August 21, 2017: Millions Travel to Witness Total Solar Eclipse, Counterprotesters Flood Boston Common During 'Free Speech' Rally, Trump Will Not Attend Kennedy Center Honors

1. MILLIONS TRAVEL TO WITNESS TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE: In anticipation of the nation's first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in almost a century, which occurs today starting at 1:23 p.m. ET, millions of Americans have traveled to the "path of totality"—the path where the moon will completely cover the sun, from Salem, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina. USA Today: "Beach towns such as Edisto Beach, located about an hour southwest of Charleston, were seeing a boom in business. A group of friends from Maryland rented a house there for the week just to watch the eclipse. 'When we learned of the solar eclipse, the middle-age nerds among us were giddy with excitement,' said Allison Leaver of Silver Spring, Md. 'We couldn't wait for a trip to the beach together and the joy of inflicting true experiential learning on our nine teenagers. 'They're almost as thrilled as we are to be making the pilgrimage south for two minutes of total darkness,' Leaver said." https://usat.ly/2vdXIRs

2. COUNTERPROTESTERS FLOOD BOSTON COMMON DURING 'FREE SPEECH' RALLY: During the “free speech” rally Saturday in Boston, tens of thousands of counterprotesters crowded Boston Common and marched through the streets in the fight against white-supremacist groups. City officials said that at least 40,000 people participated in the counter protest, 20,000 of whom participated in a march across town. The Washington Post: “'Overall everyone did a good job,' [Boston Police Commissioner William] Evans said. '99.9 percent of people were here for the right reason, and that’s to fight bigotry.' Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh met up with the counterprotesters at the march. 'I think it’s clear today that Boston stood for peace and love, not bigotry and hate,' he said." http://wapo.st/2wf8sUf

3. TRUMP WILL NOT ATTEND KENNEDY CENTER HONORS: On Saturday, the White House announced that President Donald Trump and the First Lady will not be attending this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, which will take place December 3. It will be the fourth time in the event's history that a president will not be in attendance. The New York Times: “'The president and first lady have decided not to participate in this year’s activities to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction,' the White House statement said. 'First lady Melania Trump, along with her husband President Donald J. Trump, extend their sincerest congratulations and well wishes to all of this year’s award recipients for their many accomplishments.'" http://nyti.ms/2wm9dvc


* INDUSTRY NEWS *

The 2018 World Meetings Forum will be held in July 2018 at the newly opened Grand Vidanta Convention Center at the Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta hotel in Mexico. The forum will bring global leaders of the meetings, incentives, conventions, and event industry to the resort, which has 2,200 guest rooms and 40 restaurants, in addition to the new 41,000-square-foot convention center.

* LOCAL NEWS *

COLUMBUS, OHIO:  AIMExpo presented by Nationwide starts on September 21 in the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Opening ceremonies will feature keynote speeches from the C.E.O. of Polaris Scott Wine and Matt Levatich, president and C.E.O. of Harley-Davidson.

LAS VEGAS:  BSN Nutrition’s “Conor McGregor Punch & Crunch Experience” with Mario Lopez will take place August 26 at the T-Mobile Arena.

Restless Heart and Shenandoah will perform at the Tropicana Theater inside the Tropicana Las Vegas on October 28.

LOS ANGELES:  The World Funding Summit & Capital Expo will be held November 17-18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The two-day summit will discuss entrepreneurial investing and fund-raising, bringing together investors and leading capital forces to foster global innovation.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  East, Miami and Modern Om are offering a free guided meditation today for the solar eclipse, hosted by yogi Michelle Berlin. Arrival time is 1 p.m.; the eclipse begins at 1:26 p.m. Guests are welcome to bring their own yoga mats and water.

NEW YORK:  Citi Taste of Tennis takes place at the W New York on August 24.

Bloomberg's Global Business Forum, a gathering of global business and government leaders to discuss plans for growth and opportunity around the world, will take place September 20 at the Plaza Hotel.

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ROANOKE, WEST VIRGINIA:  Global hospitality company Benchmark has named Jason W. Jonilonis director of food and beverage for Stonewall Resort, a Benchmark Resorts & Hotels property located in Roanoke, West Virginia.

SAN FRANCISCO:  Emeritus Vineyards has been named the number-one U.S. Winery Tour in USA Today's Readers' Choice travel award contest. The winery, which is located about 50 miles north of San Francisco in Sonoma's Russian River Valley, was nominated by a panel of wine experts, writers, journalists, and sommeliers.

TORONTO:  The Beer, Bourbon & BBQ featival takes place August 25-27 at Ontario Place.

VIRGIN, UTAH:  Safari-inspired luxury glamping resort Under Canvas Zion opened last week at Zion National Park. The 196-acre property houses more than 50 luxury canvas tents, including options with overhead windows, king-size beds, and daily housekeeping.

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

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With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, Rayna Katz, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

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