Fireworks Cap 1996 For Twisp, Grand Coulee
In Twisp, fireworks aren’t reserved exclusively for the Fourth of July. No, in this North Cascades town, fireworks help celebrate New Year’s Eve.
The display caps an afternoon of snowmobile rides, hay and wagon rides and bonfires. Fireworks go off at 6 p.m. and hot drinks and snacks will be available. Information: (509) 997-2742.
Those who don’t want to spend the holiday in Twisp can stop at Grand Coulee Dam, where fireworks are launched off the dam at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Information: (509) 633-3074.
All aboard
Seldom have we thought much about yachting in January. But now there’s a reason to think boats: The Pacific Northwest Ultimate Floating Boat Show will be staged Jan. 17-26 at Lake Union Chandler’s Cove in Seattle.
More than 150 sailboats and powerboats will be assembled for viewing, most of which can be boarded by show-goers. A day pass is $7; a 10-day boarding pass is $13.
If you think parking is a problem, a free shuttle will run from the base of the Space Needle to Chandler’s Cove every half-hour.
Show hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends. Information: (206) 464-800, ext. 21.
Across the border
The famed Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, is offering a package deal through the winter for visitors to that Vancouver Island city.
The Secret Season Package includes a choice of afternoon tea for two, transportation and passes to Butchart Gardens, or a romantic horse-drawn carriage tour of Victoria and James Bay with each night’s lodging at the Empress. Guests also receive a discount coupon booklet. The 89-year-old hotel and its 475 guest rooms were recently refurbished.
The package is based on availability and runs through April. Information: (800) 441-1414.
En pointe in Seattle
Those wanting to see the modernistic Maurice Sendak version of “The Nutcracker” can take in a Pacific Northwest Ballet performance in Seattle this month. The ballet will be staged Tuesday through Dec. 24 and Dec. 26-29 at the Seattle Center Opera House. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster outlets in Spokane, or by calling (206) 628-0888.
Walking abroad in 1997
A walking tour of France sounds just, well, so civilized. And surely seven-day walking tours of the Loire Valley won’t disappoint on that front.
Tours, put together by BCT Scenic Walking, depart May 3, June 7, Aug. 30 and Oct. 4 and include lodging at country inns and chateaus and days spent wandering through vineyards and ancient royal hunting grounds, skirting rivers and fields of sunflowers and strolling paths through the forests of the region.
Cost is $1,895 plus airfare. Information: (800) 473-1210 or on the Web at http://www.bctwalk.com/ lajolla.
, DataTimes