Byline: Cheryl terHorst
Near...
Get into the Olympic spirit
Betcha didn't know snow sculpting was an Olympic event. In fact, it is part of the Olympics Art Festival - which runs concurrent with the athletic Olympics and in the same location - and yes, gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded. That said, if you want to get into the Olympic spirit, head to the 1997 United States National Snow Sculpting Championship Feb. 5-9 in Lake Geneva, Wis. The winner will represent the United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The competition, which is the centerpiece of Winterfest (food, entertainment, ice boat rides, etc.), will be held at Riviera Park on the lake during daylight each of those days. Watch 15 teams of three carve a 6-by-6-by-10-foot block of snow, using nothing but hand tools. The winner will be chosen at 3 p.m. Feb. 9. Call (800) 345-1020.
Bill Clinton's jogging shorts?
If you're elected president of these United States, it seems, you have to have a sport. Or at least follow a sport. Bush had baseball, Ford was a football player. Hence Flexing the Nation's Muscle, a traveling exhibit of presidents and their sports doing a two-month stint - Jan. 25 to March 23 - at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum, in West Branch, Iowa. You can check out Woodrow Wilson's golf clubs, Teddy Roosevelt's fishing hat, even Truman's swimsuit. For obvious reasons, FDR wasn't a very athletic man, but the exhibit will include his leg braces. The cost is $2 for adults, $1 for seniors, and free for kids 16 and younger. (319) 643-5301.
And far
So what if you can't pronounce it
Get to Hawaii by May 4, if you can, for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: Na Mea Makamae: Treasures of Hawaii, at Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Oahu. The Hawaiian name means all things precious, and if you're an aficionado, you'll know that many of the things exhibited are just that. You can get a load of treasures from five centuries, including King Kamehameha's yellow feather cape, plants collected on Captain Cook's voyages, and even a rock from Loihi, the newest Hawaiian island (still submerged) forming just south of the Big Island. These are things they normally don't trot out because of their fragility. There will also be treasure hunts, story telling, a play about how the demigod Maui lassoed the sun (legend has it he got nervous when it disappeared in the evening behind Haleakala - the volcano on the island of Maui - thinking it would never return). Entry costs $14.95 for adults, $11.95 for kids 6 to 17, children younger than 6 are free. (808) 847-3511.
Good time to eat in Hong Kong
Next to Chinese New Year, the Hong Kong Food Festival is the biggest event to hit the most capitalist province in the world (for at least a few more months). This year, it's planned for March 1-16. The festivities include cooking classes taught by executive chefs from some of Hong Kong's top restaurants; the International Food Festival in funky Lan Kwai Fong; an informal buffet competition between hotels; foot races between waiters and waitresses carrying fully laden trays; culinary tours; and seafood feasts. Is your mouth watering yet? (630) 575-2828.
Yup, another museum for D.C.
As if the Smithsonian entourage is not enough, the Washington, D.C.-area will be home to yet another museum. This one does sound intriguing, though. It's the Newseum, in Arlington, Va., the world's only interactive museum of news, and it will open in April. If you think Carol Marin has a pretty cush job, try your hand at being a television newscaster or reporter in the Newseum's Interactive Newsroom. Relive great news stories of years past through exhibits and memorabilia, and watch the day's news as it happens on a block-long video news wall (kinda makes your big screen look puny). You'll get a look at how news programs are produced. And there will be opportunities to talk to journalists. Blame it on the video age, but the museum does sound a little television-heavy. One nice bonus - the museum is free. (888) 639-7386.
Ride to the peak on just steam
The cogwheel steam engine No. 7 - which transported folks to the peak of Mount Rigi, Switzerland for more than 30 years - has been on a 90-year hiatus, thanks to electricity. But it will run again from June 5 to Sept. 28 to celebrate 150 years since the first scheduled train in Switzerland. Actually, trotting out ol' No. 7 is just one of many functions and exhibitions celebrating the sesquicentennial of the rail, which helped the Swiss conquer their mountainous terrain. (312) 332-9900.
