is invasive, dangerous and prohibitively expensive, open heart surgery is almost always the only option to save their lives. Sudan’s Salam Centre for Cardiac Emergency is the only hospital on the entire continent that provides free heart surgery for patients from poverty-stricken regions. Dr. Gino Strada, an Italian war surgeon who believes “the right to receive proper health care is a universal right,” founded the non-governmental organization Emergency, which runs the Salam Center, funded by private donors and the Sudanese Government.

Marriott International’s Autograph Collection Expands Portfolio with Debut of New Travel Experiences This Fall

THE LEXINGTON NEW YORK CITY IS THE THIRD NEW YORK CITY HOTEL TO JOIN, ALONG WITH NEW OFFERINGS IN FLORIDA AND NORTH CAROLINA

The Autograph Collection, an exclusive portfolio of passionately independent hotels from Marriott International, continues to grow with the inauguration of four new distinct travel experiences this Fall in the United States and Europe. Nearing its 50th hotel milestone, the collection proudly introduces its third hotel in New York City, The Lexington New York City, the luxurious Siena Hotel in North Carolina and the boutique Castle Hotel in Florida. Most recently Autograph Collection made entrée into the United Kingdom with the induction of the majestic St. Ermin’s Hotel in London.

Exactly like nothing else, the Autograph Collection is an upscale portfolio of hand selected independent hotels each offering its own unique identity. Autograph Collection hotels fall within diverse categories of travel experience including Urban Excitement, Indulgent Escape, Culinary Delight, Artistic Getaway, Historic Exploration and more and each hotel is thoughtfully chosen based on quality, character and individuality.

Detailed information on the below additions and their signature experiences is showcased in its own unique way on Autograph Collection’s award winning web site, www.autographhotels.com.

The Lexington, New York, NY

After a multi-million dollar renovation aimed to restore the property’s former jazz age glamour, The Lexington New York City features 725 stylish guest rooms and suites designed to cater to the luxury business and leisure traveler. An icon of the jazz era, the hotel presents a new design style that blends the property’s legacy with a modern expression of classic New York.

The Lexington New York City

Located in the heart of Manhattan’s midtown district, The Lexington New York City originally opened in 1929 at the height of New York’s hotel boom and has played host to some of the country’s most notable personalities and exclusive groups; the hotel was also home to American icons Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe, who lived in a suite on the 18th floor – currently being relaunched as the Centerfield Suite.

The newly renovated Lexington New York City welcomes guests through an elegantly draped entrance and into a grand two-story lobby. The reception desk, crafted in bronze and black lacquer, guards a pronounced feature wall that hosts a three-dimensional sculpture by Alba Clemente, a stand-out piece in The Lexington New York City’s art collection commissioned by industry insider and former confidante of Andy Warhol, Paige Powell. The Mixing Room, the hotel’s new jazz-inspired bar and lounge concept radiates from the main lobby, along with a library area that presents a place for gathering.

Platinum Selling Artist And The X Factor Judge Demi Lovato Announces THE NEON LIGHTS TOUR Set To Launch In February 2014

ALL-GIRL NORTH AMERICAN TOUR FEATURES DATES WITH LITTLE MIX, CHER LLOYD AND FIFTH HARMONY; WILL VISIT 27 CITIES INCLUDING NEW YORK, CHICAGO, VANCOUVER, TORONTO, DALLAS, NASHVILLE

Tickets On Sale Now at http://www.LiveNation.com

Platinum-selling music artist and The X Factor judge Demi Lovato announced exclusively on a Facebook Q&A that she is launching THE NEON LIGHTS TOUR on February 9, 2014, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at Pepsi Live At Rogers Arena. Produced and promoted by Live Nation, the North American tour will support her latest Hollywood Records album, DEMI, and visit 27 cities across the United States and Canada, including shows in the New York City/Tri-State area, Chicago, Toronto, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Nashville. “Neon Lights” is the forthcoming single from her recently-launched album, DEMI, and will impact at radio in early November.

THE NEON LIGHTS TOUR will also feature lead special guests, Little Mix, performing on their first U.S. tour, as well as Cher Lloyd who will also perform on select dates. The X Factor finalists turned hit-making girl group, Fifth Harmony, will also join their X Factor mentor on all dates throughout the tour.

DEMI, the 4th album from Demi Lovato on Hollywood Records, is out now and features the chart-topping, double platinum-certified single, “Heart Attack,” and “Neon Lights.” The album hit #1 on iTunes in 50 countries and debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 chart in the U.S. “Heart Attack” reached #5 on the Billboard Top 40 Radio chart and became the 3rd Top 10 hit of Demi’s career. The video for the song has amassed over 100 million views on VEVO, while a remix of the single also hit #1 on the Billboard Dance Chart.

Demi is also joining the Emmy Award®-winning show GLEE for a guest starring role set to start airing on October 3. Earlier this month, she returned for her second season as a judge and mentor on The X Factor. She will perform on both The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (October 2) and The Ellen DeGeneres Show (October 7).

Earlier this year Little Mix soared into the top 5 of the Billboard 200 album chart with their debut album DNA, entering the chart at No. 4 and making history as the first ever British girl group to debut in the top 5 with their debut album release. Since then, the group has amassed a dedicated and loyal fan base, having graced the covers of Seventeen and Girls Life magazines and garnering over 150 million cumulative VEVO views, 2.6 million Facebook fans and over 4.3 million Twitter followers. Little Mix have become global superstars selling over 3 million records worldwide and are prepping for the Fall 2013 release of their new album featuring the upcoming single, “Move.” With worldwide momentum behind them, the group is now ready to tour the U.S. for the first time as special guests on the Demi Lovato tour. For more information on Little Mix, visit www.littlemix.com.

Fifth Harmony has quickly become one of the most-talked about acts in pop music. After debuting “Miss Movin’ On” live on The Today Show, the program received more tweets about this concert than any other performance all summer. The music video has surpassed 11 million views mark on VEVO, while the song reached #34 on Top 40 Radio, and is continuing to gain steam. Cumulatively, they have 70 million total YouTube views, nearly half a million Facebook “likes”, and over 750,000 Twitter followers. Building on the monumental success of their debut single “Miss Movin’ On“, Fifth Harmony (5H) are now gearing up to release their first EP, Better Together [Epic Records/Syco Music] on October 22, 2013. For more information on Fifth Harmony, visit www.fifthharmonyofficial.com.

THE NEON LIGHTS TOUR DATES (All dates and venues below subject to change.)
As mentioned above, Fifth Harmony will perform on all dates below, while *Dates with Little Mix* and Cher Lloyd** are marked with the appropriate astericks.

February 9* Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live @ Rogers Arena
February 11* San Jose, CA SAP Center
February 13* Anaheim, CA Honda Center (On sale October 12)
February 15* Glendale, AZ Jobing.com Arena
February 17* Grand Prairie, TX Verizon Theater At Grand Prairie
February 19* Houston, TX Toyota Center
February 21* Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
February 23* Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
February 25* Sunrise, FL BB&T Center
February 26* Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Times Forum
March 1* Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
March 2* Fairfax, VA Patriot Center
March 5* Worcester, MA DCU Center
March 7* East Rutherford, NJ IZOD Center
March 8* Wallingford, CT Toyota Oakdale Theatre
March 11* Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
March 13* Auburn Hills, MI The Palace At Auburn Hills
March 14* Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
March 16* Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center
March 18* St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
March 20** St. Louis, MO Chaifetz Arena
March 22** Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
March 23** Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
March 26** Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
March 27** Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
March 29** Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
March 30** Indianapolis, IN Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Please visit www.DemiLovato.com, www.LiveNation.com and www.Ticketmaster.com for additional ticket and tour information

Citi® cardmembers will have access to a pre-sale tickets beginning Wednesday October 2, at 10:00 AM local time through Citi’s Private Pass® Program. For complete pre-sale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com. The general on-sales will begin on Saturday October 5, at www.livenation.com.

Empire State Building Selects Winning Photos of Annual “My Empire State Building” Digital Photo Contest

PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY HONORED FOR STUNNING IMAGES OF ICONIC LANDMARK

The Empire State Building (ESB) announced the Grand Prize Winner of its second annual digital photo contest, “My Empire State Building,” honoring images submitted by photography enthusiasts around the nation. The Grand Prize Winner, Kirit Prajapati of Weehawken, New Jersey will receive $5,000 and his photo will be featured as ESB’s Facebook profile photo now through to December 31, 2013.

Kirit Prajapati’s Grand Prize-winning photo from this year’s “My Empire State Building” Digital Photo Contest. (PRNewsFoto/Empire State Building)

The contest began on May 23, 2013, and invited amateur and professional photographers alike to submit photos of the World’s Most Famous Office Building to the Empire State Building’s Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/EmpireStateBuilding). Empire State Building page fans voted on their favorite images, and 14 weekly winning photos were selected. After the submission period concluded, ESB determined 43 runners-up photos, including the weekly winners, and one Grand Prize-winning photo.

Scope Miami Beach 2013 Art Show celebrates New Location on the Sands of Miami Beach for Miami Art Week 2013

SCOPE MIAMI BEACH 2013 OPENS ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, TO WELCOME VIPS AND PRESS AT ITS FIRST VIEW BENEFIT, AND WILL RUN DECEMBER 4 – 8, 2013.

It is with tremendous enthusiasm that SCOPE announces its new location on the sands of Miami Beach. Situated on the most highly visible location in Miami, SCOPE Miami Beach’s 70,000 sq. ft. pavilion, during the upcoming Miami art Week, will feature an outdoor beach lounge and stunning views of the ocean, nestled amongst the iconic architecture of Ocean Drive at 10th Street. Working closely with the City of Miami Beach, SCOPE will contribute the cultural landscape of this vibrant neighborhood with an extraordinary presentation of emerging contemporary art.

Welcoming 100 International Exhibitors and 15 Breeder Program galleries to new location, SCOPE Miami Beach 2013 will also feature a wide range of curated projects, sponsor programs and Platinum VIP tours. With an emphasis on activating emerging galleries and artists, attendees to SCOPE are seasoned collectors, curators and tastemakers looking for new discovery.

Featured Programs

MAXIKIOSCO

Maxikiosco is the 2nd piece in Fruin’s celebrated ICON series. Composed from hundreds of plexi offcuts, this work celebrates the vibrancy of the corner stores of Argentina. Like New York’s Watertower and Los Angeles’ Billboard, these works transform signature architectural shapes into kaleidoscopes of color that project a cities identity to the viewer. The sculpture will be a beacon of light illuminated by the sun during the day and computer controlled halogens by night.

SUBVERTISING

Ron English brings his unique brand of “subvertising” to SCOPE Miami Beach with an installation exploring the many layers of advertising as wish fulfillment and thought control. Using his signature technique of stretching truth and taste just beyond acceptable limits, English forces us to confront the loaded impact of our littered visual landscape.

ONCE UPON A TIME DOWN THERE

Composed of sculpture, political propaganda and historic artifacts, Nyugen Smith’s site specific installation is a fictional museum documenting the colonization of Africa and the West Indies. As told through several bodies of work that span the artist’s career, these salvaged boats, healing elixirs, homemade maps and books, all contribute to the historical contextualization of an imaginary location, where real events have taken place.

ENOUGH ABOUT YOU

Einat Amir’s performance Enough About You is inspired by how our possibilities to socialize have been simplified and altered dramatically due to the numerous meeting possibilities offered by contemporary media. We can read stranger’s diaries and view their family albums long before we have closer contact. We have opportunity to form an opinion in advance, to accept or reject before actually meeting. This work creates a monitored lab where one can observe “authentic” encounters between two strangers who are controlled and guided by an experimental conversation structure created specifically for this piece. The observer also participates, and is monitored and controlled

SCOPE taps into the cultural psyche to present only the most pioneering work across multiple creative disciplines. With over a decade of critically acclaimed art fairs and non-profit initiatives that extend beyond the ordinary in contemporary art. With over 65 art fairs spanning more than a decade, SCOPE is the largest and most global art fair in the world, celebrated as the premier showcase for international emerging contemporary art and multi-disciplinary creative programming. Renowned for its uncanny ability to forecast new visual trends that are embraced globally, SCOPE Art Shows in Miami, Basel, New York, London and the Hamptons have garnered extensive critical acclaim, with sales of over $500 million and attendance of over 700,000 visitors.

For information, visit www.SCOPE-ART.com

SCOPE MIAMI BEACH PAVILION

On Miami Beach, FL

Entrance off Ocean Drive at 10th St.

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY PRESENTS THE 2013 MARGARET MEAD FILM FESTIVAL, OCTOBER 17-20, 2013

FEATURED FILMS AND EVENTS INCLUDE:  SCREENING OF UPDATED 1923 ZUNI FILM NEVER BEFORE SEEN BY PUBLIC

U.S. PREMIERE OF MISS NIKKI AND THE TIGER GIRLS ON OPENING NIGHT, AND SNEAK PREVIEW OF VIDEO GAMES THAT DRAW ON NATIVE ALASKAN STORIES

The 2013 Margaret Mead Film Festival—the preeminent showcase for contemporary cultural media and conversation in the unique setting of the American Museum of Natural History—will screen 39 outstanding films and host special events and performances from Thursday, October 17, through Sunday, October 20, 2013. The festival features 16 U.S. premieres, with subjects spanning the surprising ripple effects of tourism, the immigrant protagonist across cultures, the tension between the pull of globalization and the push to preserve traditional ways of life, and communities coping with environmental and economic catastrophe. The 2013 festival slate of films explores the theme “See for Yourself,” asking audiences to reflect on how we perceive culture through various artistic narratives and forms as well as on how our identities shape how we look and what we see.

This year’s theme invites audiences to come to the Museum to engage in the powerful experience of seeing culture on film. It is an invitation to come to the festival to see new reflections of “your” ”self,” to have audiences understand themselves in relation to other individuals and to various communities. It invites viewers to reflect on ways of seeing—how we perceive visual culture and how our identities shape how we look and what we see. The theme also raises questions about what it means to authentically see something for yourself—do you need to be in a place physically to understand a place or its cultures? Or how can we be transported to “see for ourselves” through film?

In the spirit of filmmaking as a tool of cultural empowerment, the Museum will open its film vault and showcase a never-before-seen 1923 silent film Shalako Dance Ceremony, Zuni, New Mexico, which has been recently re-edited and narrated by modern Zuni tribal leaders who reclaim the record of this sacred ceremony as a cultural treasure. The festival also spotlights indigenous communities experimenting with storytelling through digital gaming in a festival dialogue on Sunday, October 20, and the process of visual ethnography, which visitors can observe over several days as an anthropologist live-paints portraits in the Museum’s Grand Gallery.

“Its roots in Museum anthropology make the Mead Film Festival a unique cultural destination delivering a potent mix of artistic innovation, compelling narratives, and distinguished scholarship,” said Ruth Cohen, senior director of education strategic initiatives and director of the Center for Lifelong Learning at the Museum.

“Audiences rave about the films’ unexpected topics, the opportunity to engage in the Museum’s collections as part of the festival experience, and, as one audience member put it, the opportunity to ‘learn something in a moving and memorable way.’ The Mead exemplifies the Museum’s mandate to offer lifelong learning opportunities both deep and wide, reflecting the past, present and future ideas that are the measure of the human experience.”

This year’s films shed light on contemporary culture through the work of filmmakers from countries around the world, including Belgium, Burma, China, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Rwanda, and Venezuela. With 20 filmmakers and film subjects in attendance, the festival’s post-screening discussions allow audiences to participate in rich, engaging, and intimate conversations.

Festival Opening Film and Closing Night Receptions

The opening-night film on Thursday, October 17, is the U.S. premiere of Miss Nikki and the Tiger Girls, directed by Juliet Lamont. Initially packaged for pop stardom, all-girl group The Tiger Girls embark on a long and rocky journey toward self-expression, rejecting the sexist conventions of the modern Burmese music industry and boldly bankrolling an album of original songs with a surprising feminist edge. Part fun and giggly behind-the-scenes exposé and part insightful political and sociopolitical comment, the film ultimately tells two interwoven stories of remarkable change and courage.

 

Miss Nikki and the Tiger Girls

 

In honor of the diverse set of Mexican films featured in this year’s festival (Calle Lopez, Three Voices), the closing-night celebrations on Sunday, October 20, feature a vibrant blend of old and new with a rousing performance by the electrifying Mariachi Flor de Toloache, the first and only established all-female mariachi band founded in New York. The 2013 Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award Jury will be introduced by Sevanne Kassarjian, Margaret Mead’s granddaughter, and the Mead Filmmaker Award winner will be announced during the closing-night reception.

This year’s films include:

” Allan Baldwin: In Frame, directed by Tearepa Kahi Gyumri. Photographer-turned-historian Allan Baldwin’s magnificent pictures of Maori tattoos are a tribute to a dying traditional art form. (U.S. premiere)

And Who Taught You to Drive?, directed by Andrea Thiele

” And Who Taught You to Drive?, directed by Andrea Thiele. Three people’s humorous attempts to get driver’s licenses while living abroad—American Jake in Japan, German Mirela in India, and South Korean Hye-Won in Germany—create a sly, warmhearted exploration of cultural difference and acceptance. (New York premiere)

Journey Through The “Decades of Decadence” with Ellie Krieger: Iconic Dessert Recipes Updated with Better-for-You Ingredients

Each decade has its own style, including desserts. Yet whether it’s southern Lemon Chess Pie from the 1820s, New York’s Black and White Cookies first baked up in the Roaring 1920s or Frozen Grasshopper Pie from the 1950s, some desserts have stood the test of time. CanolaInfo’s “Decades of Decadence” recipe collection will take you on a delicious trip down memory lane with modern influence by Ellie Krieger, M.S., R.D., host of the Cooking Channel’s “Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger.”

“History shaped these desserts and they have stuck around because they are inherently delicious,” says Krieger, developer of the recipe collection. “They were driven by the availability of ingredients in their day; advertising by food companies in women’s magazines, such as Strawberry Shortcake for a biscuit brand; advancements in food technology like canned, sliced pineapple; or appliances such as the invention of the freezer as a separate unit from the refrigerator for storing items like ice cream.”

Krieger updates six iconic desserts in the “Decades of Decadence” recipe collection with heart-healthy ingredients like canola oil, low-fat yogurt and whole-grain flour. Such ingredients help keep calories in check and saturated fat content low. Each decadent dessert contains less than 400 calories per serving and is made with canola oil, which has the least saturated fat and most omega-3 fat of all common culinary oils.

“Simple ingredient swaps like canola oil for butter and Greek yogurt for cream lighten up desserts without taking away from their indulgent taste,” says Krieger. “Everyone should be able to enjoy a dessert once in a while and these recipes make it easy to do so.”

She further adds, “Recipes from different eras help us remember and celebrate those time periods. Such culinary traditions are a huge part of the joy of cooking and in this case, ‘baking someone happy,’ as the retro ads of Betty Crocker would say.”

The “Decades of Decadence” Recipe Collection includes the following:

This Lemon Chess Pie, a Southern classic, has the requisite flaky pastry crust and sweet lemon custard filling, but it’s healthier with canola oil.

1820s: Lemon Chess Pie

Source: Recipes developed by Ellie Krieger, RD., Category: Baking, Dessert

This Southern classic’s name is a bit of a mystery, but the story goes that when asked what kind of pie the inventor made, she said “jes’ pie” and culinary history was made. This version has the requisite flakey pastry crust and sweet lemon custard filling but it’s healthier with canola oil and a touch less sugar than the sticky-sweet traditional version, so the lemon really shines through.