Travelore News: Unique Art Museum To Open in New Zealand

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre will be New Zealand’s first art museum devoted to a single artist

On July 25, 2015, The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand’s museum of contemporary art, will re-open its doors featuring the new Len Lye Centre. The Len Lye Centre is New Zealand’s first art museum dedicated to a single artist and, with its curved exterior walls made of mirror-like stainless steel, it will also be the country’s first destination architecture linked to contemporary art.

Artist rendering of the Len Lye Centre. Photo Credit: The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery

Govett-Brewster Director, Simon Rees, says staff are planning a community-spirited weekend celebration that will feature opening exhibitions which include Len Lye works, the Govett-Brewster Collection and a moving-image program in the new 62-seat cinema.

The opening weekend will celebrate the culmination of more than three decades of commitment to realizing a permanent home for Len Lye’s work in New Plymouth. In 1980, Len Lye gifted his collection and archive to be housed at the Govett-Brewster, coining it the “swingiest art gallery in the antipodes.”

“We will at last be able to show the breadth and depth of Lye’s vision on a permanent basis, and also continue to inspire Govett-Brewster’s audiences with contemporary art from New Zealand and around the Pacific Rim,” says Mr. Rees. “We have some great plans in place for the opening exhibitions around Len Lye’s large works and key Taranaki and New Zealand artworks.”

Construction work on the groundbreaking Len Lye Centre began in June 2013.

About Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, which opened in 1970, is Aotearoa New Zealand’s first and only contemporary art museum. Since 1980, the gallery has been home to the Collection and Archive of pioneering New Zealand filmmaker and kinetic artist Len Lye (1901-1980). The Len Lye Centre is currently under construction, adjacent to the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and is due to open on July 25, 2015 as a combined art museum.

The Barnes Foundation Presents: Mark Dion, Judy Pfaff, Fred Wilson: The Order of Things

Exhibition features three large-scale installations commissioned by the Barnes Foundation 

May 16 through August 3, 2015 

The Barnes Foundation presents Mark Dion, Judy Pfaff, Fred Wilson: The Order of Things, an exhibition featuring new works commissioned by the Barnes Foundation on view from May 16 through August 3, 2015. For this exhibition, Mark Dion, Judy Pfaff, and Fred Wilson were invited to respond to the unusual way that Dr. Albert C. Barnes displayed his collection. The results are three large-scale installations and a sound intervention that bring contemporary ideas into dialogue with the permanent collection and its installation at the Barnes. The exhibition also features a re-creation of The Dutch Room, a small space in the Merion gallery building that was removed to install an elevator in the 1990s.

The curious display of the Barnes Collection, organized into what Dr. Barnes referred to as ensembles, is one of the hallmarks of the Barnes Foundation. Nearly a century ago Dr. Barnes overturned traditional categories of display—mixing together objects from different cultures, time periods, and media—and invented his own highly-structured system for ordering the world. Much like an installation artist, Dr. Barnes endowed objects with new meanings simply by shifting their context.

“Barnes’s ensembles are ripe for analysis,” says Martha Lucy, Barnes Foundation Consulting Curator and Assistant Professor of Art History at Drexel University in Philadelphia. “Dr. Barnes arranged his collection in a very unconventional way; he ignored chronology and history and hung things together that normally would never share a wall—a Cézanne with an El Greco, for example. What Dr. Barnes did was replace the traditional display system with one of his own: Each of his assemblages is perfectly symmetrical, perfectly ordered, and set in place for perpetuity. This is what the artists are responding to in The Order of Things. Mark Dion, Judy Pfaff, and Fred Wilson are all riffing on Barnes. Their responses are thoughtful and provocative, and we hope they will offer audiences new ways to think about Barnes's display.” ​

In his work The Incomplete Naturalist, Mark Dion creates an enormous Barnesian ensemble using the arcane tools of an imaginary naturalist. In Dion’s words, his piece begs the question, “What if Dr. Barnes applied his aesthetic and methodology to natural history rather than art history?" The artist also asks viewers to consider the “destructive” nature of collecting, or what happens when an object moves from the world into a collector’s personal microcosm.

In an immersive large-scale floor piece entitled Scene I: The Garden. Enter Mrs. Barnes, Judy Pfaff plays on the tension in Barnes’s ensembles between order and disorder. Towering steel structures and fluorescent bulbs evoke the collector’s strict symmetry, while a sprawling chandelier suggests a certain disobedience of the system. Of her artistic process, Pfaff says, “I find so many similarities between my art-making and Barnes's collecting. I pull inspiration from so many different sources." Many elements of the piece evoke plants and gardens, a reference to the importance of Laura Barnes and the Barnes Arboretum in the collector’s aesthetic. 

For his work Trace, Fred Wilson creates a series of small rooms—a museum within a museum—in which he displays “readymade ensembles” and juxtapositions of rarely-seen objects from Barnes storage in a playful remix of Dr. Barnes’s ideas. Several weeks into the exhibition, Wilson adds a “sound collage” to his installation, pushing the theme of juxtaposition even further. The sound element will extend into the Collection Gallery, where the artist uses music from Dr. Barnes’s personal record collection to create a dialogue with the objects on display, much as Dr. Barnes did in his lifetime. Dr. Barnes had a great affinity for music, which not only played a significant role in his personal and intellectual life but also in the educational program of the Foundation. "I am greatly inspired by Dr. Barnes—his passion, intellect, love of art, respect for artists, and desire for social change,” says Wilson. “In his own unique way, he put his money where his mouth was.” Wilson’s piece marks the first time a contemporary artist has introduced sound into the Barnes Foundation’s special exhibition space, as well as the first time Dr. Barnes’s own music will be played in the Collection Gallery as part of a special exhibition.

The show will also include an installation designed by Dr. Barnes in the early 20th century. Called The Dutch Room, the installation was disassembled in the mid-1990s to allow for the construction of an elevator in Merion. The works of art from The Dutch Room have recently undergone conservation and will be presented to the public for the first time in over two decades; the room will also serve as an example of Barnes’s display methods in the company of the three contemporary responses. 

Curated by Martha Lucy, Barnes Foundation Consulting Curator and Assistant Professor of Art History at Drexel University in Philadelphia, The Order of Things will serve to better orient visitors to the Barnes Foundation, offering an explanation of the philosophy behind the organization of the collection and of the ensembles’ importance in the history of museum practice. At the same time—and in keeping with Barnes’s commitment to the development of critical thinking skills—this exhibition invites visitors to think actively about the display of collections more generally. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring an essay and catalogue entries by Lucy, as well as contributions from artists, critics, collectors, scholars, who each add their ideas about Dr. Barnes and his ensembles ($19.95).  

Photography will be permitted in the special exhibition space for The Order of Things.  

The Order of Things is sponsored by

The contributing sponsor is

With generous funding from the William Penn Foundation.

About the Artists

Mark Dion was born in Massachusetts in 1961 and currently lives in New York City. He received a BFA and an honorary doctorate from the University of Hartford’s Hartford Art School, Connecticut, in 1986 and 2003, respectively. He also studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York from 1982-1984, and participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program from 1984-1985. Dion has received numerous awards, including the ninth annual Larry Aldrich Award (2001) and the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Lucelia Artist Award (2008). Throughout the past two decades, his work has been the subject of major exhibitions worldwide. His work can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Tate Gallery, London; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg; Harvard University Art Museums, Massachusetts; and the Israel Museum of Art, Jerusalem, among others.

Judy Pfaff was born in London, England, in 1946. She received a BFA from Washington University, Saint Louis in 1971, and an MFA from Yale University in 1973. Pfaff is the recipient of an Academy Member Fellowship, American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2013); Anonymous Was A Woman Award (2013); MacArthur Fellowship (2004); Guggenheim Fellowship (1983); and National Endowment for the Arts grants (1979, 1986). She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Pfaff has had numerous solo exhibitions and group shows in major galleries and museums in the United States and abroad. Commissions include Pennsylvania Convention Center Public Arts Projects, Philadelphia; large-scale site-specific sculpture, GTE Corporation, Irving, Texas; installation: vernacular abstraction, Wacoal, Tokyo, Japan; and set design, Brooklyn Academy of Music. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York; the Detroit Institute of Arts; among others. Pfaff was also the Milton Avery Distinguished Professor of Art, Bard College (1989, 1991).

Fred Wilson was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1954. Wilson has created site-specific installations in collaboration with museums and cultural institutions throughout North America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. His work encourages viewers to reconsider social and historical narratives and raises critical questions about the politics of erasure and exclusion. Beginning with the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed exhibition Mining the Museum (1992-93) at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, Wilson has juxtaposed and re-contextualized existing objects to create new installations, which alter their traditional meanings or interpretations. In 2003, Wilson represented the United States at the 50th Venice Biennale with the solo exhibition, Fred Wilson: Speak of Me as I Am. His many accolades include the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant (1999), among others.

About the Curator

Martha Lucy is Barnes Foundation Consulting Curator and Assistant Professor of Art History at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Dr. Lucy is the co-author of Renoir in the Barnes Foundation (Yale University Press, 2012), the first scholarly book about the Barnes’s enormous Renoir collection, and of Masterworks: The Barnes Foundation (Rizzoli). Her articles and reviews have appeared in the Oxford Art Journal, the Revue d’Art Canadienne, and Burlington Magazine. Dr. Lucy has also contributed essays to several exhibition catalogues, including Renoir in the Twentieth Century (Philadelphia Museum of Art); The Steins Collect: Matisse Picasso and the Parisian Avant-Garde (Metropolitan Museum), which won several awards; and most recently William Glackens (Barnes Foundation). Dr. Lucy’s research centers on the art and visual culture of late nineteenth/early twentieth-century France. She has a wide range of scholarly interests, from evolutionary themes in the work of Odilon Redon to anti-modern currents in modern European painting. Her current research focuses on the sense of touch during the industrial age. 

About the Barnes Foundation

The Barnes Foundation (barnesfoundation.org) was established by Albert C. Barnes in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture.” The Barnes holds one of the finest collections of post-impressionist and early modern paintings, with extensive works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine, and Giorgio de Chirico; American masters Charles Demuth, William Glackens, Horace Pippin and Maurice Prendergast; old master paintings; important examples of African sculpture; Native American ceramics, jewelry and textiles; American paintings and decorative arts; and antiquities from the Mediterranean region and Asia. While most collections are grouped by chronology, style, or genre, art at the Barnes is arranged inensembles structured according to light, line, color, and space - principles that founder Albert C. Barnes called "the universal language of art.” The Barnes Foundation’s Art and Aesthetics programs, including courses, workshops, tours, First Fridays, Young Professionals Nights, tastings, and family programs, engage diverse audiences. These programs, held at the Philadelphia campus, online, and in Philadelphia communities, advance the Foundation’s mission through progressive, experimental, and interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The Barnes Foundation is open Wednesday – Monday, 10am – 5pm, and also 6pm – 9pm every First Friday and select Friday evenings. Tickets can easily be purchased on-site,online, or by calling 215-278-7200. For tips and assistance planning your visit, please visit our website.

The Barnes Arboretum, at the Merion campus, contains more than 2,000 varieties of trees and woody plants, many of them rare. Founded in the 1880s by Joseph Lapsley Wilson and expanded under the direction of Mrs. Laura L. Barnes, the collection includes a fern-leaf beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Laciniata’), a dove tree (Davidia involucrata), a monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), and a redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). Other important plant collections include lilacs, peonies, Stewartias and magnolias. The Horticulture school at the Barnes Foundation in Merion has offered a comprehensive three-year certificate course in the botanical sciences, horticulture, garden aesthetics, and design since its establishment in 1940 by Mrs. Barnes. Horticulture workshops and lectures are also offered regularly. The Arboretum is open Friday – Sunday, 10am – 4pm, from May 1 – November 1. Tickets can easily be purchased on-site, online, or by calling 215-278-7200.

OpenTable's 2015 Top 100 Hot Spot Restaurants In America Revealed

After another long winter, OpenTable, the world's leading provider of online restaurant reservations, today unveiled the 2015 Top 100 Hot Spot Restaurants in America. These awards reflect the combined opinions of more than 5 million restaurant reviews submitted by verified OpenTable diners for more than 20,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

New restaurants made a strong showing in this year's awards, including 42 that opened in 2014 and one as recently as 2015. The complete list features award-winners in 25 states and Washington, D.C., and includes Gato in New York, RPM Steak in Chicago, and Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis. California boasts the greatest number of winning restaurants with 22, followed by Florida and New York with 13 each. Illinois and Texas have 11 and seven, respectively. Nevada has five winning restaurants, and Tennessee and Georgia have four. Louisiana, Minnesota, and South Carolina claim two winners apiece.

Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. are represented as well.
Global fare menus are fashionable, with standout restaurants serving Asian, Basque, Korean, Latin, Mediterranean, Mexican, and Polynesian dishes, among others. American cuisine, sushi, and steak are also popular.

"Whether they're new or well established, there's an intoxicating buzz in and around each of these restaurants," said Caroline Potter, OpenTable Chief Dining Officer. "With inspired concepts, energetic atmospheres, and incredible food and drink, these hot spots are where diners will experience delight and excitement in the year ahead."

The Top 100 Hot Spot Restaurants in America are generated from more than 5 million restaurant reviews collected from verified OpenTable diners between March 1, 2014, and February 28, 2015. All restaurants with a minimum number of qualifying reviews were included for consideration. Qualifying restaurants were then sorted according to a score calculated from each restaurant's average rating in the "hot spot" category along with a minimum "overall" rating.

Based on this methodology, the following restaurants, listed in alphabetical order, comprise the Top 100 Hot Spot Restaurants in America according to OpenTable diners.

2015 Top 100 Hot Spot Restaurants in America

*Opened in 2014
**Opened in 2015

Adega Modern Mediterranean* – Cleveland, Ohio
Andrea's – Las Vegas, Nevada
B.B. King's Blues Club – Memphis, Tennessee
Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits* – San Diego, California
Bâoli Miami – Miami Beach, Florida
Barton G. The Restaurant* – Los Angeles, California
Bathtub Gin – New York, New York
The Bazaar by José Andrés at SLS Hotel South Beach – Miami Beach, Florida
Beauty and Essex – New York, New York
Bestia – Los Angeles, California
BO-beau kitchen + roof tap* – Long Beach, California
Buccan – Palm Beach, Florida
Buffalo Proper Plate & Pour* – Buffalo, New York
Cantina La Veinte* – Miami, Florida
Catch – New York, New York
Chino Latino – Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Church Key – West Hollywood, California
Ciccio's / Water – Tampa, Florida
Cleo-SLS* – Las Vegas, Nevada
Commissary at The Line Hotel* – Los Angeles, California
Cooks & Soldiers* – Atlanta, Georgia
Cork & Pig Tavern #2 – Odessa, Texas
Dirty French* – New York, New York
do Restaurant at the View – Atlanta, Georgia
Drunken Dragon* – Miami Beach, Florida
Edmund's Oast* – Charleston, South Carolina
El Camino Mexican Soul Food & Tequila Bar* – Delray Beach, Florida
El Vez – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fat Rice – Chicago, Illinois
Fig & Olive* – Chicago, Illinois
Fixe Austin* – Austin, Texas
Gato* – New York, New York
Geronimo – New Haven, Connecticut
Girl & the Goat – Chicago, Illinois
Gjelina – Venice, California
Graffiato* – Richmond, Virginia
The Grey* – Savannah, Georgia
Grille 401 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
HG SPLY CO – Dallas, Texas
The Hudson Room* – Peekskill, New York
Hydraulic Hearth* – Buffalo, New York
Ironside Fish & Oyster* – San Diego, California
Juju Asian Tapas + Bar** – Durham, North Carolina
Juniper & Ivy* – San Diego, California
Katana – West Hollywood, California
Kettner Exchange* – San Diego, California
Koi – West Hollywood, California
Kona Grill* – El Paso, Texas
La Esquina – New York, New York
The Lark – Santa Barbara, California
Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar – Boston, Massachusetts
Matador Room-The Miami Beach EDITION* – Miami Beach, Florida
Mercantile Dining and Provision* – Denver, Colorado
Momotaro* – Chicago, Illinois
MUA – Oakland, California
The Nest – Indian Wells, California
O-Ku – Charleston, South Carolina
Odd Duck – Austin, Texas
OSO* – Sonoma, California
Parachute* – Chicago, Illinois
Pitch Coal-Fire Pizzeria – Omaha, Nebraska
Prohibition Restaurant & Speakeasy* – Miami, Florida
Pump* – West Hollywood, California
The Purple Room – Palm Springs, California
Red Ginger – Traverse City, Michigan
Republique – Los Angeles, California
RoCA* – Des Moines, Iowa
Rocco's Tacos & Tequila Bar – Orlando, Florida
Rose. Rabbit. Lie. at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas* – Las Vegas, Nevada
RPM Italian – Chicago, Illinois
RPM Steak* – Chicago, Illinois
Shakou Sushi – Libertyville, Illinois
Sinema* – Nashville, Tennessee
Social Southern Table and Bar – Lafayette, Louisiana
Spoon and Stable* – Minneapolis, Minnesota
STK-NYC-Meatpacking – New York, New York
STK-The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas – Las Vegas, Nevada
STK-Washington, D.C.* – Washington, D.C.
Sub Zero Vodka Bar – St. Louis, Missouri
SumoMaya Mexican-Asian Kitchen – Scottsdale, Arizona
Sunda – Chicago, Illinois
Sur Restaurant – West Hollywood, California
Sushi POP – Oviedo, Florida
The Sutler* – Nashville, Tennessee
Tao Downtown – New York, New York
Tao Restaurant and Nightclub – Las Vegas, Nevada
Teak on the Hudson* – Hoboken, New Jersey
Three Dots and a Dash – Chicago, Illinois
Three Muses – New Orleans, Louisiana
Toku Modern Asian – Manhasset, New York
TORO – New York, New York
The Tropicale – Palm Springs, California
Uchi – Houston, Texas
Ulele* – Tampa, Florida
UMI – Atlanta, Georgia
Union 50* – Indianapolis, Indiana
Untitled – Chicago, Illinois
Virago – Nashville, Tennessee
Vitello's – Studio City, California
Whiskey Cake* – San Antonio, Texas

Princess Cruises Takes The Sound Of Music Out To Sea

SINGAPORE – The seas are coming alive with the sound of music.

Beginning mid-April, Princess Cruises will partner with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment to screen the biggest movie musical of all time, The Sound of Music, on board all 18 of its cruise ships and feature sing-a-longs, trivia games, and other movie-themed experiences throughout the year. The offerings celebrate the 50th Anniversaries of both the cruise line and the musical and is part of a year-long campaign to honor the classic film.

A phenomenon upon its debut in 1965, The Sound of Music won five Academy Awards®, including “Best Picture” and continues to inspire audiences around the world with unforgettable songs including “Do-Re-Mi,” “My Favorite Things,” “Climb Every Mountain,” and “The Sound of Music.” Starring Oscar® winners Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, the film follows Maria (Andrews), the warm-hearted young woman who brings joy and music to Captain von Trapp (Plummer) and his seven children.

"The Sound of Music isn't just a classic film, watching the movie together is a classic family activity. In a year in which both Princess Cruises and The Sound of Music mark their golden anniversaries, this is truly a fun and memorable way to join in the celebrations,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises’ president.
The Sound of Music will be shown once on every sailing throughout 2015 on Princess Cruises’ giant “Movies Under the Stars” top deck screens, with the sing-a-long version featured in the Princess Theater. Song birds can meet and rehearse for a special The Sound of Music edition of Princess Pop Choir and a themed Trivia Challenge will test fans movie knowledge.

The Sapphire Princess, which homeports in Singapore for an extended second season from November 2015 to March 2016, will also feature The Sound of Music screenings on its sailings throughout the region this year.

We Support Boycott Of Travel To Indiana and Arkansas

Boycott travel to Indiana, boycott travel to Arkansas! Not only travel and tourism to Arkansas and Indiana is targeted in various initiatives to boycott. Indiana Governor this morning said: “This law does not give businesses the right to deny services to anyone." Governor Mike Pence asks for a legislative fix.

In the meantime New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio today both banned state-business travel to Indiana. NY State Senator Michael Gianaris introduced a bill to ban state travel to any state with a similar law in the future.

Similar banns had been put in place to not allow tax payers funded travel for City Officials from Seattle and Philadelphia as well as a growing number of other cities to fund travel to Indiana or Arkansas.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on March 26 signed into law a bill that legalizes discrimination, allowing businesses to refuse service to customers simply because they are gay or lesbian. Further, since Governor Pence claims disingenuously that it is about religious freedom, his law protects any business owner who refuses to hire someone of a different religion from their own.

The Flight Attendant Union on Monday called on the state of Indiana to fix its controversial religious freedom law that may allow businesses to discriminate against gay people.

"We call on the Indiana State legislature to undo this abhorrent law. And just as we have done throughout our history, such as the battle we waged against Big Tobacco, we will relentlessly battle the hate spewing from the Governor's office in Indiana or wherever it may exist until our communities are free of hate," AFA International President Sara Nelson (pictured above) said in a statement.

This un-American law sets Indiana and our nation back decades in the struggle for civil rights. It is an embarrassment and cannot be tolerated. As such, AFSCME will move our 2015 Women’s Conference in October from Indianapolis to another state. Additional details about the conference’s new location and any necessary date change will be announced as they become available.

The 1.6 million members of AFSCME cannot in good conscience make such a sizable financial investment in Indiana knowing that women and men in that state are deliberately targeted for discrimination.

LGBT organizations across the United STates are calling for a boycott of Indiana and possible Arkansas.

Today the Arkansas House has approved a religious freedom measure that mirrors the one signed into law last week in Indiana that opponents there say opens the door to discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Monday that he'd sign the measure.

Fourteen other states are considering similar proposals this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy

He now has weighed in, and said all there needs to be said.
In a tweet earlier the king of horror wrote:

“Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration act is gay discrimination, pure and simple. You can frost a dog turd, but it’s still a dog turd.”

SIgn the petition - click here

Air Astana: New Service To Paris

Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s Skytrax award winning carrier, launched a new three times a week service from Astana to Paris on 29th March 2015. The service originates In Almaty, with no change of aircraft in Astana, and is operated using a Boeing 757 configured with 16 business and 150 economy class seats. The flight time from Astana to Paris is 7 hours 5 minutes.

Along with Air Astana services to/from Frankfurt and London, passengers flying to/from Paris can also choose to experience the innovative new Economy Sleeper Class, which provides the opportunity to rest and sleep in a lie flat position, by combining three economy seats. Economy Sleeper Class passengers are accommodated in a separate cabin and offered a Business Class mattress, pillow and duvet, with additional benefits including Priority Check-in, 30kg baggage allowance, Business Class Lounge access, Priority boarding, Fast Track for immigration / security clearance, Business Class Amenity Kit and In-flight entertainment system.

Operating schedule: Wednesdays/Fridays/ Sundays – All times local

KC623 departs Almaty at 11.0 and arrives in Astana at 12.35
KC223 departs Astana at 14.00 and arrives in Paris CDG at 17.05
KC224 departs Paris at 19.55 and arrives in Astana at 06.05 +1
KC624 departs Astana at 07.25 and arrives in Almaty at 08.55+1

“The new service to Paris is a major step in developing Air Astana’s European network and serves to strengthen economic, diplomatic, cultural and tourism links between France and Kazakhstan,” said Peter Foster, President of Air Astana.

Air Astana commenced regular flight operations on 15th May 20o2 and currently operates a network of 64 international and domestic routes from hubs in Astana, Almaty and Atyrau. The airline operates a fleet of 30 Boeing 767-300ER, Boeing 757-200, Airbus A320 Family and Embraer 190 aircraft. Air Astana has repeatedly passed the IATA International Safety Audit (IOSA) and is EASA part 145 certified. In February 2015, Air Astana received the prestigious Air Transport World Market Leader Award.

Air Astana is a joint venture between Kazakhstan’s national wealth fund Samruk Kazyna and BAE Systems, with respective shares of 51% and 49%.

Top Five Airport Playgrounds For Kids In The US

Catching up on email, a good book or a cocktail might keep adults entertained during delays or long layovers at airports but kids need more stimulation. The travel experts at The GO Group note that many airports offer activities to keep kids occupied. Here are the top five.

Chicago's O'Hare Airport is said to be the world's busiest and the one with the most delays. Keep kids happy by visiting the Children's Museum of Chicago's playground called "Kids on the Fly," located near Gate F1 in Terminal 2. The aviation-themed exhibit features a cargo plane that needs fueling; a cockpit in a fantasy helicopter; a luggage station and an air traffic control tower. Another exhibit, located in Terminal 2, is dedicated to the memory of WWII hero Lt. Commander Edward "Butch" O'Hare, showcasing a restored F3F-4 fighter plane. In Terminal 1 children can gaze at the life-size Brachiosaurus skeleton.

Families at the San Francisco International Airport can visit the Commission Aviation Library & Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum in the International Terminal's main hall. The Exploratorium of San Francisco has designed a weather-themed play area featuring crawling equipment and a plasma wall -- a display of colorful arcs that jump around when activated by sound. SFO Kids' Spot is located after passing through security in Terminal 3. Terminal 1 features three different aquariums.

Boston Logan International offers two Kidports. Terminal C features a playground designed by the Children's Museum of Boston with a baggage-claim slide, a climb-worthy airplane and window display area. The second Kidport, in the satellite building of Terminal A, features a replica of the air traffic control tower, slides and climbing structures.

Dallas International boasts three Junior Flyer Clubs with large play areas. One is located in Terminal B by Gate 12 and offers an indoor runway; an airplane; a car and a traffic control tower for kids to climb. International Terminal D presents two other indoor playgrounds complete with a playscape and games.

Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport features a huge unsupervised kids' play area in Terminal D which has play structures and an interactive control tower. The airport is also home to some cool vintage planes, which will garner the attention of kids interested in aviation.