French Quarter Fest – Apr. 17 – 29, 2009

Enjoy 250 hours of free entertainment featuring more than 150 musical performances on fifteen stages throughout the French Quarter over a three-day weekend. Nearly 60 food and beverage booths located in Jackson Square and Woldenberg Riverfront Park will make up the “World’s Largest Jazz Brunch,” a signature event, featuring authentic local cuisine from renowned area restaurants.

With just 100 days to go, preparations are underway for French Quarter Festival 2009, which will celebrate 26 years of showcasing the finest music, food and culture this uniquely New Orleans event has to offer. The award-winning festival is a favorite of locals and tourists alike and is the largest free music festival in the South. It was recently named a Top 10 Event by New Orleans CityBusiness Newspaper and is a Top 20 Destination according to AAA and the Southeast Tourism Society. French Quarter Festival attracts approximately 435,000 fans and generates an economic impact of more than $149 million.

According to Marci Schramm, Executive Director of French Quarter Festivals, Inc., ?e were thrilled by the incredible attendance last year and look forward to celebrating our 26th festival in the beautiful setting of our French Quarter. We rely on New Orleans businesses, musicians, the city and tourism industry, as well as our philanthropic community to help us engage the entire city. Citizens truly come together to create this special festival each year.?r

Over 18 stages in prime locations throughout the French Quarter present over 250 hours of the best music New Orleans has to offer with 450 musicians representing every genre from traditional and contemporary jazz to rhythm & blues and New Orleans funk, to brass bands, folk, gospel, Latin, classical and international music. More than 70 food and beverage booths located in Jackson Square, Woldenberg Riverfront Park and the Louisiana State Museum? Old U.S. Mint will feature authentic local cuisine from the area? finest restaurants.

Rooms in New Orleans will be fairly full so booking early will help insure you a room and a great rate as last minute deals at hotels close to these events will be hard to find.

For more information call 504-522-5730 or visit online at www.fqfi.org.

Airline Employee Guide to Visiting Mali

New air service from the USA to Africa opens up a number of new destinations for interliners to explore. One of those new destinations in Mali on thewest coast of Africa.

From the mystical villages built on cliffs” edges inDogon Country tothe legendary ancient city of Timbuktu, which has long been synonymous with “a place unreachable”, the wonders of Mali never cease. In the midst of this fascinating nation, lies another prized treasure – Teriya Bugu.

Teriya Bugu is a thrill for eco-tourists, who are environmentally and culturally aware. A tour to Teriya Bugu, which exemplifies sustainable tourism, is green travel at its best. This village was born out of the unlikely friendship of Father Bernard Verspieren, a French priest, and Lamine Samak?a Bambara fisherman. Their vision of a self-sustaining region led to the development of an “oasis in the heart of Mali,” Teriya Bugu, which means “friendship hut.”
Teriya Bugu is one of the most completely self-sustainable villages on the African Continent. The community produces its own food, fruits, vegetables, and honey together with livestock farming for the village’’s needs and for sale in local markets.

Self-sufficiency goes beyond just farming for this community. Renewable energy sources such as solar and biogas help to sustain the community and enthusiastic visitors and vacationers. Teriya Bugu was one of the first places in Africa to install solar panels to harness the light and radiant heat from the sun to operate water pumps among other uses. And while crude oil prices have the rest of the world running out of steam, Teriya Bugu has not been out of gas, as they “transpaille,” fermenting animal waste and dried vegetable compost into methane gas. Visitors can observe the research and development of other renewable energy sources such as the conversion of oil from the cotton and jatropha plants into biofuel.

Recreational activities for residents and vacationers include, water sports on the adjoining Bani River, strolls through the arboretum, visits to the mini-zoo, and tours of the museum, which features Malian culture and the life of Teriya Bugu’’s founder, Father Verspieren.

Accommodation consists of individual, self-contained and comfortable chalets decorated with Malian art, together with a restaurant overlooking the Bani River.

In addition to mysterious Timbuktu, the fascinating Dogon Villages, Djenne Grand Mosque-the world’’s largest mud-brick architecture and the bustling markets, there is the enchanting community-village-Garden of Eden known as Teriya Bugu.