Open Space Ranch -- Better Living Through Horses

Details

Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Travel Feature

Published on Saturday, 25 June 2011 15:21

Written by Laura Blum

If you've visited Israel, you've done the big wows from the Wailing Wall and Safad to the ancient fortress of Megiddo. Now find inspiration just horsing around. The Open Space Ranch in Kfar Shmuel offers therapeutic horseback riding for people with emotional or physical challenges, and rivals the holiest sites for sparking awe.

Founded by a veterinarian who served in Israel's elite Matkal unit, the ranch is especially known for its miracles with autistic children. But adults also come in for the Open Space treatment, from the shell shocked to the terrorist attacked. Dr. Ofer Komrovski's horse cure -- a mix of riding and tending animals in nature -- has also made great strides among children with ADHD, cerebral palsy, retardation and behavioral problems.

Youth at risk are yet another Open Space charge. Where others see barnyard animals and a dusty corral, Dr. Komrovski envisions the means for integrating people from diverse backgrounds. It began more than a decade ago, when he invited underprivileged kids of Ethiopian descent from nearby Kiriyat Yearim Youth Village to come ride horses on his farm, free of charge. Their parents initially balked. No longer. Now many of their sons and daughters are riding-therapy instructors at Open Space, having earned certification at the reputable Wingate Institute.

Dr. Komrovski's main magic pill involves connecting with a horse. People of all ages learn how to listen to the horse and to overcome their fear through movement. Riding gives them physical and spiritual empowerment.

Open Space's big push for personal, community and social change carries echoes of moshav (co-operative village) ideology. Here, though, developing independence and cooperation is doctor's orders.

Make a pilgrimage to this rehabilitation ranch near Ramla in Central Israel, and watch four-legged beasts perform wonders. Meanwhile, have a peek at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7hN2ZonxQw

ATA World Congress Convenes in Senegal

Details

Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Travel Feature

Published on Sunday, 22 May 2011 05:00

Written by FFestivalTraveler Staff

The 36th Annual Africa Travel Association (ATA) World Congress runs May 25 - 29, 2011 at the Le Méridien President in Dakar, Senegal. The theme of this year’s event is "Destination Senegal: A Tourism Gateway Inspired by Culture, Heritage and Arts."

The Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts, Liaison with the Private Sector and Small Businesses of the Republic of Senegal is host to the ATA World Congress. ATA has longstanding ties with the West African nation, where it held its Eco and Cultural Symposium in 1992.

The four-day networking and learning industry event engages delegates from around the world in discussions on a range of industry topics, such as marketing and promotions, niche markets, industry trends, sustainable tourism, climate change, airline access, public-private partnership, and tourism policy choices for Africa.

ATA’s signature event in Africa provides a unique networking, learning and agenda-shaping platform for hundreds of travel professionals in Africa. ATA expects several hundred delegates at its hallmark event.

Delegates include African tourism ministers and industry experts representing tourism boards, tour operators and their product development executives, front-line agents, ground operator companies, airlines, and hotels.

Participants from the travel trade media and the corporate, non profit and academic sectors are also expected to attend, along with African Diaspora representatives.

ATA’s Young Professionals Program, representing travel, tourism and hospitality students and young professionals from North America and Africa, will also participate in the event.

As part of the ATA Congress, delegates will participate in TICAA-Dakar, an international tourism travel show, where Africa’s tourism, culture and arts industries will be showcased.

Special events include the Business-to-Business Exchange for Buyers and Sellers, in which travel professionals from the USA and Africa will have the opportunity to meet and develop business relationships and linkages, as well as a gala dinner featuring Senegalese folk wrestling. 

Senegal will also organize a Host Country Day, when delegates will explore the city of Dakar, shop at crafts markets and artists quarters, visit Goree Island, and see the new African Renaissance monument. Delegates will also participate in a Destination Africa Marketplace.

Pre and post congress tours will be available for more opportunities to sample Senegal’s diverse tourism products and to explore the country’s new offerings.

For more information, visit www.africatravelassociation.org/ata/events.

Africa Travel Association World Congress
May 25 - 29, 2011

Le Méridien President
Pointe des Almadies
BP 8181
Dakar, Senegal
221-33-8696969

Los Angeles Culture Shock

Details

Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Travel Feature

Published on Tuesday, 19 April 2011 05:00

Written by Kevin Filipski

There are many people — myself included — who think of Los Angeles as a cultural wasteland where only movie and TV stars count in any way, shape or form. A recent visit to the City of Angels helped to disprove that theory by concentrating on the arts far removed from the clichéd stars on the sidewalks on Hollywood Boulevard.

Probably the biggest instance of culture shock for this New Yorker was arriving at the glamorous Dorothy Chandler Pavilion—yes, that's the place where they used to hold the Oscars—for a 7:30 LA Opera performance of Benjamin Britten’sThe Turn of the Screw at 7:20—and being pretty much the first people in their seats! Isn't anyone coming, we thought, or is everyone else in a fabled L.A. traffic jam? Neither of those, it turned out—by 7:35, when the opera began, the seats were filled as the famed laid-back attitude of West Coasters again reared its head.

Read more: Los Angeles Culture Shock