September 28, 2015: Pope Wraps Up U.S. Visit With Mega Mass, Rainy Weather Causes TomorrowWorld Nightmare, State Dinner for China Has West Coast Influence

1. POPE WRAPS UP U.S. VISIT WITH MEGA MASS: After drawing huge crowds in Washington, New York, and Philadelphia, as well as meeting with smaller groups of prisoners, victims of clergy assault, and others, Pope Francis ended his trip to the United State and Cuba on Sunday. The New York Times: “Since arriving in the United States from Cuba on Tuesday during his 10-day tour, Francis, 78, had been met by large crowds — tens of thousands during a drive through Central Park in New York, in Madison Square Garden, at a canonization in Washington; perhaps several hundred thousand on Saturday night for a potpourri of prayer, musical performances and testimonials at a festival for the Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families. … Sunday’s Mass, marking the end of the meeting, on Eakins Oval in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, presented the pope on the grandest of scales, with nearly a million passing through the city’s lockdown-emptied streets into Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which was studded with Jumbotron screens.” http://nyti.ms/1iVRcta

2. RAINY WEATHER CAUSES TOMORROWWORLD NIGHTMARE: Days of rain led to soggy festival grounds at the music festival TomorrowWorld, which prompted organizers to close the final day to only those who had camped out on the site near Atlanta. Mashable: “Unable to get away from the soggy 8,000-acre farmland 30 miles southwest of Atlanta because organizers stopped allowing cabs, Ubers and shuttles to get near pick-up spots, people stood in the cold rain for hours. Some eventually slept on wet grass or mud, while others walked five to 10 miles to find shelter or faraway transportation options.” http://on.mash.to/1QInbHy

3. STATE DINNER FOR CHINA HAS WEST COAST INFLUENCE: Friday’s state dinner in honor of China had an influx of California culture, from Hollywood moguls to Silicon Valley titans. Washington Post: “Gatekeepers of the silver screen and Silicon Valley were out in full force at the state dinner in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Giants of the industry, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook, rubbed elbows with Robert Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation. … The president’s head table was packed with boardroom elites — the coveted seats were filled exclusively with CEOs and their spouses, making for a group whose combined net worth tops $49 billion.” http://wapo.st/1Virujt

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  Super Bowl champ Joe Andruzzi will pour free coffee and hand out donuts from a Honey Dew Donuts truck this morning. The stunt will promote National Coffee Day and also celebrate the partnership between the local donut chain and the Joe Andruzzi Foundation.

CHICAGO:  Level 257 will host a Pac-Man-inspired fashion show and art event, called “Art & Fashion Arcade," on October 8. The event is being organized by students of the Illinois Institute of Art-Schaumburg.

INDIANAPOLIS:  Tourism leaders are calling for an expansion to the Indiana Convention Center, possibly as soon as 2020. The facility’s last renovation was finished in time for the Super Bowl in 2012. Indianapolis Business Journal: http://bit.ly/1PJ3mQ4

LAS VEGAS:  The leaders of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Las Vegas Events told members of the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee last week that Las Vegas needs a bigger stadium to host big-ticket events. Las Vegas Review-Journal: http://bit.ly/1KxYJXT

LOS ANGELES:  The second annual Los Angeles Innovation Week will take place October 1-22. More than 100 events are slated to take place at various venues in the area. Press release: http://bit.ly/1KV17cK

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

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  Miami Fights, a breast cancer fund-raiser benefiting the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, will take place Thursday at Fontainebleau Miami Beach. The hotel is hosting the event with Miami magazine as part of its Bleau Goes Pink breast cancer initiative.

NEW YORK:  The 39-story Virgin Hotel New York broke ground Friday at an event in which Virgin Hotels C.E.O. Raul Leal buried a time capsule filled with Virgin mementos. The hotel is expected to open in 2018.

Real Hospitality Group announced the opening of the Brooklyn A Hotel. The boutique hotel, located between Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant, was designed by Espacio Design Studios and has meeting space for as many as 100 guests.

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

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  The Orange County Convention Center revealed the plan for its 20-year expansion on Friday. Additions and changes include a 130,000-square-foot multipurpose hall, a new "connector" space in the North/South concourses, and the removal of fixed seating in the Chapin Theatre. Orlando Business Journal: http://bit.ly/1NS5Exx

SAN FRANCISCO:  Taco Bell Cantina, one of the first two Taco Bells to include a beer and wine list, is now open in SoMa. Along with the standard menu, the restaurant also offers tapas. San Francisco Business Times: http://bit.ly/1MOBQmz

TORONTO:  Jam Van Inc. will recreate the Mars habitat from The Martian—which premiered at the this year's Toronto International Film Festival—in a branded dome that will be on display September 30-October 1 in front of the Royal Bank. Guests will be able to enter the dome to try on astronaut helmets and send video messages to friends on social media.

Casey House will host “Art With Heart,” a contemporary art auction and reception, on October 6.

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s local chapter has rebranded its fall gala, which is now known as the Celebrate Every Breath Gala. Formerly the Breath of Life Gala, the event will be held November 1 at a new venue, the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner. Scott Pelley, anchor and managing editor of CBS Evening News, will return as M.C.

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

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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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