FEBRUARY 2008

IN THIS ISSUE
Taste Washington
Moisture Festival
Cultural Guides
New Air Service
Seattle Opera

Washington Wines Offer the Ultimate Tasting Experience at Taste Washington
Taste Washington, Washington state's premiere consumer wine event, comes to Bell Harbor International Conference Center and Qwest Field Event Center, April 5-6, 2008. April 5 will be a day of seminars, led by some of the world's top winemakers, sommeliers and industry professionals. Topics will include "Knock on Wood," a tasting and discussion on the use of oak in winemaking and "Green is the New Black," a look at Washington state's "green" wine making practices. The "Grand Tasting" on April 6 is a four-hour tasting event of hundreds of Washington wines from 200 wineries and cuisine from more than 75 Seattle restaurants. Representatives will be on hand preparing the perfect bites to accompany Washington's world class wines.

For more information, visit www.tastewashington.org.

Rainless at Seattle's Moisture Festival
The 5th annual Seattle Moisture Festival comes to Hale's Palladium and the ACT Theatre, March 27-April 13, 2008. A combination comedy/varieté festival, the line-up of performers includes aerialists, jugglers, comedians, rope acts, acrobats, can can girls, strong men and women and other performers keeping the tradition of comedy, varieté and vaudeville alive. Approximately 200 artists from around the world perform for crowds in a fast-paced series of 3-15 minute performances, accompanied by a live band. The Moisture Festival also features a unique brand of "burlesque meets comedy/varieté."

For more information, visit www.moisturefestival.com or call 206-789-5333.

New Cultural Guide Available From Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau
Travelers to Seattle have a new cultural resource available from Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) beginning in April. The Seattle African American Heritage Guide features significant African American attractions, museums, heritage sites, historic background and special events information. To create these heritage guides, SCVB worked in conjunction with a review panel of community members to ensure accuracy and to provide proper cultural and historic perspective. The new guide is free of charge and can be mailed to travelers upon request. The guide is also downloadable from the SCVB web site and available at Seattle's Visitor Center and Concierge Services, located at the Washington State Convention Trade Center, and several other Seattle area locations. The guide is supported by funding from 4Culture and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

For more information, visit www.visitseattle.org/cultural.

New Air Service Flies Into Seattle
Seattle will see an increase of new air service to and from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) this spring. Virgin America will begin service between San Francisco International Airport and Sea-Tac beginning on March 18, with three roundtrip flights daily. On April 8, the airline will begin three daily roundtrips between Los Angeles International Airport and Sea-Tac and plans to add a fourth flight to the route beginning on May 11.

JetBlue begins two new routes to Seattle on May 21. Daily non-stop service from Long Beach, CA, will use both the 150-seat Airbus A320 and the 100-seat EMBRAER 190 aircraft. JetBlue also begins seasonal service from San Diego's Lindbergh Field on May 21.

Northwest Airlines will inaugurate new international daily non-stop service between London Heathrow Airport and Sea-Tac to begin June 1. Also, Hainan Airlines will offer non-stop service between Seattle and Beijing, beginning June 9. Sea-Tac Airport will be the first United States destination served by Hainan Airlines. Hainan Airlines will start service using an Airbus A330-200 but has ordered Boeing 787s for future use.

Seattle Opera to Present Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen in 2009
The Seattle Opera has announced the performance and ticket sales dates for its 2009 performance of Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen. Seattle Opera has presented Wagner's Ring for more than 30 years in a one-week cycle, which is the tradition of the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany. Both the 2001 and 2005 cycles sold out a year in advance. The 2005 cycle saw audience members from 49 states and 19 countries. The dates for the 2009 production are:

Tickets will be available to Ring Donors beginning in April 2008 and Seattle Opera Subscribers during August 2008. Web presale to the public begins on November 12, 2008 and phone and in-person sales begin on November 15, 2008.

Journalists are encouraged to contact the following SCVB public relations staff for answers to questions or for more information:

David Blandford, (206) 461-5806
dblandford@visitseattle.org

Heather Bryant, (206) 461-5805
hbryant@visitseattle.org

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MEDIA CONTACTS

David Blandford
(206)461-5806
dblandford@visitseattle.org

Heather Bryant
(206) 461-5805
hbryant@visitseattle.org