1. RINGLING BROTHERS WILL REMOVE ELEPHANTS FROM CIRCUS: Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey announced it would stop using elephants in its touring circuses by 2018, a win for animal rights activists who fought against the practice for years. The New York Times: “‘The biggest issue is, there’s been a lot of legislation in different cities and different municipalities,’ regulating the use and treatment of animals, leading to frequent litigation and problems scheduling venues far in advance, said Kenneth Feld, president of Feld Entertainment, Ringling’s parent company. He acknowledged a shift in public attitudes, saying, ‘There’s been, on the part of our consumers, a mood shift where they may not want to see elephants transported from city to city.’” http://nyti.ms/1ElFArp
2. PROMOTER SCAMS FANS WITH FAKE DRAKE SHOW: Houston’s Arena Theatre and as many as seven other venues appear to have been scammed by a fraudulent promoter who booked fake shows by the rapper Drake. Gawker: “The Arena is offering refunds to fans who shelled out for pre-sale tickets, and Drake's spokesperson is asking anyone who fell for the scam to let the authorities know: ‘Drake has never been scheduled to appear at the Arena Theatre venue. When we learned of this situation we immediately encouraged the venue and promoter to contact law enforcement to initiate an investigation. We are horrified that someone would use Drake's name to take advantage of his fans. For any individuals who may have fallen victim to this, please contact your local authorities.’” http://bit.ly/1EThQcX
3. NEW MARKETING TOOLS DEBUT AT MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS: From new virtual reality hardware to retina-scanning technology, the just-wrapped Mobile World Congress offered new technologies for marketers. Here’s a roundup, which includes a new twist on the photo booth: 3-D selfies. Adweek: “The joint project by Volumental (based in Switzerland) and Dacuda (Sweden) is in beta and entails mobile tech that can be used by consumers to snap three-dimensional selfies. The companies envision their technology being employed not just for social media's answer to the self portrait but also for food pics. What's more, you can print these things.” http://bit.ly/1w7xkYV
* LOCAL NEWS *
BOSTON: Mohegan Sun, the resort and casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, announced plans to build a seven-story, 400-room hotel to open in fall 2016.
Neurofibromatosis Northeast’s Table for Ten will take place on April 1.
CHICAGO: Chef and TV personality Alton Brown will host the 2015 James Beard Foundation Awards on May 4 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. On April 24, Carla Hall, co-host of ABC’s The Chew, will host the James Beard Foundation Book, Broadcast & Journalism Awards Dinner at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers in New York City.
Lookingglass Theatre’s “Gglassquerade” benefit will be held on March 21 at the InterContinental Chicago. This year’s theme is “An Evening in Wonderland.”
LOS ANGELES: Five years since the grand opening of the JW Marriott L.A. Live, Los Angeles, AEG has announced plans to develop a 755-room expansion of the hotel. Combined, the new project with the existing JW Marriott L.A. Live and the Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles will have 1,756 rooms and more than 200,000 square feet of function space, making it the second-largest hotel in California. It is projected open in 2018.
Tom Bergin’s, one of Los Angeles’s oldest bars, will celebrate its 79th St. Patrick’s Day with an all-day, indoor-outdoor party on March 17, including an appearance by Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Guinness tap truck, live music, and more.
Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: Duo at Devon, a five-course charitable dinner benefitting the Baptist Health Foundation, will take place March 19 at Devon Seafood & Steak. Devon chef Rod Chitikov and chef/owner Eileen Andrade of Finka Table & Tap are collaborating on the menu.
NEW YORK: Point Foundation will honor actor Jeffrey Tambor, who portrays a transgender character on the show Transparent, with its Point Courage Award at its Point Honors gala April 13 at the New York Pubic Library. The award recognizes an individual who has advocated for the future of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.
United Way of New York City’s Women’s Leadership Council will host its ninth annual Power of Women to Make a Difference award luncheon on Wednesday at Cipriani 42nd Street.
Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
SAN FRANCISCO: The fifth annual Napa Valley Film Festival is scheduled for November 11-15 with more than 100 independent films and studio sneak previews screening in 12 venues.
TORONTO: The Ireland Fund of Canada will host its St. Patrick's Day Luncheon in honor of the Honourable Jim Flaherty on March 13.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The American Association of People With Disabilities will host its gala dinner on Wednesday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. As many as 1,000 guests are expected to attend.
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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, and Anna Sekula in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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