Blooming Marvellous

THE Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, named by Architectural Digest as one of the "15 Breathtaking Botanical Gardens to Visit This Season," presents Dallas Blooms, the largest annual floral festival in the Southwest, from February 23 to 

April 7. 

Themed "Life's A Picnic," the spring festival showcases an explosion of color from more than 500,000 spring-blooming blossoms, thousands of azaleas and hundreds of Japanese cherry trees. Presented by IBERIABANK, Dallas Blooms features an extraordinary, larger-than-life, picnic scene topiary comprised of a stunning 40'x40' picnic blanket, a vase of flowers, a picnic basket with pie and a giant picnic ant—perfect for photo opportunities.

The nationally acclaimed eight-acre Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden features 17 indoor/outdoor galleries, 150 interactive science games and an abundance of themed adventures throughout the Dallas Blooms festival.

www.dallasarboretum.org/blooms

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Brewing up some Halloween fun

LOOKING for scary good fun? The travel experts at The GO Group, LLC found these events brewing across the U.S.

The Ken's Korny Corn Maze is N. Carolina's first and longest operating corn maze. The Maze opens September 28 and runs every weekend until November 10.

In Philadelphia, test your nerves at Eastern State Penitentiary's Terror Behind the Walls, a spooky haunted house inside an abandoned prison. The event includes Hollywood-quality special effects and lighting, digital sound, animatronic creatures and custom props. Open until November 10.

Boo at the Zoo in St. Louis offers kid-friendly events with haystacks, pumpkins and souvenir T-shirts complete with a costumed grizzly bear dressed as Wonder Woman. 

On Halloween for two decades, Voodoo Authentica, New Orleans, has hosted Voodoo Fest in the French Quarter. On-site priests will speak and teach Voodoo, Louisiana's version of the faith, and the music and spirituality associated with the Lwa — the spirits of the Voodoo pantheon.

Get your frightening fill of creepy creatures and underwater Halloween happenings at SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium in Dallas. Watch trained costumed divers compete to see who can carve the best jack-o-lantern underwater surrounded by sea creatures on Wednesdays and Saturdays, October 17-31. Plus, trick-or-treat alongside sharks, crocodiles and other eerie creatures on October 31.

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Through the eyes of a lens

THE Landscape Architecture of Lawrence Halprin, a traveling photographic exhibition about the life and work of landscape architect Lawrence Halprin (1916-2009), will open February 28th 2018, in #Dallas at the NorthPark Center and will remain on view through April 30th 2018.

Created in 2016 during the centennial anniversary of Halprin’s birth, the exhibition features 56 newly commissioned photographs by leading landscape photographers of dozens of Halprin’s major works. 

Ranging from recently rediscovered residential projects created early in his career in the 1950s to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. capstone projects such as the Yosemite Falls approach and Stern Grove in San Francisco, and significant postmodernist projects including the Los Angeles Open Space Network.

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Fun Facts about Dallas

BIG things happen in #Dallas, Texas and www.visitdallas.com has listed some fun facts you may not know.

The frozen margarita machine was invented in Dallas.

The integrated circuit computer chip (which became the microchip) was invented in Dallas in 1958.

The 52 foot 'Big Tex' statue that greets visitors at the annual State Fair of Texas is the tallest cowboy in Texas.

The Dallas Arts District is the largest urban arts district in the United States.

The Dallas area is the largest metropolitan area in the nation not on a navigable body of water.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Arlington Metroplex is the No. 1 visitor and leisure destination in Texas.

The Dallas Public Library permanently displays one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, printed on July 4, 1776, and the First Folio of William Shakespeare's "Comedies, Histories & Tragedies."

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is home to 23 of the richest Americans.

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A taste of luxury in Cuba

VICTOR – a global on-demand #privatejet charter service recently launched in the US – has started direct flights to #Cuba from major U.S. cities, plus curated itineraries giving access to the luxuries of the formerly forbidden island.

Guests will get experiences such as cigar and rum tastings, a private cocktail reception, concerts with entertainers such as the Buena Vista Social Club, dinners with prominent cultural figures, historians, and other specialists.

Itineraries include accommodation in hotels or up-scale rented homes, and travel in classic American autos.

Victor members in the US can book direct flights to Havana from 19 major US cities, including Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Key West, Miami, New York City, Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Orlando.

Victor, in partnership with Cuba Educational Travel, are able to customize programmes for single travellers, families, or larger groups

Prices for a group of eight travellers flying direct to Havana for a four-night programme begin at $40,000.

www.flyvictor.com

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24685728@N07/6564602185">cuba2291</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)

Your pass to Dallas

DALLAS, Texas, will soon join New York City, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, and more than half a dozen other tourist destinations as an official CityPASS city. 

The pass is a pre-paid programme that cuts ticket prices at attractions.

Each Dallas CityPASS booklet will save visitors 41 percent off combined admission to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Reunion Tower GeO-Deck, a choice between the Dallas Zoo and The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, and a choice between the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. 

The pass also saves time, allowing holders to skip most main-entrance ticket lines.

The Dallas CityPASS will retail for $44 (£29.50) for adults, $30 (£20.12) for children aged 3-12.

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Picture Credit: Perot Museum Alamosaurus by Rodney - Flickr: Perot Museum. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons ,Dallas World Aquarium Entranceby Jay R Simonson Jsimo1 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Tax-free shopping in the Lone Star state

XMAS shoppers with big budgets might want to think about a trip to Texas, where shopping is tax-free for international visitors.

More than 5,000 stores throughout Texas offer tax-free shopping to overseas visitors.

They can simply take their purchases – along with receipts, flight tickets and passports and visas – to refund centres.

Major shopping cities in the state are Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

See more: www.traveltex.com and www.TaxFreeShopping.com

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Picture Credit: 'Downtown Dallas' by Fredlyfish4 (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons