Sunday, April 26, 2009
Cherry blossom festival
NEW YORK — It’s cherry blossom time at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is gearing up for one of its biggest events of the year: Sakura Matsuri, the annual cherry blossom festival, scheduled for May 2-3.
The festival, in its 28th year, offers 50 events and performances celebrating Japanese culture and the blossoming of the garden’s 220 cherry trees.
Washington movie spot
KALAMA, Wash. — Kalama has a new tourist draw — the local high school, which was used in the filming of the vampire love movie “Twilight.”
The Daily News of Longview reports that since DVDs of the film appeared, fans have come from as far as Germany to visit the parking lot of the 71-year-old brick school.
School Superintendent Jim Sutton estimates that 15 to 20 “Twilight” tourists have been showing up daily, a total of about 500 since the movie appeared.
He says most come in groups and take turns posing in the same spot as actors in the film.
New cabins available
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — New cabins are available for visitors to Yosemite National Park at the 1920s-era Evergreen Lodge.
The lodge is on the west side of the park near Hetch Hetchy Valley, an area that is less well-known than other parts of Yosemite.
But the lodge offers numerous recreation programs, including day trips for hikers and bikers, and access to swimming holes.
The 24 new cedar cabins will open in May, increasing the number of units at Evergreen to 90.
For more information or reservations, call (800) 935-6343.
Associated Press