Show depicts painter as historian
PARIS » A new exhibit in Paris tries to show the painter Marc Chagall as a historian of the 20th century.
Through rich, colorful allegories of the two world wars, the Russian Revolution and his experience as a Jew fleeing Nazi Europe, Chagall’s paintings are presented as a witness account of the turbulent 20th century.
Images of pogroms, Russian soldiers, war and Jewish persecution are juxtaposed with Judeo-Christian iconography.
Chagall was born in Russia in 1887. He traveled widely and died in France in 1985.
Curator Julia Garimorth-Foray says Chagall witnessed the barbaric acts of the time "and reacts in an engaged way."
"Chagall Between War and Peace" runs until July 21 at Paris’ Musee de Luxembourg.
Butterflies will soar for exhibit
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. » Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids opened its 18th annual "Butterflies Are Blooming" exhibit Friday.
Meijer Gardens has been getting weekly deliveries of hundreds of butterflies in pupal form. They first will be placed in the Butterfly Bungalow. After emerging as butterflies they will be released into the five-story Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory to fly for the popular display.
"Butterflies Are Blooming" typically draws nearly 150,000 visitors. The exhibit runs through April 30.
Phillyfest has time-travel theme
PHILADELPHIA » An enormous "time machine" is under construction to mark the upcoming Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, a monthlong, citywide event.
When completed it will be 100 feet long and 16 feet across, spiraling across the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
The festival — with the theme "If You Had a Time Machine …" — runs from March 28 to April 27. More than 50 arts and cultural organizations are presenting dance and theatrical performances, concerts and art exhibits.
The inaugural 2011 festival, which had a Parisian theme, attracted more than 400,000 visitors to its 135 events, and a street fair that closed the festival was attended by nearly 200,000 people.
Go on a Swiss biking adventure
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. » Pure Adventures, a European travel company that designs cycling vacations, is offering two new tours in Switzerland.
The first is a guided tour for a maximum of 20 guests coinciding with the Tour de Suisse (Switzerland), described as "a less frenzied event" than Tour de France.
The second new tour in Switzerland is a self-guided cycling program from Geneva to Interlaken.
Tour de Suisse 2013 wraps around the June 8-16 race with the guided tour June 9-15.
The per-person double rate costs about $3,480 and includes six nights’ lodging, most meals, cellphones, GPS, maps, Swiss guides, luggage transfers, van support, train transfers and bicycle transfers during the race. For details, visit pureadventures.com/tours/ tour-de-suisse.php.
The Geneva-to-Interlaken tour is offered from May through October and costs about $2,000. The self-guided tour includes seven nights’ lodging, daily breakfast, GPS navigation, route book with maps and cue sheets with notes about sites and recommendations along the way, bike rental return handling by train from Interlaken, emergency support during riding hours, and all luggage transfers between hotels. For details, see pureadventures.com/tours/cycling-switzerland.php.
