1. New Orleans Mardi Gras - One of the most sought after International Mardi Gras locations. New Orleans offers locals and tourists alike a week long session of street parties, colorful parades and local festivities, the perfect location to release all your inner inhibitions.

2. Carnival in Salvador, Brazil. Although many believe Rio de Janeiro is the place to soak up a true Brazilian carnival, the pulse of the party actually lies within the heart of Salvador. Tourists and Brazilians alike flock to Salvador for the official week long festivities (an unknown reality is the carnival in Salvador commences New Years Eve and is not over until April). Experience the Bahian beauty, hospitality, love and overall jest for life in an unforgettable carnival experience.

3. Chinese New Year - Beijing. China, otherwise referred to as Lunar New Year, traditionally commences on the first day of the new lunar cycle each year. The New Year celebrations in Beijing usually last around 3 days, however the weeks preceding the celebrations are also well renowned for partying.

4. Oktoberfest - One of the largest international public parties, Oktoberfest can be found celebrated in various countries throughout the world. The beer drinking festival is held over the last week in September and the first week in October. The most famous location for partaking in this fun filled holiday is in Munich, Germany.

5. New Years Eve - Sydney harbor bridge. The fireworks display held over Sydney Harbour Bridge on New Years Eve never fails to satisfy spectators. Be sure to arrive at a viewing spot early as it tends to get fairly crowded towards the late evening.

6. St Patrick’s Day in Dublin - Whether you are American, English, Australian, regardless of nationality the chances that there is a small percentage of ‘an Irishman’ running through your blood is very high. The Emerald isle is renowned internationally for its hospitality, warm heartedness, its love for the arts, oh and March the 17th, St Patrick’s Day, where young and old come together in unity to celebrate the joyousness related to being a proud Irishman. The Guinness Factory even has imprinted on their walls in Dublin that “everyone is Irish on March 17th”. Dublin holds day long celebrations generally starting with a parade through the city. However, the true Irish are known for celebrating St Patrick’s Day for more than a week long period.

7. The Henley Royal Regatta - This highly regarded regatta attracts the finest rowing enthusiasts from around the globe. Originally held in 1839 it has remained a yearly event (exemption during World War 1 and 2) and guarantees to provide a fun filled experience for participants and spectators alike.

8. The Cannes Film Festival - This international film festival held in France is known as the most important event within the world of the motion picture industry. A trip to Cannes during Film festival season allows for a spectacular tourist experience, from sunbathing to celebrity spotting. The large screens situated upon the beach even allow visitors to watch the up and coming movies being held within the festival.

9. Edinburgh International Festival - One of the largest international arts festivals in the world, the Edinburgh international festival has something to offer everyone, from classical compositions to recent rock and roll stars. The festival runs for a duration of three weeks and usually commences during the middle of August.

10. Tour de France - The most famous bike ride within the world, the Tour de France has propelled names such as Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya (Big Mig in English) and Lance Armstrong into international stardom. The 23 day bike race takes in some of the most famous sights within France such as ‘The Champs-Élysees’ and the breathtaking Alps. The world hosts a large array of parties and events to indulge in on a continual basis.

If you’ve been keeping up with the latest news about Zvents, you’re aware that hundreds of newspaper publishers, tv, radio stations, mobile, and online media partners have been eagerly embracing the Zvents Media Platform. HUGE national media are powered by Zvents, including: MSN, MTV, YELLOWPAGES.COM, and more are in the queue. Zvents’ strength also lies in scooping up influential local media channels — some recent additions to the network include: The San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate, the Denver Post’s PoliticsWest, the Richmond Times, Columbus Alive, and Online Athens…and several others.

More than 250 media partners have joined the Zvents network. Why? A recent article in Forbes Magazine by Victoria Barret explains, “Zvents aims to understand the nuances of time and place,” using event listings to promote local businesses and engage local customers. Zvents has created a way to promote local businesses online, in ways that match traditional media buying patterns. Barret also cites that “…since Boston.com began using Zvents technology in January 2007 the number of events in its database has gone up fourfold, and traffic to the events content increased eightfold,” which exhibits Zvents’ solid and positive impact on its partners.

That’s why we’re so excited that Zvents has been nominated for the Forrester Groundswell “Embracing” Award. As more and more partners continue to embrace Zvents’ local search technology, we continue to recognize that there is a serious demand for local search.

We welcome and encourage you to *rate and share your personal opinions* about the Zvents Media Platform for the “Embracing” category of the Groundswell Award here.

The winner will be announced on October 29th, so please add your ratings and reviews as soon as you can.

Thanks for your support!

Tags: forbes.com,, forrester,, research,, groundswell,, award,, local, search,, media,, network,, prize,, winner,, technology

While most of us labor away in our offices, avoiding the summer heat, thousands will brave that heat, spending their Friday morning Shopping.

U.S. Apple Stores open early on Friday to accommodate the already growing lines of customers for the 3G iPhone.  While no real sales estimates are available (or even conceivable given the hype), some suggest Apple will rake in as much as $1 billion through the initial launch.  With faster 3G wireless technology, support for corporate/enterprise features, GPS mapping, and the anticipated new App Store, iPhone 3G packs more into your handheld device while including the now standard phone, widescreen iPod, and innovative Internet experience.

Find your local store and get in line, I’m leaving for Palo Alto (yes, I know it’s only Wednesday) when I finish writing this.

Know of other hot products or store sales?  Let us know: Add sales to the Zvents Media Network and share your insider deals! (where can I find a Wii Fit!!?)

Coming in at, perhaps, the most popular and best known is the New Orleans Jazz Festival in Louisiana which this past year featured such superstars as The Neville Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Tim McGraw, and Santana. The best of the U.S. can arguably be summed up with the New York Jazz (running now) and San Francisco Jazz Festivals, creating a cross-continent tour to keep you entertained. Usually mid-October through November 30, the forthcoming San Francisco Jazz Festival brings the best and brightest to the beautiful Golden Gate setting for epic and intimate concerts at venues throughout the city.

Head north from your U.S. tour to Montreal then south to Havana (as you can’t get there from the U.S.) to finish a North America tour including Canada’s Montreal Jazz Festival starting June 26 at the Place des Arts, and The Havana International Jazz Festival. Design by Cubans and… Canadians (apparently, yes really), first time and returning visitors to the Havana Festival get to know Cuban culture while experiencing the best of Latin and international jazz; be sure to bring some of that Montreal experience with you and you’ll fit right in.

From the U.S. to Europe, the Montreux Jazz Festival kicks off in early July starting you at the foot of the Alps on the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, in a region known for its unique climate and quality of life as “The Swiss Riviera”. Wrap up Europe with time in France at the Jazz in Marciac summer festival which has just tapped Wynton Marsalis with his Septet, Quintet and friend Richard Galliano. From Marciac to Paris for the ongoing Paris Jazz Festival in beautiful Parc Floral.

Not found in a specific place so much as being throughout the Caribbean, the annual Jazz Party at Sea is a Week long Jazz Cruise featuring the likes of the Cyrus Chestnut Trio and Harry Allen Quartet. With 30 top musicians playing in various combinations on different nights, you get to know them personally in intimate settings granting the possibility of joining an amateur jam

I’d be remiss without adding a local favorite; the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco, CA this Independence Day weekend. Say hello to Brooks for me.

Not enough? Find your local jazz festival with Zvents or any one of our local partners. For more Jazz news and music, give Jazziz a read or visit All about Jazz.

Send me a photo that best represents your team’s home ballpark and/or a photo that best represents your home team without prominently including the team’s logo. It could be a field action shot, a team photo, a uniform shot, a picture of the team name that doesn’t include the actual logo, whatever. Examples that spring to mind: the ivy — or, I dunno, drunken Lincoln Park Trixies — at Wrigley. Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. The McCovey cove at AT&T Park. General apathy at Rogers Centre. Adam Dunn eating a four way at Skyline. Something — anything — that defines your team and/or its stadium in a picture without actually showing the logo.

The only catches are (1) the photos must be 1MB or large JPG; and (2) must be taken yourself, not horked off the web.

The winning photos for each team/venue will have the pride of placement as the official photo of the stadium venue, and as the official photo of the team “performer” on Zvents (the photo will also show up on the Zvents-affiliated papers too, which means your picture of the Green Monster, for example will be in the Globe whenever people search for Sox events). One grand prize for best overall photo will get $100 and a Zvents t-shirt, and one almost-grand prize will get a t-shirt.

Please send Mr. Shysterball an email with your baseball pictures!

Play ball!

*Flickr Photo Credit: Wisdoc

Tags: baseball,, fans,, major, league, baseball,, shysterball,, blogger,, team,, player,, season

San Francisco is the single torch stop in America, and while many anti-China protesters are expected to surround the Embarcadero and the Golden Gate Bridge, tens of thousands will likely show up to cheer the 80 torchbearers as they relay the flame through a six mile course. You’re welcome to join the spectators and witness the historic Olympic festivities which will take place this afternoon from 12:00pm - 4:00pm.

If you’re planning to attend the event, avoid the hassle of transportation and parking. The Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at Stanford (ACSSS) will provide multiple services, which include free round trip shuttle between Stanford campus and San Francisco, free lunch, and free gift souvenirs. You can register here, but do it quickly because space is limited!

Tags: China,, Olympics,, Beijing,, Tibet,, free-Tibet,, freedom,, human, rights,, controversy,, issues,, San, Francisco,, Torch,, Relay,, Festivities,, Olympics, 2008,, athletes,, Golden, Gate, Bridge,, Embarcadero,, spectators

Simple drawings are quickly and seamlessly transformed into entertaining and humors animated sequences. Things like this give you ideas and inspiration to explore your own inner-creativity! Search for art near you!

Everyone watching these guys was stunned by the extraordinary creativity, intricate workmanship, and speed at which the artists cleverly twisted ordinary balloons into whimsical shapes, characters, and figures — were talkin’ Elvis, ice cream sundaes, Disney characters…they’ll take on ANY challenge! No request goes unfulfilled! Keep in mind that this is not like your neighborhood clown that does the funky animal look-alikes. Twisted Balloon Company can create anything you imagine! They personalized one exclusively for Zvents. Although this was a rather simple creation, rest assured that they can do some pretty elaborate stuff! Just check out the photos on Twisted Balloon Company’s Official Website:

Blue Sky Studios

The movie is based on Dr. Seuss’ very short children’s storybook, which is impressive since the movie is 1 hour and 28 minutes long. A recent Washington Post review described the movie as: “A computer-animated feature that strikes an amiable balance between honoring the text and the dictates of contemporary animation, the film is as good as one could hope for in this era of post-literate impatience.”

Through a bit of magic (and no, not Disney magic…but rather, Blue Sky magic), Horton’s screenwriters, creative directors, and members of the production, art & technical teams created a tremendous amount of new material to develop it into a full feature film.

The movie, Horton Hears a Who!, features the famous voices of comedic actors Jim Carrey (Horton), Steve Carell (Mayor), and Carol Burnett (Kangaroo).

The movie has received rave reviews by movie critics, so go check it out and see for yourself whether it’s as good as it’s cracked up to be!

We welcome your comments!

Flickr Photo Credits: Horton Movie Poster by divxplanet and Steve Carell/Mayor by MyCine

Tags: Horton, Hears, a, Who,, Jim, Carrey,, Brent, Wong,, Steve, Carell,, Carol, Burnett,, Mayor,, Whoville,, Jungle, of, Nool,, Movie,, Film,, Feature, Film,, Animation

St. Patty’s Day is all about shamrocks, green beer, leprechauns, and corn beef! There are festivals, like the Guiness St. Patrick’s Day Festival at Riverfront Park, NC where you can experience Irish music, dance, food, artisans, and booth displays.

For additional local festivities and parades, try the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Concert at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles, CA, featuring Irish bagpipers, Irish bands, street performers, and floats. There’s also the Harrisburg St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Harrisburg, PA or the Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration in Grand Ledge, MI…just to name a few!

For those wild, late night party-goers, check out the Miller Lite ShamRock St. Patrick’s Day Block Party in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp District where thousands flock to the area to experience live music, hot DJs, great food and green beer with 40,000 sq ft of Astroturf (cool!) in the streets!

If you’re looking for a more sophisticated outing, enjoy the Thistle and Shamrock: California Philharmonic Pays Tribute to Celtic Culture performance on Saturday night to see the Cabar Feidh pipe band and Celtic dancers.

But, if you’re interested in something more low-key, you might want to head over to your nearby local pub for a tall glass of Guinness!

• Gene McCarthy’s Irish Pub in Buffalo, NY
• Kell’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in San Francisco, CA
• O’Shea’s Irish Pub in Charlotte, NC
• O’Donoghue’s Irish Pub in Scottsdale, AZ

And to depart with an Irish blessing:

“May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you ever step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that’s always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!

Flickr Photo Credits: Shamrock by jciv and Leprechaun by OZinOH’s

Tags: irish,, leprechaun,, st., patty\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s, day,, saint, patrick\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s, day,, festivities,, parade,, green,, clover,, lucky,, shamrock,, pub,, corn, beef,, cabbage