August 17, 2015: Presidential Hopefuls Descend on Iowa State Fair, How Spotify Helped Determine a Country Star’s Tour Stops, More Airports Planning Full-Service Hotels for Business Travelers

1. PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS DESCEND ON IOWA STATE FAIR: Donald Trump offered helicopter rides to children. Hillary Clinton posed for pictures with fans. And Bernie Sanders gave interviews at a picnic table. A cow sculpted from butter stayed cool in 90-degree heat. Just another weekend at the Iowa State Fair. The New York Times: “The Iowa State Fair each year attracts more than one million visitors who descend on the fairgrounds for fried apple pie, carnival rides and concerts. It also attracts presidential candidates hoping to prove their abilities as retail politicians by talking to voters while partaking in corn dogs and deep-fried nachos.” http://nyti.ms/1NnjCax

2. HOW SPOTIFY HELPED DETERMINE A COUNTRY STAR’S TOUR STOPS: Using data from the music streaming site Spotify, country star Hunter Hayes could see where his biggest fans were—and crafted tour stops for his new album around them. Mashable: “Spotify pinpointed cities, particularly with college markets, where Hayes' music was 'over-indexing' (i.e. where he's popular compared to other locations). Based on this information, Hayes will play at Western Carolina University, Kent State University, West Point Eisenhower Hall Theater, Purdue University, Western Kentucky University, University of Oklahoma and Wake Forest University. … He will play 21 stops in total, and his biggest fans (the people with the most streams) in each city will get early entry to the show, a meet-and-greet and signed memorabilia.” http://on.mash.to/1hgYUgv

3. MORE AIRPORTS PLANNING FULL-SERVICE HOTELS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS: Catering to business travelers who need meeting and conference space—as well as tourists waiting for flights—airport hotels are becoming more popular, with several cities having opened new properties and others including New Orleans, Atlanta, Minneapolis and New York looking to build amenity-filled airport hotels in the near future. CNBC: “In addition to meeting rooms and business centers, some airport hotels offer rooftop pools with runway views and expedited security checkpoint access to woo travelers needing—or wanting—to spend the night.” http://cnb.cx/1ISkPU6

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  Dylan Welsh's Worden Hall, set to open in South Boston in two weeks, will have 40 rotating craft beers on draft and around 100 selections of whiskey. BostonInno: http://bit.ly/1Wj8xuW

CHICAGO:  The fourth annual ZooBrew at Brookfield Zoo is expected to draw large crowds on Friday and Saturday. Chicago Tribune: http://trib.in/1IR2gxm

LAS VEGAS:  Several Las Vegas restaurants will participate in Dine Out for No Kid Hungry, a monthlong national initiative that will take place from September 1-30. The program raises money and awareness to end childhood hunger in the United States.

LOS ANGELES:  The Hollywood Foreign Press Association held its annual Grants Banquet at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills last week. The organization presented more than $2 million to nonprofit organizations, foundations, and scholarship programs.

The third annual Style With a Cause event benefiting Opportunity Village is slated for September 17 at the Great Hall inside the Fashion Show Mall.

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

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The 19th Brazilian Film Festival of Miami will take place September 12-19 at venues throughout Miami Beach.

NEW YORK:  The city's new SeaGlass carousel in Battery Bosque features giant color-changing bioluminescent fish made out of fiberglass. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1PaEY9s

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

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  A Margaritaville Resort is coming to Orlando. The Tampa Tribune: http://bit.ly/1fc4W07

SAN FRANCISCO:  SF Beer Week will collaborate with San Francisco Restaurant Week and the Super Bowl in 2016. FSR Magazine: http://bit.ly/1Jho0bk

TORONTO:  Toronto Life's garden party will take place at the Toronto Botanical Garden on Thursday. Toronto Life: http://bit.ly/1NgiuWj

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Bluejacket opened a new Bottle Shop & Tasting Room located adjacent to the brewery and restaurant on Saturday. A grand-opening event was timed to the end of DC Beer Week.

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

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