New York City’s The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center Launches as the First LGBT-Specific Site on the Google Cultural Institute

Google Street View Brings Keith Haring’s Once Upon A Time Mural And Other Masterpieces Online For All To Enjoy

Launched in late January, over 150 historical artifacts from New York City‘s The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center), (located at 208 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011, +1-212-620-7310), can now be viewed online by people around the world due to a new partnership with the Google Cultural Institute. The Center will launch its collection of exhibits as the first LGBT-specific space featured on the Institute’s growing platform.

Thanks to this new virtual exhibition, users will be able to see The Center’s iconic Keith Haring mural, Once Upon a Time, pieces by David LaChapelle and Barbara Sandler, plus many other Center treasures in just a few clicks at google.com/culturalinstitute. (To learn more about their work, please visit gaycenter.org.)

Established in 1983, New York City’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center empowers people to lead healthy, successful lives. The Center celebrates diversity and advocates for justice and opportunity. Each year, The Center welcomes more than 300,000 visits to their building in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan from people who engage in our life-changing and life-saving activities.

Virtual tour with Street View 
Using the Street View feature, people can move around The Center virtually, selecting works that interest them and clicking to discover more or diving into the high resolution images, where available.

A specially designed Street View “trolley” took 360 degree images of selected spaces which were then stitched together, enabling smooth navigation of over 15 rooms within The Center. Highlights include the ground floor Kaplan Assembly Hall where ACT UP famously originated, the Haring bathroom and The Center’s newly-renovated lobby, featuring a café, cyber center and welcoming information desk.  

Digital exhibits
Specially curated virtual exhibits have been developed for online visitors who can discover five interactive collections, curated by experts at The Center. The digital exhibitions tell the story of the birth of The Center, the early years of the NYC Pride March, how The Center has fostered LGBT arts, activism and culture throughout the years and more.

Some of the most important items of the online exhibition are:

• Keith Haring’s mural, Once Upon A Time, which celebrates male sexual liberation in the days before the AIDS epidemic. 
• Photography of the very first NYC Pride March in 1970. This celebration has grown from 2,000 participants and spectators to over 1.8 million each successive year.
• A snapshot of gay life and leisure from the 1940s, as shown in photos from The Center’s National History Archive.

“We’ve spent the past couple of years renovating our physical space to be the home that LGBT New Yorkers deserve,” said Glennda Testone, Executive Director at The Center. “Now we’re thrilled to partner with the Google Cultural Institute to invite people around the world to experience our building, our history, our home, satisfying their hunger for a connection to the LGBT community and the incredibly rich stories that live within our walls.”

The Google Cultural Institute and its partners are putting the world’s cultural treasures at the fingertips of Internet users and are building tools that allow the cultural sector to share more of its diverse heritage online: Technologies That Make The World’s Culture Accessible To Anyone, Anywhere. Since its inception, The Google Cultural Institute has partnered with more than 1,000 institutions, giving a platform to over 200,000 artworks and a total of 6 million photos, videos, manuscripts and other documents of art, culture and history. Read more here.

 

The Hotel Viking of Newport, Rhode Island, Kicks off Nine Weeks of Beer Dinners on March 9

Priced At $39 Per Person, Each Dinner Showcases An Innovative Menu Paired With Local New England Craft Beers

The Hotel Viking kicks off 9 Weeks of Beer, a series of innovative menus paired with craft beers from some of New England’s top breweries, on March 9. The hotel, a member of the Historic Hotels of America, is located at One Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island and offers 208 elegantly appointed guest rooms and suites. With more than 13,000 square feet of event space, including two ballrooms, boardrooms and private meeting space, Hotel Viking easily accommodates groups and weddings large and intimate.

Snowing at The Hotel Viking. Photo Credit: Lee Abney

The Hotel Viking’s culinary experiences include the award-winning One Bellevue, which offers three meals and Afternoon Tea daily, indoor and patio dining, as well as a bar and lounge. Top of Newport is the Hotel Viking’s seasonal roof top lounge offering live entertainment and special events and menus. SpaFjör features a selection of massage and skin treatments. Additional amenities include an indoor heated pool, fitness center, courtyard and the historic Newport Kay Chapel. The Hotel Viking is a 30-minute drive from TJ Green Airport (27 miles) in Providence and the Providence Train Station, and is driving distance from Boston (70 miles) and New York City (170 miles)

Craft Beer Dinner Pairing Series at The Hotel Viking in Newport, Rhode Island.

This year’s 9 Weeks of Beer continues Hotel Viking’s winning streak of theme events including its widely popular Spirits & Stogies nights and its Viking Wine Festival. First up, Hotel Viking Chef Barry Correia and his team offer a menu designed to pair with brews from Samuel Adams. The fixed-price menu starts with an appetizer of endive salad with pistachio brittle, pickled cauliflower, shaved red onion and herb oil, followed by a main course of fried cod served over mashed rutabaga with savory braised kale. And to finish: cheesecake (beer-flavored, of course).(For reservations, call 401-848-4813.)

Hotel Viking Craft Beer Dinner Pairings – weeks 1-6

“Our beer distributors helped us compile a list of breweries that would be interested in participating,” said Chef Correia. “Each week, we’ll pair a three-course dinner with three beers from the featured brewery.” The series will run for nine weeks on Wednesday nights. Beer parings are served in 6-oounce pours.

Vive La France!: The Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection Announces New Super Ship, S.S. Joie de Vivre, Set to Sail The River Seine in France in 2017

In early 2017, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection will introduce their new masterpiece, the one-of-a-kind Super Ship, S.S. Joie de Vivre, sailing along France’s historic Seine River. Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection —the world’s only authentic boutique cruise line™, features luxurious ships with an average capacity of 130 guests, exclusive excursions, gourmet cuisine, and the highest staff-to-guest ratio in the river cruise industry. Based in Los Angeles, California, Uniworld offers truly all-inclusive itineraries in Europe, as well as voyages in Russia, China, Vietnam and Cambodia, India, and Egypt – for a total of 22 rivers in 26 countries worldwide.

“We are extremely proud to launch the S.S. Joie de Vivre in Northern France in March 2017,” said Guy Young, President, Uniworld. “Uniworld was one of the very first river cruise companies to sail the rivers of France, and our parent company, The Travel Corporation, has been bringing travellers from all over the world to this amazing country for over 70 years as this has been one of our most popular destinations, so our commitment to France is unwavering.“

Aptly named S.S. Joie de Vivre, Uniworld’s new ship will reflect the French “joy of living” philosophy and their profound appreciation for food, wine, art and music. Everything from the ship’s décor and design to farm-to-table cuisine and superb local wines will be on full display for guests to enjoy. The design team from Uniworld’s sister company, Red Carnation Hotels, will once again bring their creative talents to the S.S. Joie de Vivre, designing another ship as majestic as the destination itself. French-inspired handcrafted furniture with rich fabrics, antiques, art, gilded and wrought-iron accents will blend in perfect harmony with modern-day conveniences.

The S.S. Joie de Vivre‘s Salon de Beaux-Arts Lounge will feature a collection of fine art and antiques curated from auction houses, such as Sotheby’s and Christie‘s, as well as private collections. The Le Club l’Esprit comes complete with a cinema and a surrounding pool with a hydraulic floor, which can turn into a dance floor or outdoor cinema at night. Dining venues include Le Restaurant Pigalle and La Cave de Vins, a vinoteque for private dining and wine-pairing dinners.

The Joie de Vivre features two Royal Suites, eight Junior Suites, and 54 staterooms for a capacity of no more than 128 guests. Each suite will be designed with its own signature style and feature enhanced amenities and services, including butlers trained to the same exacting standard as Buckingham Palace. All suites and staterooms have custom-made-to-order Savoir of England beds with unique headboards of various designs and marble bathrooms in various colour-schemes.

“This will be the most beautiful ship sailing the Seine and will provide every possible comfort for our guests,” says Young.

The S.S. Joie de Vivre will sail Uniworld’s popular “Paris & Normandy” itinerary, and when in Paris, will dock in the heart of the city. “We made the decision to build a 125 metre ship instead of 135 metres, so she can dock conveniently in the heart of Paris,” further adds Young.

Couples can save from $900 to $4,600 by paying in full before May 15, 2016 on Uniworld’s value-packed all-inclusive cruises to Europe. Cruises include scheduled airport transfers; all gratuities onboard and onshore; port charges; all meals with unlimited beverages including, incredible local wines, craft beers, premium spirits, such as Grey Goose and Glenfiddich; daily guided shore excursions with options to personalize; in-suite butler service; concierge services; 24-hour room service; and Wi-Fi.

Americana Manhasset Releases 2016 “Hawaii 6-Oh!” Spring Fashion Campaign and Video

This spring, Americana Manhasset debuts its full color 64-page Fashion Book and corresponding short film, “Hawaii 6-Oh!” Spring ready-to-wear, accessories and jewelry from the most luxurious brands in the world are captured in a high-style picture book starring top runway and editorial models Lindsey Wixson and Sean O’Pry.

Americana Manhasset, situated on Long Island’s Gold Coast, about 30 minutes from Manhattan, is a high-end, open-air “premier shopping destination”* located in Manhasset, New York. It is the largest and most well known high-end retail center in the Long Island Gold Coast vicinity along a stretch of Northern Boulevard commonly referred to as the Miracle Mile of Manhasset. With its limestone shopfronts, granite sidewalks and colorful flower beds, Americana ManHasset‘s 60 shops sell the priciest status brands and some customers have been known to spend more than $100,000 a year and five times that if they’re planning a wedding or buying fine jewelry.

MIU MIU AND OLIVER PEOPLES AT ILORI OPTICAL

Gucci

2016 marks the 60th Anniversary of Americana Manhasset and the Spring campaign launches a year-long anniversary celebration. Hawaii has always been a perfect destination for celebrating important milestones. In fact, Americana owners Frank & Rita Castagna celebrated their honeymoon 60 years ago in Hawaii, providing inspiration for this season.

BOSS

BOTTEGA VENETA

Photographed, produced and styled by Laspata/DeCaro, the campaign was shot in various locations in and around Oahu’s famed North Shore. The pristine beaches and lush, dramatic mountains provide the backdrop to Lindsey and Sean’s fashion-filled getaway, with Sean calling to mind a modern version of a young Elvis in Blue Hawaii. Authentic hula girls and flame throwers are featured, and a full-blown luau was created for the cover image. The campaign is festive and young, with a definitively tropical vibe.

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Dior

Americana’s Spring Book is direct-mailed to 130,000 targeted households. The images are being featured in national and regional print ads in publications such as The New York Times, T-Style magazine; WSJ: The Wall Street Journal magazine and The World Journal newspaper, as well as in various digital media such as www.nytimes.com. For the first time, the campaign will be featured on the outside of the Hampton Jitney with a total bus wrap. The campaign is also being shown prominently throughout the season on Americana’s website, www.americanamanhasset.com and featured on Americana social media outlets.

Rolex at London Jewelers

In conjunction with the still images, Americana Manhasset has debuted a short film, entitled “Hawaii Six-Oh!” which stars Wixson and O’Pry and captures the fun spirit of the campaign set to a tribal beat. The piece will be featured in digital advertising as well as front and center on Americana’s website, along with an entertaining and fast-paced behind-the-scenes video of the photo shoot.