1. MORE HOTELS ARE HOSTING THEIR OWN MUSIC FESTIVALS: Hotels are often the choice of lodging for music festival attendees, but lately, they are doubling as festival venues. In an effort to attract more travelers and tap into the popularity of music festivals, hotels have been launching their own events. The New York Times: "In December, the Hotel Paseo in Palm Desert, California, put on an 'Airstream Palooza,' a free music festival arrayed around renovated airstream trailers. In November, the Careyes resort in Jalisco, Mexico, hosted its third annual music festival, Ondalinda, a bacchanal that Vogue has called 'the luxe Burning Man.' In Bali, Indonesia, the pop stars Fergie and Liam Payne performed at the Mulia hotel’s music-fueled, Labor Day weekend bash. In February, the electronic dance music, or EDM, D.J.s Calvin Harris and Zedd headlined the opening weekend festival of the Vidanta resort in Los Cabos, Mexico. But none of those properties are pumping their proverbial fists as heartily as W Hotels. W, a subsidiary of Marriott, came up with the concept for its roving music festival, Wake Up Call, after discerning that its target customers tend to go as hard during their off hours as they do during their working ones, and don’t necessarily want to deal with the crowds and logistical planning inherent in attending traditional, multi-day concerts. 'They’re 25- to 45-years-old, well traveled, affluent professionals, mainly, who like to have fun and burn the candle at both ends,' said Anthony Ingham, the global brand leader of W Hotels, which has 54 locations worldwide. The first three Wake Up Calls took place this fall in Hollywood, Barcelona, and Bali; W Dubai is slated to host the fourth next year. ... One would think that a music festival held in a hotel, a place with walls and smoke detectors and guests who may not be partaking in late night dance parties, would be less raucous than the type that take place on open plots of land, in the middle of nowhere. One would be wrong, at least in the case of Wake Up Call Barcelona, which took place the third weekend in September and courted 4,300 attendees, thanks to headlining artists like Martin Solveig and Robin Schulz." https://nyti.ms/2SD17pH
2. WOODSTOCK TO HAVE 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: An event celebrating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock is slated to take place in August in Bethel, New York, at the site of the famed music festival. Billboard: "The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts announced the gathering on Thursday (December 27), revealing that the three-day event (August 16-18), 'Bethel Woods Music and Culture Festival: Celebrating the golden anniversary at the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival,' will feature as-yet-unnamed musical performers, as well as TED-style talks. The event will be put on by Live Nation Concerts and INVNT, with a line-up and ticketing information available soon, according to the Center's website. 'This pan-generational music, culture, and community event will be held at BWCA just 90 minutes from New York City. These three days of memorable experiences will include live performances from prominent and emerging artists spanning multiple genres and decades, and TED-style talks from leading futurists and retro-tech experts,' read the announcement. 'Festivalgoers will also be able to visit the Museum at Bethel Woods, which tells the story of the 1960s through immersive media, interactive engagements, and artifacts from the 1969 festival, as well as experience the special 2019 exhibit We Are Golden: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the Woodstock Festival and Aspirations for an Aquarian Future.' Promoters promise that the festival will utilize the Arts Center's 'state-of-the-art venues and facilities,' with entertainment villages and a series of 'bespoke performance areas' to be specially created for the event." https://bit.ly/2ABemjJ
3. ROSE PARADE FLOAT CATCHES FIRE: A float caught fire at the 130th annual Rose Parade in Pasadena on Tuesday, which led to a short interruption of the nationally televised New Year's Day event. CBS News: "The float was towed from its location in the parade along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, prompting a tweet about 'technical difficulties' from the official Rose Parade account. The fire erupted aboard the float just before 10 a.m. near the intersection of Orange Grove and Green, according to city officials. Video footage from local station KTLA showed smoke rising from the float as it stopped in the middle of the parade route. Fiesta Floats, which built the float commemorating Chinese-American railroad workers, blamed an electrical issue for the fire and said the float was shut down as a safety precaution. According to CBS Los Angeles, the delay caused by the broken-down float led some attendees to believe that the parade was actually over. Paradegoers flooding the streets caused additional delays to the rest of the parade. Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon chronicled the float's breakdown in character as parade hosts 'Cord Hosenbeck' and 'Tish Hattigan' in their live broadcast for Funny or Die." https://cbsn.ws/2Tl98PR
* LOCAL NEWS *
CHICAGO: The 18th annual Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival will take place January 10-20 at Stage 773.
LOS ANGELES: Lego fan convention Bricks L.A. will take place January 5-6 at the Pasadena Convention Center.
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
NEW YORK: GlobalFest's flagship festival will take place January 6 at the Copacabana in Times Square. The music festival will showcase 12 diverse artists on three stages.
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
SAN FRANCISCO: The Fog City Magic Fest will take place January 23-26 at the Exit Theatre.
TORONTO: Culinary celebration Winterlicious will run January 25-February 7. The event will offer three-course prix fixe lunch and dinner menus at nearly 200 restaurants and 13 culinary events.
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With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, and Ian Zelaya in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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