February 20, 2014: iTunes Festival Coming to SXSW, Why a Major D.C. Museum Is in Danger, Inside Fashion’s Largest Trade Show

1. ITUNES FESTIVAL COMING TO SXSW: Apple’s iTunes Festival will make its United States debut with five nights of concerts at next month’s SXSW in Austin, Texas. TechCrunch: “The Festival is a chance for Apple to promote its role as the primary source of digital music, and to highlight key artists and essentially demonstrate how much of a force it is in the entertainment industry. U.S. dates for the first time mark a key expansion of this strategy, and the event should mesh well with the megashow vibe that SXSW has managed to accrue over the years.” http://tcrn.ch/O9p6eA

2. WHY A MAJOR D.C. MUSEUM IS IN DANGER: After struggling to secure its financial future, the Corcoran Gallery of Art announced plans to turn over its collection, historic building, and school to the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University. Washington Post: “The collection as a living entity is gone, and so, too, the Corcoran as an independent presence in Washington cultural life. The quirks of the old gallery, founded in 1869 as Washington’s first art museum, will disappear. Any lingering sense of the Corcoran’s collection as the expression of William Wilson Corcoran’s aesthetic taste, any reflection of the giants of Washington cultural life who also left their art in its care, will vanish. The eccentricities of the Corcoran’s staff and curators, the peculiar feistiness of the place that arose from its dual mission as a college and gallery, all of that will be gone, too.” http://wapo.st/MBf04X

3. INSIDE FASHION’S LARGEST TRADE SHOW: New York Fashion Week may be more glamorous, but the real business of retail happens at Magic Market Week, the industry’s largest trade show that is under way in Las Vegas. Los Angeles Times: “The show's scope is reflected in its slogan: See what the world will be wearing. … Mainly the show represents several days of serious shopping every February and August by those who stock small boutiques up to major store chains. This time, they're searching for fall and winter merchandise, scoping out trends and attending seminars on topics such as ‘How to market Made in America.’” http://lat.ms/1hy4jya

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  M.C. Spiedo, an Italian restaurant inside the Renaissance Boston Waterfront, is now open. The venue has three private dining rooms and accommodates groups of as many as 20.

CHICAGO:  The Spirit of Chicago will host lunch and brunch cruises in conjunction with the Chicago Flower and Garden Show. The cruises begin on March 15.

LAS VEGAS:  Hakkasan Group announced the acquisition of the nightlife and entertainment company Angel Management Group, which manages venues in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

LOS ANGELES:  Marc Friedland, creative director of Marc Friedland Couture Communications, has again designed the winners' envelope for the Academy Awards. The envelope is handcrafted from a high-gloss, iridescent metallic paper, treated in an “Oscar” gold, and has a red-lacquered lining featuring the Oscar statuette hand-stamped in satin gold leaf. It also has a faint statuette watermarked pattern.

W Los Angeles—Westwood has named Mark Eberwein as its new general manager.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The Recording Academy and marketing and travel company Sixthman are partnering to produce the first Grammy Music Festival at Sea: Women Who Rock November 4-8, leaving Miami on the Norwegian Pearl. The trip will include Grammy-winning and -nominated performers such as Shawn Colvin, Estelle, Emmylou Harris, Heart, and the Indigo Girls.

ADC will host the 93rd annual Awards and Festival of Art & Craft in Advertising and Design April 7-9 at the James Royal Palm Hotel in Miami Beach.

NEW ORLEANS:  Sheraton New Orleans Hotel has finished a $1 million upgrade to its Internet and Wi-Fi network, tripling its previous capacity to what the hotel believes is the largest bandwidth of any other hotel in the city. The 1,100-room hotel has dedicated bandwidth for both the meeting space and the guest rooms.

NEW YORK:  Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and Harlem Arts Alliance's Women's History Month Salute to "Twelve Women of Distinction" is March 3 at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO:  The Winter Garden Blues & BBQ Festival is February 22. The event includes live music and food from local restaurants and is a benefit for the American Cancer Society.

WASHINGTON:  The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, has appointed Wayne Kearney as director of resort sales.

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Jill Menze, and Anna Sekula in New York.

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