HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway 2015 Now Open for Entries

One lucky homeowner is going to be living the life in the mountain town of Asheville, North Carolina, location of the HGTV Urban Oasis® 2015. Viewers can now enter for a chance to win the grand prize package valued at more than $500,000 that will be awarded this fall. In addition to this approximately 1,300-square-foot residence and all its furnishings, the grand prize winner will receive a 2016 Acura TLX and $50,000 cash provided by national mortgage lender Quicken Loans. The HGTV Urban Oasis 2015 sponsors include American Honda Motor Co., Inc.; Overstock.com, Inc.; Quicken Loans, Inc.; Kohler Co.; The Sherwin-Williams Company; BonaKemi USA, Inc.; Mullican Flooring, LP; and Window World.

The HGTV Urban Oasis 2015 is a completely renovated 1920s craftsman bungalow perfect for sustainable urban living at its best in this trendy Asheville, N.C. neighborhood. The giveaway prize package includes the fully furnished home, plus a 2016 Acura TLX and $50,000 courtesy of national mortgage lender Quicken Loans.

During the giveaway period, which runs through September 24, eligible viewers can enter twice per day online at HGTV.com/UrbanOasis and can sign up for daily email reminders. HGTV Facebook and Twitter fans (# hgtvurbanoasis) can check in for ongoing updates and new details.

Designed with a transitional Americana feel, the master bedroom of the HGTV Urban Oasis 2015 features custom-milled tongue-in-groove walls, a luxurious bed, rustic furniture and a private en suite.

The backyard sanctuary of the HGTV Urban Oasis is draped in curtains to provide privacy for a morning cup of coffee or the perfect backdrop for an intimate dinner party.

Decorated by interior designer Brian Patrick Flynn, the fully furnished HGTV Urban Oasis 2015 features an open-concept floorplan with two bedrooms and two baths. All the renovations on the home were overseen by HGTV house planner Jack Thomasson, which included raising the original roof to include a loft over the dining room. Designed by Wilson Architects and fully renovated by JAG and Associates Construction, the home remains indicative of the Asheville style: bold, transitional, creative, vintage, and handmade, with an emphasis on art and practicality.

Inside the front door of the HGTV Urban Oasis, the dramatic blue-gray walls and comfortable seating are centered around a ceiling-high fireplace set in a beautiful herringbone-patterned tile.

The black kitchen cabinetry of the HGTV Urban Oasis 2015 pops against the white floor-to-ceiling subway tile, while the center island fashioned from reclaimed wood gives the space a nice warmth.

The design incorporates natural materials with a nod to industrial elements. The expansive front porch and back deck extend the living space of the home to the outdoors. The outdoor spaces celebrate Asheville craftsmanship from exposed beams above the front door to a backyard sanctuary that is draped in red and white curtains to provide privacy for a morning cup of coffee or the perfect backdrop for an intimate dinner party.

“HGTV worked with real estate broker Mike Figura of Mosaic Realty to find a location that was close to the city’s most popular restaurants, shops and art galleries,” said Ron Feinbaum, general manager, HGTV Home Promotions. “Located near the popular Vermont Avenue and Haywood area, the renovated 1920s bungalow features many new upgrades both inside and out, with touches that make it a hot property for sustainable urban living at its best in a trendy neighborhood. For families, we found a home that is close to schools and a short walk or bike ride to a local community park.“

The Stars Come Out to Honor Neighborhood Stars From Across the Country at the 13th Annual Ford Neighborhood Awards

Emmy Award-winning Family Feud host, talk show and radio star Steve Harvey hosted a star-studded evening at the 13^th Annual Ford Neighborhood Awards on Saturday August 8^th in Atlanta, GA. In a dynamic at the Philips Arena, stars, nominees, and fans came together in celebration for an unforgettable night filled with fiery performances, comedy and poignant moments of inspiration in an awards show for the everyday men and women across the country who are making a powerful impact in their neighborhoods. Music icon Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds kicked off the show with a passionate opening set that quickly had the crowd on its feet, chart-topping recording artist and movie star Tyrese Gibson performed beloved crowd favorites, and GRAMMY® winning singer Usher delivered a blowout closing set to cap a special evening of honors.

Steve Harvey and Marjorie Bridges-Woods attend the 2015 Ford Neighborhood Awards Hosted By Steve Harvey at Phillips Arena on August 8, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Moses Robinson/Getty Images for Neighborhood Awards)

Harvey and television/radio/film producer Rushion McDonald created the one-of-a kind Neighborhood Awards show (formerly the Hoodie Awards) and Neighborhood Awards Weekend, to recognize and celebrate men and women nationwide who uplift their neighborhoods through their contributions and excellence as entrepreneurs, religious/community leaders, educators and more.

Usher performs at the 2015 Ford Neighborhood Awards Hosted By Steve Harvey at Phillips Arena on August 8, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Moses Robinson/Getty Images for Neighborhood Awards)

Driven by public nominations, the show bestows 12 non-traditional awards in the following Neighborhood Awards categories: Best High School Coach, Best Nail Salon, Best School Teacher, Best Car Wash Detail Shop, Best Church Choir, Best Soul Food Place, Best Barber Shop, Best High School, Best Barbecue Place,Best Beauty Salon, Best Church, and Best Community Leader.  The 2015 Neighborhood Awards Weekend includes support from Ford Motor Company, State Farm, Masterbuilt, AARP, McDonald’s, Express Employment Professionals, Tracfone, and DHerbs. 

The winners are:

Best High School Coach, sponsored by Masterbuilt: Kenneth Lockett, Franklin Senior High School (KBZE 105.39-FM, Baton Rouge, LA)

Best Nail Salon: Salon Couture (WHUR 96.3-FM Washington, DC)

Best School Teacher, sponsored by Express Employment Professionals: Melanie Griffin Hamlin, Manor High School (KKMJ 96.3-FM Austin, TX)

Best Car Wash/Detail Shop: Goodson’s Auto Detailing (WWLD 102.3-FM Tallahassee, FL)

Best Church Choir, sponsored by AARP: St. Mark 4B Missionary Baptist Church (WWDM 101.3 Columbia, SC) 

Best Soul Food Place: Dusties Southern Style Buffet (WVAZ 103.3-FM Chicago, IL)

Best Barbershop: Platinum Cuts Barbershop (V101.9-FM Charlotte-Gastonia, NC)

Best High School, sponsored by State Farm: Charles Herbert Flowers High School (WHUR 96.3-FM Washington, DC)

Best Barbecue Place: Kenny’s Ribs & Chicken (V103-FM Chicago, IL)

Best Beauty Salon, sponsored by Dherbs: Platinum Stylz Hair Studio (WVKL 95.7-FM Norfolk, VA)

Best Church, sponsored by McDonald’s: First Baptist Church of Glenarden (WHUR 96.3-FM Washington, DC)

Best Community Leader, sponsored by Ford: James L. Jones Sr., Simply United Together (Majic 107.5/97.5-FM Atlanta, GA)

National Geographic Books Unveils Special Access to Pope in New Book, ‘Pope Francis and the New Vatican’

Since his ascent to the papacy in 2013, Pope Francis has electrified the world and infused the Vatican with unprecedented energy. National Geographic photographer Dave Yoder was given over six months of special access to the pope to document his daily life inside the Vatican. POPE FRANCIS AND THE NEW VATICAN (National Geographic Books, $40) beautifully captures the spirit of the new Vatican and the transformation sweeping through the Catholic Church.

Timely and poignant, POPE FRANCIS AND THE NEW VATICAN reveals this spiritual revolutionary through a new lens. Yoder and Draper take readers on a stunning journey through the complexities of the new Vatican under Pope Francis, his early life and journey to the papacy, and the Church’s relationship with our rapidly changing world.

Through breathtaking photography and exclusive reporting, POPE FRANCIS AND THE NEW VATICAN showcases the pope’s public life and personal convictions as never before. Yoder’s photos and the stories behind them, written by acclaimed author and journalist Robert Draper, highlight the deep love and mercy that lies at the heart of Francis’ ministry. Draper spent a month in Rome interviewing Vatican officials and three weeks in Argentina interviewing dozens of Pope Francis’ lifelong friends, many of whom had never spoken with the media before. Draper’s essays reveal the themes that have been woven through the pope’s entire life.

The Vatican finds the pope to be a paradox. Known as the “available pope,” a contradiction in terms, he is hailed by the press as a reformer, a radical and a revolutionary. Those close to him in Rome say he is all of these things, and yet none of them. The answer to the question reverberating around the world remains a mystery: Will Pope Francis change the Vatican, or will the Vatican change him?

“He won’t change doctrine. What he will do is return the Church to its true doctrine — the one it has forgotten, the one that puts man back in the center,” says the pope’s longtime friend, Franciscan priest Ramiro de la Serna.

Publishing just ahead of Pope Francis’ first trip to the United States in September 2015, the book is being released in conjunction with the August issue of National Geographic magazine, which features Yoder and Draper’s work on the pope and the Vatican as the cover story. The magazine is presently available on digital newsstands and print newsstands.

For National Geographic’s youngest fans, National Geographic Kids is simultaneously releasing a Level 1 reader, POPE FRANCIS (978-1-4263-2253-2; $3.99), available in English and Spanish.

National Geographic Books & Home Entertainment creates and distributes books, videos and other print and digital media that inform, engage and entertain diverse audiences about our world. Annually, the group publishes more than 125 new books for adults, families and kids and releases 250+ new DVDs and digital downloads of the Society’s films and TV shows, and these National Geographic titles are available in more than 35 local-language editions. While special photographic and film collections, travel books, nature shows, birding guides and atlases are a core focus of the Society’s products, books and videos dealing with subjects as diverse as animals, the human mind, history, world cultures and the cosmos are also produced. For more information, visit nationalgeographic.com/books.

National Geographic Live Announces Fall 2015 Season Lineup. Season Includes First Ever National Geographic Photo Fest

Hear explorers’ thrilling reports from the field, be inspired by National Geographic photographers, go on assignment with a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and experience the excitement of Telluride Mountainfilm, all without leaving Washington.

National Geographic Live announced its 2015 fall season lineup of events at National Geographic’s downtown Washington, D.C., headquarters. The fall schedule features 11 fascinating events that reflect National Geographic’s belief in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world, including presentations by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario and renowned climber Jimmy Chin. Tickets go on sale Aug. 10 and may be purchased online at natgeolive.org/dc, via telephone at (202) 857-7700 or in person at the National Geographic Museum ticket desk between 10 am. and 6 pm. All events take place in National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium. Free parking is available in the National Geographic underground garage for programs that begin after 6 pm.

National Geographic Live is the live events division of the National Geographic Society, a global nonprofit membership organization driven by a passionate belief in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world. Drawing from a broad roster of talent including renowned photographers, scientists, authors, filmmakers and adventurers, National Geographic Live’s critically acclaimed programs have connected with audiences worldwide for over a century.

“We look forward to providing Washingtonians with another season of illuminating programming that offers inspiration and entertainment to audiences of all ages. They will have the opportunity to see, hear and, in some cases, even taste the experiences our incredible explorers and storytellers have to share,” said Andy van Duym, National Geographic’s vice president for National Geographic Live.

The fall season kicks off on Sept. 16 with “Pope Francis and the New Vatican,” a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the August 2015 National Geographic magazine cover story and corresponding book, with National Geographic magazine Editor in Chief Susan Goldberg, writer Robert Draper, photographer Dave Yoder and special guest Archbishop of Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl. The season closes on Jan. 16 with the first ever National Geographic Photo Fest, where the audience will have the opportunity to meet and be inspired by renowned National Geographic photographers on the heels of the annual invitation-only National Geographic Photography Seminar.

The Nat Geo Live fall schedule also includes two student matinees featuring modified versions of the evening presentations geared toward students. Nat Geo Live’s student matinees are supported by education sponsor Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions. On Nov. 4, photographer and National Geographic Fellow Joel Sartore will present to students about Photo Ark, his ongoing quest to document biodiversity by photographing the world’s most endangered species before they disappear. A Photo Ark exhibition will be on display in the National Geographic Museum beginning Nov. 5. The fall student matinee schedule wraps up on Dec. 8 with photojournalist Ami Vitale and “Rhinos, Rickshaws & Revolutions.” Nat Geo Live’s student matinees are open to school groups for $10 per student, which includes admission to the National Geographic Museum. For tickets or more information on the student matinees, call (202) 857-7281.

SEPTEMBER 2015

POPE FRANCIS AND THE NEW VATICAN

SEPT. 16, 7:30 PM

A week before the first papal visit to the United States since 2008, join National Geographic magazine Editor in Chief Susan Goldberg for a behind-the-scenes look at the August 2015 cover story of National Geographic magazine, “Will the Pope Change the Vatican?” National Geographic was given special access to the pope and permission to document his daily life inside the Vatican for the story. Goldberg will moderate a conversation about this remarkable man with writer Robert Draper, photographer Dave Yoder and special guest Archbishop of Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl. A sale and signing of Draper and Yoder’s recently published book, POPE FRANCIS AND THE NEW VATICAN, will follow. The event is sponsored by The PNC Foundation.

OCTOBER 2015

WHEN TOUGH MEETS TECH: EXPLORATION’S NEW FRONTIER

OCT. 15, 7:30 PM

National Geographic explorer Mike Libecki is on a quest to conquer the world’s last unclimbed peaks. Follow Libecki as he tackles mud and mayhem on the massive Poumaka Tower in French Polynesia, encounters fear and friendship on the Bamiyan slopes of Afghanistan and dodges polar bears while exploring Greenland’s icy waters, all backed by the technology that helps his teams summit and bring the stories back to us. The event is sponsored by Dell.

THE DEFENDERS: INSIDE THE WILDLIFE TRADE

OCT. 22, 7:30 PM

Get an insider’s look at National Geographic’s new Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which was established to expose elephant poaching and combat the illegal wildlife trafficking that’s driving many animals to extinction. The unit’s director, investigative reporter and National Geographic Fellow Bryan Christy, will take the stage to share how the SIU is going undercover to report surprising stories that are making a difference around the globe.

NOVEMBER 2015

BUILDING THE PHOTO ARK

NOV. 4, 7:30 PM

Photographer and National Geographic Fellow Joel Sartore is on a mission to capture portraits of the world’s most endangered species before they disappear. With ingenuity, wit and a serious Midwestern work ethic, Sartore has created the Photo Ark project, the largest archive of its kind, with 5,000 images and counting. Hear about his comical mishaps, endearing encounters and personal stories to document a world worth saving. A Photo Ark exhibition will be on display in the National Geographic Museum beginning Nov. 5.

IT’S WHAT I DO: A PHOTOGRAPHER’S LIFE OF LOVE AND WAR

NOV. 11, 7:30 PM

Go on assignment with Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario to the world’s most dangerous conflict zones. Addario has survived death threats and two kidnappings to bring back powerful images from hotspots such as Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan for National Geographic magazine and The New York Times. She’ll share the heart-pounding reality of working in war zones and explain what keeps her going back to places to which most of us would never venture.

TELLURIDE MOUNTAINFILM

NOV. 12-14, 7 PM

Over three unique evenings, enjoy a rich selection of films moderated by Telluride Mountainfilm’s director David Holbrooke and the unveiling of National Geographic’s 2016 Adventurer of the Year nominees. Since 1979, this festival held high in the Rockies has been one of the major events in the adventure film circuit, immersing audiences in issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving, adventures worth pursuing and conversations worth sustaining.

PRISTINE SEAS

Founders of Life is Good® Brand Reveal Power of Optimism in ‘LIFE IS GOOD: The Book’

For over two decades, the much-loved Life is Good^® brand has brought smiles, hope and help to millions. Over the course of their business career, founders and brothers Bert and John Jacobs have learned that optimism more than just a marketing tactic — it’s the force that drove them to overcome tremendous obstacles and build a $100 million clothing company with just $78 and a used minivan. LIFE IS GOOD: The Book: How to Live with Purpose and Enjoy the Ride (National Geographic Books; ISBN 978-1-4262-1563-6; Sept. 1, 2015; $25 hardcover) is the story of the Jacobs brothers’ journey and the secrets to their success.

In 1989, the Jacobs Brothers designed their first T-shirts and began selling their designs in the streets of Boston and out of an old van at colleges and street fairs. Today, Life is Good^® is a $100 million positive lifestyle brand focused on spreading the power of optimism. Ten percent of Life is Good’s annual net profits go to helping kids overcome poverty, violence and illness. The Life is Good Kids Foundation partners with leading childcare organizations to positively impact the quality of care delivered to the most vulnerable children. Bert and John both reside in Boston.

Beginning with their tough upbringing in working-class Boston, LIFE IS GOOD: The Book charts the trajectory of their lives and the company they built. A key influence was their mother, Joan, who could always be counted on to put a humorous and positive spin on everything. “I like running out of money,” she would say. “Then I don’t have to worry about what I need to buy.” This undaunted optimism became the driving force of the Life is Good brand.

As they note in their introduction to the book, studies have demonstrated a strong link between optimism and increased mental and physical health, greater resilience in the face of stress and adversity, and a higher overall quality of life. “Optimism is a powerful and pragmatic strategy for accomplishing goals and living a fulfilling life. By acknowledging obstacles and opportunities — but focusing on the opportunities — optimism enables us to explore the world with open arms and an eye toward solutions, progress and growth. It also makes life a hell of a lot more fun,” they write.

LIFE IS GOOD: The Book offers lighthearted, practical self-help that will inspire and empower readers to embrace life with delight and daring. Bert and John use their experiences to illuminate the 10 Life is Good superpowers that drive optimism:

• Openness is transformative, allowing us to discover new ways of being and acting by withholding judgments and preconceptions.
• Courage is our inner resolve to try new things.
• Simplicity sheds unnecessary complications and distractions.
• Humor is a universal connector.
• Gratitude is the practice of taking stock of the many things that are good, right and working in our lives.
• Compassion is an act of connecting and sharing in the hard stuff, helping ease the pain, heal the hurt and right the wrongs.
• Fun is the irresistible spark that connects and inspires us to feel truly united and alive.
• Creativity enables us to reach beyond conventional thinking to make things better.
• Authenticity is knowing who you are and acting like it.
• Love is the most powerful force in the world.