Planners organizing group tours will find many new itinerary brighteners in the region
Midwest on our radar
Take a look at what’s happening in the Midwest: ILLINOIS The Field Museum in Chicago presents Whales: Giants of the Deep, an exhibition running from May 20, 2011, through Jan. 16, 2012. It will feature fully articulated whale skeletons, hands-on activities, videos, and the latest findings in whale biology and evolution. Organized by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the exhibition will show how whales have influenced the indigenous peoples of the South Pacific. On display will be a pataka taonga (storehouse of treasures) carved with whale-like images and filled with adornments and weapons made of whale bone and teeth from places such as New Zealand and Fiji. (888-343-5385, fieldmuseum.org) By fall of 2012, “The Block,” a
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Field Museum visitors will see a replica of a blue whale’s heart.
downtown Peoria construction site once occupied by a Sears store, will be a parklike cultural campus anchored by the Peoria Riverfront Museum and Caterpillar Experience. The latter attraction
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will present a high-tech, interactive look at the past, present and future of Peoriabased Caterpillar, Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. The Peoria Riverfront Museum will feature regional history and art exhibits, the Illinois River Encounter gallery, a 3-D IMAX theater and planetarium. A partner in the project is Peoria’s Lakeview Museum, the largest private museum in Illinois outside of Chicago and one of fewer than 50 U.S. museums specializing in both the arts and sciences. Other partners include the African American Hall of Fame Museum and Illinois High School Association, which is developing a center that will explore student and team achievements around the state. (buildtheblock.org, peoria.org)
prison at night. Before it closed, MSP, which opened in 1836, was the oldest continually operating penitentiary west of the Mississippi. It housed inmates such as heavyweight champion Sonny Liston, who learned to box during his time in the big house, notorious gangster “Pretty Boy” Floyd and James Earl Ray. Tours include the gas chamber where 40 men and women were executed, the buried cells, several housing units and the upper yard. In 1967 the
Missouri State Penitentiary was named the “bloodiest 47 acres in America” by Time magazine because of the high number of serious assaults on the grounds between 1963-1964. (866998-6998, missouripentours.com) OHIO The first phase of Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, the first full-service casino in Ohio, will open in early 2012 in the historic Higbee department store build-
KANSAS The booming Village West area in Kansas City, Kan. will welcome its first casino in early 2012. A joint venture between Kansas Speedway and Penn National Gaming, the initial phase of the new Hollywood Casino Kansas Speedway at Turn 2 will include a 100,000-square-foot gaming floor with 2,300 slot machines and 86 table games. Additional phases include a 300-room hotel, a spa, convention center and an entertainment district. Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway will be located at the intersection of I-435 and I-70, next to Legends, Nebraska Furniture Mart and Cabela’s. (hollywoodcasinokansas.com) MISSOURI The Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau is expanding the tour program at Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) to include twilight, specialty history, photography and ghost tours, in addition to the two-hour historic tour and a four-hour in-depth tour. Participants on twilight tours will be given a lantern in order to navigate the LeisureGroupTravel.com
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on our radar: midwest ❖ 30 MINUTES NORTH OF CHICAGO YOU’LL BE 150 YEARS BACK IN TIME.
Civil War Days at The Grove
Candle Light Civil War Camp Tours
JULY 23 & 24, 2011
JULY 2011
Step back and re-live scenes from the War between the States at this annual historical re-enactment. Scenes and activities may include: • Authentic Union and Confederate encampments • Ladies’ Bath House • Blue vs. Gray skirmishes at 2 p.m. each day • Visit the field hospital • Refreshments at the Camp KitchenShop at the Suttler’s for Civil War era articles • Meet President Lincoln, General Grant and Jefferson Davis
Experience first hand what life was like in a Civil War camp as our Civil War re-enactors take you on a candle light tour of the Confederate and Union Camps during our Civil War Living History Days.
Pre-registration required. The Grove National Historic Landmark 1421 Milwaukee Ave, Glenview, IL 60025 (847) 299-6096
Overnight Accommodations at the Wyndham Glenview Suites (847) 803-9800 special rate $89
www.visitchicagonorthshore.com
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ing on Public Square at Tower City Center, adjacent to the city’s entertainment district. The $350-million temporary casino precedes a $600-million permanent casino, expected to be completed in 2013. The Phase II casino will overlook the Cuyahoga River. The temporary casino, occupying four floors, will feature about 2,100 slot machines, 65 table games and a World Series of Poker room, plus a food court, buffet restaurant and bar with entertainment. Casinos in Cincinnati, Toledo and Columbus are expected to open later in 2012. Ohio voters in 2009 approved a constitutional amendment authorizing casinos in the state’s four largest cities. (horsehoe.com) The first phase of the Greater Cleveland Aquarium will open this fall in the historic Powerhouse on the west bank of the Flats in downtown Cleveland. It will feature an 800,000gallon main tank with a 250-foot-long
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Providing an evocative setting for visitors, the traveling exhibition will combine film footage of the garden and music with such features as water, wind and birdsong. The Milwaukee Museum of Art’s “Summer of China” celebration will include additional exhibitions of Chinese art. (414-224-3842, mam.org) The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee is going deep into its archives this summer to present Collection X: Weird Wild Wonders of
the Harley-Davidson Museum, which will run June 11 through Aug. 21. The exhibit will showcase an array of treasures from the H-D archives, from secret prototypes and fantastic folk-art creations to “what were they thinking?” contraptions. Visitors will see hundreds of items that include one-of-a-kind vehicles, clothing, artwork, photos, and some of the rarest and weirdest of collectibles. (877-436-8738, h-dmuseum.com)
The Milwaukee Art Museum features rare Chinese treasures this summer.
viewing tunnel, plus 10 exhibition areas, including one exhibit inside a 60-foot-high chimney. The $33-million attraction will be the first aquarium development in the U.S. by New Zealand’s Marinescape, the world’s leading developer of walk-through aquariums. Design work for a $40million second phase has begun and includes a series of glass atriums along the Cuyahoga River with exhibits on rivers and oceans of the world. (greaterclevelandaquarium.com) WISCONSIN The Milwaukee Museum of Art this summer will present the exhibition The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City, a collection of more than 90 artifacts from the Qianlong Garden in Beijing. It begins June 11 and runs through Sept. 11. The Qianlong Garden, a walled, two-acre jewel in the immense Forbidden City complex, was built in the 18th century as part of the Qianlong Emperor’s 12-acre retreat. Most of the murals, wall coverings, paintings, furniture, jades, cloisonné and other objects—to be on display at only three museums worldwide—have never been seen by the public. When they return to Beijing, they not likely will leave the country again. LeisureGroupTravel.com
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