Elkfest celebrates elks at refuge in Wyoming

Elkfest celebrates elks at refuge in Wyoming

JACKSON, Wyo. — One of the world’s largest elk herds lives at the National Elk Refuge, and nearby Jackson is celebrating the animals with a weekend event known as Elkfest, May 17-18.

The annual festival includes an antler auction to benefit the refuge and several local Boy Scout troops. The antlers are shed by elk wintering at the refuge.

Artisans transform the antlers into everything from chandeliers to furniture; others use them as wall decorations. Last year’s event sold 5,379 pounds of antlers for a total of $59,748.

There will also be a chili cook-off, music, a kids’ activity corner and a crafts sale.

For more information, visit elkfest.org.

Cheyenne Frontier Days offer mix of attractions

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Cheyenne Frontier Days takes place July 18-27 with a mix of rodeos, musical entertainment, culture and history, tours and food.

Attractions include the Old West Museum; an Indian Village where you can see traditional costumes, dancing, storytelling and crafts; a Western Art Show and Sale; a carnival midway with games and rides; and parades, pancake breakfasts and a “Chuckwagon Cookoff.”

For more information, visit www.cfdrodeo.com.

Celebrities open hotels in New York, Florida

NEW YORK — A new hotel in New York and a new resort in Florida have big celebrity names behind them.

In the Tribeca section of Manhattan, the Greenwich Hotel — owned by actor-director Robert De Niro and three partners — opened April 1 at 377 Greenwich St. The eight-story luxury hotel has 88 rooms, with no two alike; 13 suites; a spa, restaurant and 2,500-square-foot penthouse.

Singer Gloria Estefan is opening the Costa d’Este Beach Resort in June in Vero Beach, Fla., located a little over an hour north of Palm Beach on Florida’s east coast. The oceanside resort has 94 rooms, spa and restaurant.

New D.C. tour includes the Lincoln Cottage

WASHINGTON — A new Civil War tour of Washington includes a visit to the newly restored Lincoln Cottage, Abe Lincoln’s summer retreat on the campus of the U.S. Armed Forces Retirement Home.

The three-hour tour, “Civil War Washington: Soldiers and Citizens,” will be introduced on Memorial Day weekend. It is sponsored by Washington Walks and Cultural Tourism DC.

The tour will be offered at 9:30 a.m. on six Saturdays: May 24 and 31, and June 7, 14, 21 and 28. The cost is $42 per person, which includes admission to the Lincoln Cottage site.

Other stops on the tour include Fort Stevens; the African American Civil War Memorial; and Peterson House.

Other Washington Walks tours include “Before Harlem, There Was U Street,” “Capital Hauntings,” “Capitol Hill,” “Embassy Row,” “Georgetown,” “Memorials by Moonlight,” “Moveable Feast: A Taste of DC,” and “Duke Ellington’s D.C.”

For more information, visit www.washingtonwalks.com.

Associated Press