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Halloween Starts Early in Transylvania
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In the crass spirit of Christmas commercialization - which starts right after Halloween - we thought equal time ought to follow the Christmas holidays for marketing Halloween 2007. So in the spirit of eager and early holiday commercialization, we offer this hype for "Halloween In Transylvania - with Vlad the Impaler."
Next year will be the 110th anniversary of Dracula, Bram Stoker's 1897 novel that popularized the myth of vampirism. To commemorate the book, and celebrate the Halloween holiday, there'll be a 10-day tour winding through Romania's Carpathian mountains deep into the heart of Transylvania where you'll follow in the footsteps of Stoker's hero, Jonathan Harker and his confrontation with Count Dracula, perhaps based on real-life Vlad Tepes, better known as Vlad the Impaler.
 Bran Castle, dubbed Dracula's Castle and reportedly for sale. |
During the tour, you'll visit legendary castles, party in Dracula's birthplace, Sighisoara Citadel, and lunch in the house where Vlad the Impaler was born. You'll be offered the same meal Stoker's hero ate when in Bistrita citadel. In Tokaj you'll have a wine tasting with the same wine Dracula served his guests. You'll have accommodations, candle lit dinner and a camp fire with all the right stories in Dracula's Castle - Bram Stoker's imaginary bastion where, in Borgo Pass, he placed the bloody Count Dracula.
In the village of Maramures, you'll meet famous woodcraftsman Grigore Tulean who'll teach you how to make a special stake for killing a vampire. It's said that the ancient ritual of preparing the dead with a stake or needle through the heart is still practiced in some remote regions.
The magic world of Romanian folklore will be brought to life by the famous Romanian ethnographer, Mihai Dancus, while visiting the Village Museum in Sighetul Marmatiei. And in Misiuga, you'll meet at least one of Dracula's descendents when the Baron of Dracula welcomes you to his windswept tower in Bistrita citadel.
Come to think about it, Dracula's actually a rather modern person. He parties all night long, spends all day sleeping (OK, in a coffin - which is admittedly a bit kinky), never says no to a drink (bloody, from the source, neither shaken nor stirred). He's rich, never ages and lives in a private castle. What a catch.
If you don't have a reflection in the mirror, you decompose when sun light strikes you, you're over 200 years old, and have an inordinate fondness for Bloody Marys, the tour's free. Otherwise, it's about US$1,800. Full info at www.visit-transylvania.us/ romania-travel-transylvania/ halloween-dracula-tour.html. Reservation info at www.visit-transylvania.us/ reservations.html.
They'll even arrange a Gothic costume for you for the Halloween party! - Rich Steck & Judi Janofsky
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2007
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accommodations
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Pinehurst Resort and the Arts Council of Moore County are wooing all suitors to its annual Heart 'n Soul of Jazz event, February 9-10, 2007. Tickets are on sale now for the pre-Valentine's weekend, featuring two Grammy-nominated performers who know how to mesmerize a crowd.
Travelers to Oahu or Hawaii's Big Island in 2007 can enjoy flexibility and steep value through a new fifth night free special being offered at three Outrigger oceanfront hotels.
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cruises/tours
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The Princess Captain's Circle loyalty program has broken new ground, becoming the only such program from a major cruise line to qualify members either by the number of cruises completed or the total number of days sailed. Previously only based on the number of cruises, the program's new qualification option will recognize passengers who choose to sail on longer voyages.
With its inimitable style, luxury cruise specialist Crystal Cruises will conclude its World Cruise 2007 this spring with a stellar line-up of entertaining enrichment. Befitting the final sojourn of Crystal Serenity's 109-day global odyssey, Grammy-nominated songstress/actress Maureen McGovern joins the NFL's winningest coach Don Shula, former Presidential Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater and Chef Christopher Émé of L.A.'s acclaimed Ortolan, among others.
Travel Impressions, one of the country's largest tour operators selling destinations worldwide, has released its 2007 Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda brochure featuring new properties located throughout Barbuda, Barbados, Turks & Caicos, Grenada, St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic.
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destinations
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Purchase a Walt Disney World(r) Resort vacation with United Vacations and receive a free Theme Park ticket upgrade valued at $100 per person. Bookings made by February 18, 2007 will receive a 3-Day Magic Your Way Ticket with Park Hopper(r) and Water Park Fun & More Option at a Magic Your Way Base Ticket price. This special offer is valid for travel April 15 through June 2, 2007.
It's not a brass instrument, a stringed instrument or a drum, but the fluted pink-lined conch shell has the distinction of being the "instrument" behind Key West's most indigenous form of musical expression. The offbeat art of conch shell blowing is to be demonstrated by novices and rare "pucker pros" at the 45th annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday, March 3.
A new free guide to the lighthouses of Lake Michigan makes it easy for travelers to find the picturesque beacons around the lake and another free guide shows travelers one of the best places to base a tour: the Port Cities of Manitowoc-Two Rivers.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) have launched the Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC), a private, for profit entity registered in the Cayman Islands and designed to generate marketing to further support the promotion of the region.
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events
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The Sweethearts Arts & Crafts Festival at Holiday Isle Resorts and Marina, mile marker 84 oceanside in Islamorada, is set for Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 3-4. The annual festival is a popular venue for attendees to find unusual and unique Valentine's Day gifts.
Organizers have announced that Wendell Berry, Jon Meacham and Robert Hicks will be the featured speakers for the 2007 Conference on Southern Literature, held in conjunction with the Fellowship of Southern Writers. The conference, which novelist and publisher Louis Rubin, Jr. calls "without doubt the leading literary event in the South," drew a record crowd of 1,100 attendees from 30 states when it was last held in 2005.
Despite exploding engines and bent chassis, challenging off-road mountain tracks, and extreme climates from searing heat to freezing fog, 30 teams from around the world arrived in Darjeeling to complete the first-ever .travel sponsored Rickshaw Run charity adventure.
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