Cuba was witness once again to the largest annual international event celebrating the Habano culture. The festival has come to an end with the celebration of the Gala Evening that paid tribute to the Cohiba brand on its 50th Anniversary, with exclusive tastings of its new releases. The gala hosted 1,200 guests that enjoyed live performances by Cuban pianist and composer, Chucho Valdes; the Spanish flamenco singer, Estrella Morente; and the Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler.
This year the traditional humidor auction of seven collector items reached a total of 865.000€ that will be entirely donated to the Cuban Public Health System. This edition has been especially unique thanks to the auction of the first humidor (01/50) of the exclusive special series “Cohiba 50 Aniversario”, which raised 320.000 euros. This humidor is an authentic work of art and a unique collector's item, and heralds a true innovation in terms of traditional craftsmanship and technical design and development.
During the evening, the “Maestro de Maestros” was chosen in the XV International Habanosommelier Contest. The winner was Juan Jesús Machín from Cuba. Luis Manuel García Urrea (United Arab Emirates) and Pedro Tejeda (Cuba) were runners-up in second and third place respectively.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7779251-international-stars-xviii-habanos-festival/
There is only one place to be on St. Patrick’s Day and that is Ireland. The St Patrick’s Festival is truly one of the great spectacles of the world — a week-long celebration of music, dance and outdoor shows culminating in the stunning St. Patrick’s Day parade through the historic streets of Dublin on March 17th.
One can also visit the beautiful town of Downpatrick where St Patrick is buried and check out the St Patrick’s centre which is the world’s only permanent exhibit to St Patrick.
The St Patrick’s festival is the highlight of the early vacation season and what a year 2016 is going to be.
Ireland’s Ancient East - when you explore Ireland’s Ancient East, you wander through 5,000 years of history. http://www.ireland.com/articles/regions/irelands-ancient-east/irelands-ancient-east/
Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016 - 366 days showcasing the best of food and drink and the people and passion that go into rearing, making, cooking and serving it. http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/yearoffoodanddrink2016/
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7774051-ireland-st-patricks-day-festival/
Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISLE) today announced the winners of its second charitable social media contest awarding a share of $50,000 to five local nonprofit organizations.
Southern Heritage Air Foundation - $25,000 – Tallulah, Louisiana
Family and Youth Opportunities Division - $15,000 – Clarksdale, Mississippi
Fayette Community Service Organization - $5,000 – Fayette, Mississippi
Guttenberg Gallery & Creativity Center - $2,500 – Guttenberg, Iowa
Walking In The Sun Rescue - $2,500 – Collinston, Louisiana
“With over 69,000 votes cast in Community Aces Challenge and over 200 applications to participate, our second charitable social media contest has proven to be a wonderful way to give back to the communities where we operate,” said Virginia McDowell, Isle’s president and chief executive officer.
“The 123 participating nonprofit organizations registered in January and coordinated their own individual voting campaigns which ended on April 1,” said McDowell. “This year the winners offered a wide variety of missions – from getting fit in rural Mississippi to enhancing creativity of young people in Iowa. Our first place winner is dedicated to educating people about the history and impact of aviation and our second place winner is refurbishing an old school to become a community center.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7805451-isle-of-capri-casinos-community-aces-challenge/
Meredith Corporation, (NYSE:MDP; www.meredith.com) the leading media and marketing company serving 100 million American women and 72 percent of U.S. millennial women, today announced that Natalie Morales, TODAY show News Anchor and Third-Hour Co-Host; Erica Hill, NBC News’ Anchor and National Correspondent; and Carolyn Manno, NBC Olympics Host, will host and run the 2016 MORE/SHAPE Women’s Half-Marathon and kick off one of the largest women’s-only half-marathons in the country.
The race, held by Meredith’s SHAPE magazine in conjunction with the New York Road Runners (NYRR), will take place on Sunday, April 17, and draw 10,000 female runners and walkers of all ages, from around the world, to New York’s Central Park.
Morales and Hill are returning for the second year, after hosting the 2015 MORE/SHAPE Women’s Half-Marathon and completing the race in an impressive 1:38:59 and 2:06:52, respectively.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7788252-more-shape-womens-half-marathon-hosts/
Yesterday, Guinness World Records announced that the bottle of Gautier 1762 was the oldest cognac sold at a public auction. This 250-year-old drink was purchased in 2014 by Wealth Solutions, a Polish company specialized in rare spirits and collectibles, at an auction of old and rare beverages organized by Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers in NYC. It remained part of the company’s collection of old liquors until October 2015, when the management board made the decision to create a watch with a drop of this antique spirit, and opened the bottle. The uncorking ceremony was organized in Bristol Hotel in Warsaw and formed part of an event to mark the start of cooperation between Wealth Solutions and Armin Strom, a Swiss Watch Manufacturer.
Thanks to this cooperation, the Cognac Watch was made – the first Swiss mechanical watch with a drop of alcohol. The timepiece and the capsule for this unique beverage were designed by Claude Greisler, Armin Strom’s chief horologist. This independent Swiss manufacturer also accepted the mission to produce this unusual watch. The exclusive limited edition for Wealth Solutions consisted of just 40 timepieces produced in stainless steel, 18k rose gold and titanium cases. All of them were sold by Wealth Solutions in an exclusive presale before the official launch of the product. The international premiere of the Cognac Watch took place on 20th March 2016, during the Baselworld show. Yesterday, at the Polish premiere in Warsaw, Wealth Solutions announced the decision of Guinness World Records.
Having met with huge success, Wealth Solutions has decided to continue production of the Spirit Watches line. The next limited edition will be the Rum Watch – a Swiss timepiece with a drop of Harewood rum from 1780. International subscription for this unique watch opened on 26th April on the website: http://en.wealth.pl/promotion/spirit-watches
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7817651-cognac-gautier-1762-guinness-world-records/
The annual East-West debates of the Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF) closed here with an announcement that the next meeting will take place within the context of Kazakhstan’s world exhibition, Astana EXPO-2017, on June 22-23 next year.
The Forum will be held at one of the platforms of the exhibition in the capital of Kazakhstan, The Chairperson of the Forum’s Organizing Committee, Dariga Nazarbayeva, announced at the end of the Forum.
This year’s Forum, the 13th in a series, brought together more than 550 delegates for three days, from April 20-22, in the heart of Central Asia to discuss the most pressing current issues.
Summing up at the final session, Dr Nazarbayeva said all the harsh developments taking place in the world today were caused not by a conflict of civilizations, but by the process of adaptation of different civilizations, getting used to each other.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7832951-eurasia-media-forum-astana-expo-2017/
The Here For America initiative today released International Automakers in America: Building More Than Cars, a report detailing the significant effect international automakers and dealers have on the U.S. economy. The report shows the $73 billion cumulative investment in American jobs and manufacturing.
“The United States today is a great place to build and export cars,” said John Bozzella, president and CEO of Global Automakers and spokesman for Here For America. “International automakers accounted for nearly half of all U.S. auto production last year and exported over 750,000 of these vehicles to countries around the world.”
International Automakers in America was released at the 10th annual American International Automobile Dealers (AIADA) auto industry summit. Highlights from the 2016 report include the nearly 700,000 direct jobs generated by international automakers and dealers and the record 8.3 million vehicles sold in the U.S. last year.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7796651-global-automakers-impact-report/
The Space Potatoes rocketry team from Bellevue, Washington, bested 100 of the top student rocketry teams in the country to claim first place at the 2016 Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) National Finals.
The five-student team outscored nearly 5,000 students on 789 teams that participated in this year’s competition from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Space Potatoes, comprised of Mikaela Ikeda (12), Larry Jing (13), Karl Deerkop (14), Srivatshan (Sri) Sakthinarayanan (13) and Stephanie Han (13), were awarded more than $20,000 in scholarships and funds for their school.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7615351-team-america-rocketry-challenge/
The Astana Economic Forum 2016 is to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan on May 25-26. The theme of the AEF - "New economic reality: diversification, innovation and knowledge economy" - is related to global changes in the world determined by the development of a new economic reality and a number of challenges in geopolitics, the economy and financial systems.
This year AEF is organized by the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, the “Economic Research Institute” JSC, and the "Economic Initiatives Fund of Kazakhstan" CF.
The Forum will host 20 events which are focused on four main subthemes: global economy, economic diversification, innovation and technology, and knowledge economy.
AEF 2016 expects 3,000 delegates, including renowned politicians, international economists, Nobel Prize winners, heads of international organizations and representatives of influential media to attend.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7847451-astana-economic-forum-new-economic-reality/
As brain health becomes an ever greater concern for people of all ages, the nation’s largest senior living provider is now guiding its residents on developing and putting into practice personalized brain health plans. Brookdale devised the new resident program with the help of a neuropsychologist specializing in brain health. The company is putting it into place at its independent and assisted living communities across the country.
Through the new initiative, Brookdale’s residents will be offered a four-session course that explains key factors in brain health through classroom learning and hands-on activities. Each participant will be guided on creating an individual brain health plan to use on a daily basis. The course was developed with the assistance of Dr. Paul Nussbaum, who is Board Certified in clinical and geropsychology with a specialty in neuropsychology. An adjunct professor of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, he is the author of “Save Your Brain.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7722157-brookdale-brain-health/
Room KeySM announces access to Loyalty Member Rates from more than 60 of the world’s largest and most well-known hotel brands, including Hilton®, Hyatt®, Marriott®, Holiday Inn®, Comfort Inn® and Wyndham®. Hotels’ member rates are typically lower than other published rates and available only to members of the hotels’ loyalty programs who book directly with the hotel, primarily through their own websites. Now Room Key can access these rates and is the only travel site where customers can shop and compare Loyalty Member Rates from so many different hotel chains in one place.
“There’s a lot of confusion out there about how and where to find the best hotel rates,” says Steve Sickel, CEO, Room Key. “A relatively unknown ‘travel secret’ is that many hotels offer lower rates to members of their loyalty program on their own websites,” Steve adds. “Room Key can now display these lower ‘Loyalty Member Rates’ for thousands of U.S. hotels across more than 60 hotel chains all on one site, making shopping the best rate a lot easier,” he says. “No other travel site can access as many loyalty rates across as many hotel chains as Room Key.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7850951-room-key-lower-rates/
Over 50 PR agencies and in-house PR departments came together to witness the first PR Pressure conference, which took place on Wednesday, 25 May 2016, at the Dusit Thani, Dubai. The event, organised by Secret PR, marks the first of an annual series of conferences that address the struggles faced by PR professionals in the Middle East. Leading up to the next conference, Secret PR will be taking proactive steps towards providing pragmatic solutions for the issues raised at the event.
One of the highlights from the conference was a series of open discussions surrounding opinions on the media and the PR industry. Inspired by a popular hashtag, #UAEPR, the event offered an open and professional approach to the shortcomings of both industries in order to encourage better practice amongst journalists and PR professionals. These sessions were headed by speakers from PR agencies and media, including Nick Rego, Senior Editor at tbreak.com, Sudeshna Ghosh, a consulting editor and freelance writer, Shereen Shabnam, Consultant Head of PR for octOpus and MTE Studios, and Louay Al-Sammarai, Joint Managing Director and Co-Founder of Active (Digital. Marketing. Communications).
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7852351-pr-pressure-conference/
