the traveler's resource guide to festivals & films
a FestivalTravelNetwork.com site
part of Insider Media llc.
Running concurrently with CeBIT are the third annual CeBIT Global Conferences, held in the Convention Center. These are discussion forums for innovations and prognoses from representatives of the ICT industry, telecommunications and new media. This year's theme is "The Challenges of a Changing World – ICT for Better Lives and Better Business."
The conference features a five-day series of keynotes, roundtables and talks with top speakers and panelists sharing their visions and future agendas. This year's conferences include "@music: About Pirates, Artists and Consumers," a think tank in which experts debate the future of the music industry in the Internet age.
Topics and speakers include:
"The Biggest Thing Since the Domestication of Animals" – Stewart Butterfield, co-founder, Flickr.com
"Cloud Computing for the End User" – Dr. Zvi Schreiber, founder and CEO, Ghost Inc.
"Next Generation Digital Music; Delivering a Unified Music Experience Through Connected Consumer Electronics" – Martin Blomkvist, director, Head of Global Content Acquisition & Partner Management, Sony Ericsson
The world's premier Linux certification organization and one of the world’s leading open source companies, the Linux Professional Institute (LPI), and its affiliate, LPI Central Europe, will host a program of activities that include sessions with longtime LPI supporters such as Ingo Wichmann, Peer Heinlein, Anselm Lingnau, Ralph Dehner and Michael Gisbers. LPI Central Europe will also host exam labs, which include exams in LPIC-1 and LPIC-2 (101, 102, 201, 202) - in German and English; LPIC-3 (301, 302, 303) - in English; and the Univention Certified Professional exam (LPI 198) - in German.
For more information about the CeBIT conferences, visit www.cebit.de.
CeBIT 2010 / CeBIT Global Conferences
March 2-6, 2010
Exhibition Grounds Hannover
Messegelände
Hannover 30521 Germany
Watching your wallet but still lusting to wander in 2010? If you're in Manhattan February 26 – 28, 2010, swing by The New York Times Travel Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.Presented by American Express, the show brandishes some 500 destinations, resorts, hotels, cruises and tours to fanaticize over while spelunking the cavernous hall of pavilions and regional exhibits.
Giveaways are ubiquitous for those who fill forms, and less patient sorts can learn about snagging outlandish travel deals by attending Saturday and Sunday's seminars. Top industry names brighten the lineup, including gurus Arthur and Pauline Frommer; 1,000 Places to See Before You Die author Patricia Schultz; and The New York Times' own Stuart Emmrich.
Television personality and travel scribe Julia Dimon will take her audience "Beyond the Tourist Zone" to fair trade coffee farms in Nicaragua and slimy critters in the Venezuelan jungle, among other highlights from her 80-country exploits. And a session with PBS Travelscope host Joseph Rosendo reveals why Thailand, India and Guatamala are good 2010 getaways.
Also sharing tales from the road is a panel of travel writers that includes Susan Orlean and David Farley. Aspiring travel writers can catch a seminar with gonomad.com's Max Hartshorne and Kent St. John, and anyone with a hankering for Cuba, family bargains or gay-friendly destinations will find seminars to match. Many of the forums are followed by author book signings at Borders Books.
Besides travel tips, big Travel Show draws are the cultural fanfare and exotic cuisine. This year, Javits's six performance stages show off a repertoire of dancers and musicians, from the Dominican Republic's Clarinetes Mágicos to South Africa's soccer-inspired Diski Dance honoring the 2010 World Cup.
Family attractions abound. Kids can get up-close and personal with live penguins and sloths at "Wild Things: Live!," while stressed parents take in the ancient Eastern art of circular breathing.
For Javits globetrotters who work up an appetite, they can sample menus from the Mexican revolution and spicy Indian poori, or enjoy cruise fare without turning green as Norwegian Cruise Line Chef Eric Cousin ladles out tastes from the sea.
And given December's reported 23% spike in cruise spending by American Express card holders, there may be cause for celebration.
This year's Travel Show unfolds amid signs of recovery in several other sectors of the travel industry as well. Taken together with pent-up travel interest and irresistible bargains, consumers are starting to look for places to vacation in 2010.
Thankfully, the Javits Center is large enough to accommodate the weekend's anticipated crowds.
In any case, there's no talk of bumping anyone.
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
644 West 34th Street
New York, NY
http://www.nyttravelshow.com/
Photo:traveljunkiejulia.com
The HempCon 2010 Medical Marijuana Show is being held February 19-21, 2010 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. HempCon is Los Angeles’ largest gathering of activists, entreprenuers, educators, cultivators and patients of the medical marijuana community. HempCon is an educational event as well, with a weekend of seminars and presentations by industry leaders, advocates and attorneys.
HempCon promotes itself s a chance for members of the community to learn more about the medical use of marijuana. To promote understanding and awareness of the medical marijuana community, many educational speakers and entertainers will be presenting and performing throughout the show.
This year, HempCon will feature a variety of exhibitors in such categories as apparel, doctors, hydroponics, legal services, and publications, as well as medical-marijuana dispensary, collective, delivery and evaluation specialists. Exhibits feature business professionals from a wide range of industries, from collectives to retail vendors, as well as graphic/web designers, appliance manufacturers and cultivation innovators.
This year’s show features keynote addresses from two top medical marijuana activist: Cheryl Shuman, executive director, and Frederic Rhoades director of operations, of Beverly Hills NORML (National Organization for the Reform Of Marijuana Laws), Southern California’s most influential and active non-profit organization committed to the advancement of the medical marijuana movement and the reform of marijuana legislation. Additional speakers include:
Michael Lerner, Daily Buds
Chris Hubbert, LA Weekly
Steve Bloom, Celebrity Stoner
Daniel M. Bornstein, Attorney
For more information, visit http://hempcon.com.
HempCon 2010 Medical Marijuana Show
February 19-21, 2010
Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015-1399
Engage!® Conference and Expo is the definitive event on youth entertainment technology. Taking place February 16-17, 2010 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City, this year's Engage runs concurrently with Toy Fair.
Engage covers the critical information needed to deeply connect with and generate revenue from youth and parents online and on mobile devices. Coverage includes social games, virtual goods, virtual worlds, branded apps and online-offline toys.
100 engaging speakers presents 32 intense sessions delivering key insight into new monetization strategies, proven ways to strengthen customer relationships, and essential marketing solutions to maximize reach.
This year's Keynote speakers are:
Will Wright, Founder and Chief Executive, Stupid Fun Club and Creator, Spore andThe Sims
The renowned creator of the world's top-selling computer game of all time celebrates his first ever visit to Engage! and Toy Fair with the opening day Engage! keynote. Will's presentation, The Evolution of Entertainment, A Toy's Place, will look at toys, play, and the product development process from a new perspective. "I'm really excited to be at Engage! Expo and Toy Fair this year,” said Wright. “I mean come on, who doesn't love toys?"
Lane Merrifield, Executive Vice President, Disney Online Studios, and Co-Founder and General Manager, Club Penguin
In addition to Club Penguin, Lane also oversees the development for all of The Walt Disney Company's virtual worlds including the soon to be launched World of Cars Online.
Natalie Hornsby, VP of Marketing, Cepia LLC. Creators of Zhu Zhu Pets
Natalie has been the driving force behind the marketing and branding of Zhu Zhu Pets, which went from from obscurity to phenomenon in half a year.
Tor Sirset, Vice President of Marketing Girls/Preschool, Bandai America Inc.
Bandai is expanding to the girls category and integrating online into the majority of these toys. Sirset discusses the strategy behind this rollout and how the Internet plays an increasingly important role in the crafting and marketing of toys.
The conference includes 4 major tracks:
Toys and Online – With the advent of web-connected and wireless-connected toys, toys that have an online or virtual world component, toy companies now have a direct connection to their consumers. Some of the sessions are:
Some of the session speakers are:
Chris Bergstresser, CEO and Co-founder, Vector Entertainment, Inc.
Cynthia Breazeal, Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab
Rich Cleveland, Sr. Director Marketing, Digital Media and Gaming, Hasbro
Renata Dionello, Director, Consumer Business Development, PayPal
Anita Frazier, Industry Analyst, Toys & Video Games, NPD Group
James Gatto, IP Practice Section Leader, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Krista Marks, General Manager, Disney Online Kerpoof Studios
Jesse Soleil, Vice President, Emerging Media and Technology, eScholastic
Tim Williams, VP Sales and Marketing, Engage Digital Media
Susan Wu, CEO & Co-Founder, ohai
Engage! brings together the leaders from the technology, toy, game and entertainment industries and provides critical cross-industry learning and valuable new business partnership and networking opportunities.
For more information, visit www.engageexpo.com.
Engage!® Conference and Expo
February 16-17, 2010
Javits Convention Center
655 West 34th Street
New York City,