News Release:

Top 10 List for Best Walking Tours includes Questa, NM  Company.

Wild Earth Llama Adventures Ranked #4 by TripAdvisor.com for best walking tours in America.

The world's most popular and largest travel community, Trip Advisor.com, just announced America's top 10 tours, according to its Popularity Index.

Tours are picking up mileage on TripAdvisor this year, as searches for walking tours on the site between January and May of 2009 are up seven percent compared to the same period in 2008. But taking tours doesn't necessarily mean pounding the pavement, as top traveler picks include an airplane outing, a zip lining adventure, and even a journey on a fishing vessel.

#4. Comforting Companions: Wild Earth Llama Adventures, Taos, New Mexico

Llamas may be unconventional modern-day travel companions, but these surprisingly friendly and industrious animals provide just what travelers need to explore the wilderness of New Mexico. The llamas will bear your load and escort you on your hike, as tour guides educate you on the surrounding area. The day's exploration even concludes with a delicious picnic. According to one TripAdvisor traveler, "Along with learning about the llamas, we hiked some pretty wonderful scenery of the Carson National Forest, learned about the history of the area...and had a fabulous lunch by a river!"

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/tripadvisor/37964/

Contact me to schedule an interview, for photos and videos, or to schedule your own media trek.

Peter St. Cyr

(505) 319-3237

Live Magic Show

With the wave of a Wand you’ll be Amazed, Amused and Astounded by
THE AMAZING BODINNI the Magician.  Fun filled entertainment at the Taos Youth and Family Center on Tuesday, June 30, 2009.  Show time is 2:00 PM to 2:45 PM.  A FREE delight for young and old alike!  For more information call Judy at 758-4160.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 15, 2009
Media Contact: Stacey Glaser, Marketing Director
(505) 414-1550, Stacey@SipapuNM.com

When: Saturday, June 20

Agenda:

Registration: 8:00-8:45
Mandatory Meeting 8:45-9:00 (Required for all Derby participants)
Fishing Derby 9:00-3:00
Awards Ceremony 4:00
Derby Dinner 3:30-7:00 (The Derby Dinner includes games and activities for all ages, a BBQ dinner on our riverside patio and demonstrations on how to cook your fish!)

Where: Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort (located just 20 miles southeast of Taos)

Cost:

Adults (13 and over): $10 for the Fishing Derby - an additional $12 for the Derby Dinner
Children (12 and younger): $5 for the Fishing Derby - an additional $8 for the Derby Dinner

Awards: Cash prizes will be offered to the participant who catches the biggest fish and the participant who has the biggest stringer!

For event rules and registration, visit www.SipapuNM.com.

Peter St. Cyr

(505) 319-3237

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The Nation's Top 25 Arts Destinations Revealed in AmericanStyle Magazine

Baltimore, Md. (April 17, 2009) - Exciting, reliable, budget-friendly locales captured readers' hearts and votes as cities nationwide vied for top ranking in AmericanStyle magazine's 12th annual arts destinations poll.

Chattanooga, Tenn., made a remarkable debut on the winners' list this year, muscling its way to a respectable second-place finish among mid-size cities. Its arrival as an arts destination is a reminder that in tough economic times, art lovers take a closer look at the accessibility, diversity and richness of cultural experiences close to home.

"Remember the vital roles played by artists during the last recession," said Wendy Rosen, publisher of AmericanStyle. "They moved in to dying Main Streets, shuttered factories and warehouse districts, and converted them into galleries and art scenes. Their murals, outdoor sculpture and other public art enchanted tourists and helped spark new investment. Artists led the way then, and they are leading the way now."

"Tough economic times also make consumers conscious of where their products come from," Ms. Rosen added. "Art lovers know they can make a positive impact by buying from local galleries and local artists, so their dollars recycle in the community and support homegrown talent. We all know that art and handcraft galleries are among the few remaining places where you can find authentic, made-in-America gifts and art products."

With its abundant art galleries and warm personality, Santa Fe, N.M., received the poll's No. 1 spot in the small cities category for the fourth consecutive year. Popular festivals and arts events earned Buffalo, N.Y., the highest rank among mid-size cities for the second year running. New York, N.Y., with its world-class museums and lively street festivals, topped the list of big cities for the sixth time in a row.

With so large a selection of arts cities to choose from, readers will be itching to hit the road. Luxury travelers will not be able to resist destinations boasting premier museums, galleries and festivals, while "staycationers" will be pleased to find great art cities within driving distance.

AmericanStyle Top Arts Destinations in 2009

Tips for affordable travel and details about exciting arts destinations in the United States are featured on www.AmericanStyle.com and in the June issue of AmericanStyle, now on newsstands and at major booksellers across the country.

To receive a preview of each new edition of AmericanStyle magazine and special bonus content, sign up for the free e-newsletter at www.AmericanStyle.com.

AmericanStyle magazine is a national lifestyle magazine for art enthusiasts, collectors and travelers. Launched in 1994 by The Rosen Group, the bi-monthly publication features articles on contemporary artists, galleries, arts travel and art events. The annual Top 25 Arts Destinations readers’ poll has earned the magazine national recognition as a premier arts travel resource.

MEDIA ADVISORY

RVers KICK OFF THE NATION'S LARGEST RV RALLY BY GIVING BACK TO THE ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY
Volunteers Lend a Hand at the Rio Grande Community Farm.

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Saturday May 23rd (biker weekend) – Hot Tuna plays the KTAOS Solar Center (doors at 6pm – all ages)
Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady the core and founding members of Hot Tuna both played Woodstock with Jefferson Airplane

Saturday June 6th – Country Joe McDonald plays the KTAOS Solar Center (doors at 6pm – all ages)
Country Joe was one of the legends at Woodstock in 1969 and is recreating his exact show at the KTAOS Solar Center

From KTAO:

For times, prices and other details visit ktao.com or call 575.758.KTAO

• May-September – Taos Summer of Concert Series at the KTAOS Solar Center –
  Dozens of Concerts visit ktao.com for schedule
• May 10th – Girlyman show 6pm KTAOS Solar Center
• May 16th – Entrain's Drums for Peace 7pm KTAOS Solar Center
• May 22nd – Carrie Rodriguez at the 7pm KTAOS Solar Center
• May 23rd – 1969 Live DJ parties and dance (playing songs of the era) 6pm at the KTAOS Solar Center
• May 24th – 1969 Live DJ parties and dance (playing songs of the era) 6pm at the KTAOS Solar Center
• June – Five Magazine feature on Taos Summer of Love – visit readfive.com for details
• June 6th - Country Joe McDonald, Saturday June 6th, 6pm, All Ages. Tickets $15 in advance $20 at the door. Available at Vibrations, Taosound and KTAOS. Opening act TBA
• June 6th – Hippie Dippy Parade (with Taos News and Town of Taos)
• June date TBD – Revolution Records Love Songs CD release party at the KTAOS Solar Center – visit imaginerevolution.com for details
• June Date TBD – Country Joe McDonald Show – Woodstock Memories at the KTAOS Solar Center
• July Date TBD – Magic Bus 60's vehicle contest and costume contest and concert at the KTAOS Solar Center
• Ongoing Dates TBD – Special Hippie Era Performers at the KTAOS Solar Center
• Ongoing – "Flashbacks" – daily radio segments describing life in 1969 on KTAO 101.9 FM
• Ongoing – "Trips" – daily radio segments of Taosenos discussing their memories of hippie days in Taos on KTAO 101.9 FM
• Ongoing – 1969 Trivia radio feature on Luna 103.7 FM – visit luna1037.com for details
• August date TBD – 1969 Live DJ parties and dance (playing songs of the era) at the KTAOS Solar Center
• August 15th – Summer of Love Day at the KTAOS Solar Center
• Date TBD – Through the Looking Glass Radio Specials on covers of songs from 1969
• Date TBD – Congo Square Radio Special devoted to 1969 music on KTAO 101.9 FM
• Date TBD – World on Tour Radio Special devoted to 1969 world music on KTAO 101.9 FM
• Date TBD – Rock n' Soul Morning Show music special on Luna 103.7 FM – visit luna103.com for details
• Ongoing – Breakfast with Nancy – interviews with Taosenos who were here in the hippie days on KTAO 101.9 FM
• Date TBD – Tops Ten 1969 CD giveaway contest (similar to our annual top ten contest but all 1969 CDs) on KTAO 101.9 FM
• Date TBD – Love Bead Contest (with TGA) at the KTAOS Solar Center
• Date TBD – 60s Fashion Show on the runway at the KTAOS Solar Center
• Date TBD – Trivia contest on KTAO 101.9 FM Luna 103.7 FM and at the KTAOS Solar Center
• September 12th – Michael Hearne's Big Barn Dance Music Festival at the KTAOS Solar Center – visit michaelhearne.com for details

MORE EVENTS TO BE ANNOUNCED
www.TaosSummerOfLove.com

Peter St. Cyr

(505) 319-3237

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The Harwood Museum of Art Presents

Tina Sandoval, Mark Jackson, and Kathleen Mills in Concert.

Taos, NM -- The University of New Mexico's Harwood Museum of Art in Taos is featuring a benefit concert and champagne reception on Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 5:30 PM presented by the Harwood Museum Alliance.  Tickets to this event are $25 for Harwood Alliance Members and the UNM Community and $35 for non-members and are available for sale in the Museum Shop two weeks before the event.  All proceeds will benefit the Programs of the Harwood Museum of Art. For more information call 575-758-9826 x 105.

Opera soprano Tina Sandoval and tenor Mark Jackson will present their sixth concert at the Harwood with pianist Kathleen Mills.  Continuing with their love of opera and classical voice, their concert entitled "Tonight, Tonight." will feature a romantic evening of opera arias and duets from Bernstein's Candide, Verdi's Aida and Simon Boccanegra, Dvo?ák's Rusalka, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, and songs by Heitor Villa-Lobos.

A life-long singer and pianist, Tina Sandoval has a diverse background in music. Her formal training includes degrees in Voice Performance and a Masters in Vocal Arts Education from Northwestern University School of Music and Lewis and Clark College.  As a vocal artist she has performed in opera, classical concerts with orchestra, choral ensembles, and piano vocal recitals.  Ms. Sandoval started her career in Chicago singing opera.  She has sung in productions of Strauss's Die Fledermaus as Adele, Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme, Papagena in Mozart's The Magic Flute, and Monica in Menotti's The Medium.  She performed as principal soloist with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Portland Symphonic Choir.  Ms. Sandoval is soloist with various ensembles in Taos including the Taos Community Chorus, most recently in their Winter 2008 concert.   Her musical repertoire is not just limited to the classical sphere, she is also an accomplished jazz vocalist, has written and performed her own contemporary compositions and is an acclaimed recording artist, composer and songwriter.  She is a voice instructor with UNM-Taos and teaches private voice at her Taos Institute of Vocal Arts Studio (TIVA) which she shares with Mark Jackson.

Since coming to Taos Mark Jackson has given many concerts for the Harwood Museum of Art.  He has performed several times with Tina Sandoval at the museum and is pleased to be able to sing with her again.  He has sung with The Taos Chamber Music Group at the Harwood and is a soloist with the Taos Community Chorus, most recently in their Winter 2008 concert.  He is on the faculty of UNM-Taos teaching vocal performance and acting for the singer, and teaches private voice out of his Taos Institute of Vocal Arts Studio (TIVA).

Mr. Jackson's formal training was at Boston Conservatory and his career has taken him to several places in the world where he has given concerts and opera performances in such exotic places asIslamabad, Pakistan, Maputo, Mozambique, Pretoria, South Africa, Brasilia, Brazil and throughout Switzerland.  He has sung with many of the opera companies in the United States notably New York City Opera, Boston Opera Company, Boston Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Kansas City Opera, Central City Opera, Mid West Opera Theater and The Minnesota Opera.

Mr. Jackson has interpreted such roles as Don José in Bizet's Carmen, Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata, Canio in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme, Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and Turridu in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana.   He gives vocal recitals and master classes when he can.

After many years as professor of music and gender studies at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, Kathleen Mills moved with her husband to Taos in 1999.  She has performed here with Taos Chamber Music Group, Taos Chamber Singers, Opera Tazza, and Taos Community Orchestra and Chorus, among others. During a hiatus in Dubuque, Iowa, Kathy taught piano at Northeast Iowa School of Music, music appreciation at the local community college, and was organist at First Congregational United Church of Christ.  She holds degrees from Cornell and Smith Colleges andNorthwestern University in piano, music education and music history, where her piano gurus were Julian Bern, George Walker, and Gui Mombaerts.

The Harwood Museum Alliance has also designed three raffle prize baskets: A health Basket with certificates for massages, pedicures, manicures as well as health and beauty items (valued at $500): A Gourmet Basket featuring chocolates, coffee, food (valued at $350) and a Tech/Music Basket with a complete ipod unit (valued at $400). The raffle will be drawn during concert and winners need to be present. Tickets will be available in museum shop prior to the concert and will be sold during the event.

For more information on the Alliance Benefit concert with Tina Sandoval, Mark Jackson and Kathleen Mills please call 575/758-9826 x 105.

The Harwood Museum of Art of the University of New Mexico is located at 238 Ledoux Street, Taos.  Hours Tues-Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5, Free to NM Residents on Sundays. Admission $8 Adult, $7 for Seniors/AAA members/Students.  For more info call 505-758-9826 or www.harwoodmuseum.org.

# # #

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NEWS RELEASE                                                                                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hippie Jewelry Returns to Taos, New Mexico for the

2009 Summer of Love Celebration.

El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa Announces a “Love Beads” Contest.

Taos, New Mexico (March 25, 2009) – This summer Taos is celebrating the 2009 Summer of Love and 40^th Anniversary of  actor and director Dennis Hopper’s film Easy Rider. To commemorate the 1960’s hippie culture that settled in communes around Taos in 1969, the AAA Four-Diamond El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa has announced a Love Beads contest.

“The psychedelic philosophy of free thinking, free expression, free love and rock-n-roll music all marked the counter culture of the late ‘60 and ‘70’s,” said El Monte Sagrado’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Denise Bina.  “At the same time, fashion was becoming more unconventional, yet one piece of jewelry stood out. Love beads seem to stamp the generation.”

Love beads, of course, are the accoutrement most often associated with the Hippie’ culture. The post World War II generation was influenced by a number of movements including, anti-Vietnam War, anti-nuclear bomb, civil rights, and the wider peace effort.

Taos quickly became a prime destination point for young people during the era because of its rural isolation, natural beauty, historic significance, and spiritual pueblo surroundings.  Hippies migrated to the area, started multi-family communes, and began stringing love beads to wear as jewelry.

Now artists, and fans of the hippie culture, can enjoy the craft of the era by entering their bracelets and necklaces in the El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa’s love bead contest.

Love beads entered in the contest must be made from the following materials:

crystal

glass

metals, including wire

plastics

clays, including polymers

seeds, stones and wood.

-more-

Love Bead Contest – Page 2

The jewelry must also be created by using one of these techniques:

stringing,

crimping,

basic knotting,

wire working with simple loops, wrapped loops, or wrapped-loop bails

jump ring techniques.

*All materials must cost less than $25.

Official Judging and prizes

The public is invited to judge the Love Bead contest. El Monte Sagrado and De La Tierra Restaurant will host a love bead judging contest and reception on Saturday, May 23rd from 4:00pm – 6:00pm.  Attendees will enjoy “Hippie Hour” for 4pm – 6pm at the resort’s Anaconda Bar.

The contest winner will receive a $500 prize from Griffin and Associates. The winner will become the “official beads” maker and allowed to sell “official beads” at El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa throughout the Summer of Love.

The winner will be announced after “Hippie Hour” from 4pm-6pm Saturday, May 23rd in the Anaconda Bar. Dinner specials will be offered in the De La Tierra Restaurant.

For full contest rules visit at: http://www.taossummeroflove.com

Entry deadline is Friday, May 22^nd 2009, and submissions may be delivered to the El Monte Sagrado sales office weekday from 9am to 4pm.

For more information contact:

Denise Bina

denise.bina@elmontesagrado.com

El Monte Sagrado

317 Kit Carson Road

Taos, NM  87571

(575) 758-3502