In 2007 Boston has become one of America’s most popular cities to film movies. The new movie “21” starring Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Laurence Fishburne, was filmed in several locations ranging from Chinatown to the Mass. Ave bridge based on the true story of MIT students who made millions of dollars by counting cards playing blackjack in Las Vegas. The movie is scheduled for release in March 2008. Among the movies just completed in Boston: “The Women” starring Meg Ryan and Annette Bening; The Steve Martin movie “Pink Panther 2,” ‘Bachelor No. 2′, ” The Great Debaters,” the Denzel Washington-directed movie. Currently being filmed in Boston: Cameron Diaz “The Box” and William H. Macy, Morgan Freeman, and Christopher Walken “The Lonely Maiden.” If your readers, viewers, listeners, clients are movie buffs- Boston Movie Tours offers visitors an opportunity to experience Boston’s movie magic by visiting filming hotspots made famous by your favorite TV shows and movies. Learn behind-the-scenes trivia and insider gossip about Good Will Hunting, The Departed, Ally McBeal , Mystic River, Cheers and many more. The most filmed part of Boston, the Boston Movie Mile, includes more than 30 filming locations.

Say you’re in the mood to indulge in a shoe-shopping spree — does a certain city pop to mind? How about an urban destination for a romantic weekend? Where in the U.S. can you find the most compelling museums or thrilling club scene? Is the city with the most attractive citizens also the one with the best opportunities for people-watching?

Headline News, Travel + Leisure and CNN.com spent three months collecting 60,000 votes, from local residents and visitors, on what they like (and don’t like) about 25 urban destinations across the country. Voters were asked for their opinions on culture, shopping, people, food and city characteristics — and they gave us more surprises than we anticipated.

Well, America has an opinion — and America has spoken.

Click here for the full report

Seeing Mickey & Co. gets more expensive for third time in past two years

Another reason why touring groups should avoid Orlando and perform in MCI’s National Festival of the States concert series instead!

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Walt Disney World is raising ticket prices for the third time in two years, company officials announced.

An adult one-day, one-park pass will increase 6 percent, $67 to $71 beginning Sunday. Discount packages also will be affected, but the per-day cost could be less than $23 for adults who buy as large as a 10-day package.

The change is due to an annual planning cycle of travel wholesalers, tour organizers and commercial publications, Disney officials told the Orlando Sentinel.

Click here for full article

The Cape Ann Independence Day Parade was wonderful! It was a 3 hour parade. Very enthusiastic crowd and then they had a BBQ afterward. We excused ourselves and went back to the hotel because we were exhausted. Wreaths were placed on the graves of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine and Peter Faneuil. This was my favorite parade! It was all very historical.

The entire tour was absolutely wonderful!! Thank you so much for all your company does.

-Paula Burton, President, Celebration U.S.A.

Faneuil Hall has served as a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. Inspiring speeches by Samuel Adams and other patriots were given that eventually led to independence from the British. Today, Faneuil Hall serves as a unique performance venue for choirs and orchestras participating in the National Festival of the States concert series in Boston.

… is picked to perform in national festival

The Ilion Chamber Choir, under the direction of Mark Bunce, has been selected to be a representative of the state of New York in the 2006 national music festival of states in Boston, Mass., celebrating America’s heritage through music. The Chamber Choir will perform and tour Boston from April 27-30 and present its program for the public on May 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Burton T. Seymour Auditorium at Ilion Junior-Senior High School.

The Ilion Chamber Choir consists of 36 students from grades nine through 12, who audition to be in this select group in addition to being involved in the high school chorus. The students rehearse outside of school and perform two regular concerts (a holiday classics concert and spring concert consisting of tour repertoire or a major choral work) throughout the year and throughout central New York at many events, including the Relay for Life and Utica Monday Nite. The Chamber Choir also represents Ilion on the Utica Symphony Holiday Pops Concert.

While in Boston, students will perform three concerts at Copley Square, Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market Place and the Old North Church. Students will also tour the Freedom Trail, Salem, the House of Seven Gables, the Mayflower, Plymouth Plantation, other sites and attend a concert by the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall.

The theme of the concert tour is “Let Freedom Ring.” Highlights include music by America’s first composer, William Billings (Chester), Aaron Copland’s “At the River,” Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” Moses Hogan’s “Lift Every Voice for Freedom,” John Rutter’s “Down By the Riverside,” Randall Thompson’s “Testament of Freedom” (a setting of four passages from the writings of Thomas Jefferson) and patriotic selections including “The Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America: Let Freedom Ring” and other works.

Boston is host to the National Music Festival of States for the entire year of 2006. The National Festival of States is organized by Music Celebrations International, Arizona. The goal of the organizers is to have at least one vocal and instrumental group from each of the 50 states in the National Festival of States. In the past, the Ilion Chamber Choir has represented New York in performances in Washington, D.C. and Toronto, Canada.

Students on the Mayflower replica

This is the second time with MCI and I have enjoyed both experiences very much. The reason I came back to MCI was the flexibility of arranging the tour and the wonderful work and consideration and timeliness of the folks at MCI especially trying to work with our group. Getting college kids to get their money in on time can be very difficult. MCI went out of their way this year to accommodate us and even saved us some money in the end. I can’t thank MCI enough for the kindness in helping us with the financial end of this trip.

The bus driver, tour manager, hotels and meals were all just wonderful. Everything that was set up was exact all the details made it lovely and fun, and I could not have asked for better. It was right on.

ALL IN ALL IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE AND THE KIDS HAD A WONDERFUL TIME!!

-Dr. Monte Atkinson, Mesa State College, Colorado

Click here to see a video of the newly built Godspeed replica.

News station WCSH 6 in Portland, Maine is reporting that people driving down Main Street in Rockport Thursday might have blinked in surprise to see a 400-year-old ship in the road.

It’s really a replica of a 400-year-old ship. The Godspeed is being built by Rockport Marine for the Jamestown Settlement Museum in Virginia.

It’s a replica of one of the ships that brought the first English settlers there in 1607. The crew of builders has been working on the 65-foot vessel for 18 months.

Thursday, they carefully hauled the vessel through town to the launching site at the town landing. The move attracted a big crowd, but it went off without a hitch.

The Godspeed, to be launched March 18th, has a busy year ahead, preparing for Jamestown’s 400th anniversary.

“The new Godspeed will go on a three month sail along the East Coast to promote the 400th anniversary. We’ll stop in Alexandria, Virginia, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Newport, Rhode Island, then back to Jamestown,” said Eric Spath from the Jamestown/Yorktown Museum.

Click here to see the accompanying video report.

Music Celebrations International is an Official National Partner and the Commemorative Choir Organizer for America’s 400th Anniversary Weekend scheduled for May 11-13, 2007.This event will commemorate the founding of the first permanent English settlement in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia.

The America’s 400th celebrations will last for 18 months, and the kick-off event is the Godspeed Sail. Godspeed, one of the three original ships that in 1607 brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia, our nation’s birthplace, will serve as a floating museum for families, students and tens of thousands of visitors. The Godspeed Sail is a celebration that will take place in the following ports:

All dates are for 2006
•Alexandria, VA: May 27 – June 4
•Baltimore, MD: June 9 – June 12
•Philadelphia, PA: June 16 – June 19
•New York City, NY: June 27 – July 6
•Boston, MA: July 14 – July 19
•Newport, RI: July 25 – July 30

At each port of call there will be a “Landing Party” featuring live music, children’s entertainment, historical and cultural displays highlighting the legacies of Jamestown and the growth of America — all within a 20,000 square foot festival area dock.

Music Celebrations International is looking for outstanding performing groups to be a part of the official entertainment at each Godspeed Sail destination by giving two 20-30 minute weekday concerts. The Godspeed Sail is interested in both performing groups local to the area for each port, plus groups from around the country that can help represent the diversity of America. These performances can be stand-alone, or included in our National Festival of the States in either Washington D.C., Boston or New York City.

Please contact Music Celebrations International at 1.800.395.2036 for more information.

Here are some additional links of interest about the Godspeed:
*Godspeed, the new replica
*Godspeed, the 1985 Voyage to Virginia
*Jamestown Wiki
*Godspeed Wiki

Today we noticed that the Boston Symphony Orchestra (the largest orchestral organization in the world) is celebrating their 125th anniversary. Congratulations to the BSO!

Boston is particularly well-suited to host visiting orchestras on performance tours as the city is rich with orchestral heritage. In addition to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston hosts the Handel and Haydn Society and the Boston Ballet. All three organizations not only are available to view at their performances but offer workshops and lectures that are available to visiting orchestras. For example, the Boston Ballet Music Director and Principal Conductor Jonathan McPhee hosts a discussion with performers from The Taming of the Shrew in October.

Recently the Marcos de Niza High School Orchestra (under the direction of Ellen Palmer) from Tempe, AZ (our hometown!) traveled with MCI to Boston. While there they did a workshop, attended a pre-concert lecture and viewed a performance of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. They also were able to perform in historic Faneuil Hall (pictured above) and perform at a well-attended exchange concert with an outstanding local youth orchestra.