For more than a dozen years, the American Bus Association (ABA) has been coaching travelers on vacations with the help of an annual list they publish of the top 100 events in North America.
The selections aren't made lightly. Each year a special committee composed of motorcoach operators and travel industry officials spends months poring over hundreds of nominations submitted by states, cities, towns and provinces throughout the United States and Canada. To make things more difficult, events that have already won international recognition, such as the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Quebec's Winter Carnival and the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, have been taken out of the running and are listed separately by the ABA."Committee members carefully evaluate the nominations before narrowing the list down to 100. Then they decide which two events will be singled out for top honors," says George T. Snyder Jr., president of the ABA, the trade association of the intercity motorcoach industry.
This year's top winner in the United States is the Special Olympics World Games to be held in New Haven, Conn., July 1-9. Canada's top event is "The Queen's Pictures," an exhibit of 30 paintings from the Royal Collection which will be on view in Ottawa from June 23 to Sept. 10.
More than 7,200 adult and child athletes with mental retardation will represent 140 countries in the Special Olympics. The games are expected to attract more than 500,000 spectators, according to Timothy P.Shriver, president of the event.
"Our games will be the largest, most diverse sports event in the world in 1995," said Shriver, pointing out that this year's competition will be 40 percent larger than the 1991 Games in Minneapolis.
The ABA also noted that there will be other things taking place during the week of the competition, including a special celebration of the United Nations' 50th anniversary, a parade of Tall Ships, and festivals and cultural events.
For information, contact Peter Wheeler, S.O World Games, 195 Church St., New Haven, Conn. 06510-2009; tel. (203) 498-7773.
The 30 major paintings in The Queen's Pictures, are the largest number of canvases from the collection ever to travel as a group, and their exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada will be the only one in North America.
Culled from the Royal residences, including Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, and Hampton Court, they reflect a broad range of the interests and tastes of monarchs and royal collectors through the centuries. "The Shipbuilder and His Wife" (1633) by Rembrandt, and "The Three Youngest Daughters of George III (1785) by John Copley, are two of the paintings being featured along with works by such renowned artists as Van Dyck, Hogarth and Canaletto.
For information, contact Claire Schofield, National Gallery of Canada, 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ont. KIN 9N4; tel. (613) 990-1938.
Most of the Top 100 events will be taking place in spring and summer, with June busting out with 16, July with 17 and August with 18. Here are a few that sounded interesting to us.
- Senior Spring Sing '95 in Niagara Falls, N.Y., from May 5-7 and May 19-21. "This is the first-ever sing-a-long for senior citizens," said Jo Fisher, president of the Niagara Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau. She said that the Bureau hopes to attract 2,300 seniors each weekend to Artpark auditorium in Lewiston, N.Y., where they'll be able to feast on sit-down and buffet meals and "sing for their suppers" in front of a 25-piece orchestra led by Rich Blend.
For information, contact, Stan Rydelek, Niagara Falls CVB, 310 Fourth St.., Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14303; tel. (800) 421-5223.
- Cereal Festival, Battle Creek, Mich., June 9-11. Some 63,000 people sit down to "the world's longest breakfast table" during the festival, which is being held in the town that gave us cornflakes and other breakfast foods. Besides a free breakfast, there'll be a parade, beauty pageant and fitness programs.
For information: Battle Creek Cereal Festival, 34 W. Jackson St., Suite 4, Battle Creek, Mich. 49017; tel. (616) 962-2240.
- Jamboree in the Hills, Wheeling, W.V., July 13-16. Known as the Super Bowl of Country Music (the Country Music Association named it the top event of 1993), the Jamboree features the top names in country music and annually attracts fans from all over North America. It also features arts, crafts, classic car show and a talent contest.
For information: Terri Phillips, Jamboree in the Hills, 1015 Main St., Wheeling, W.V. 26003; tel. (800) 624-5456.
- Folklorama, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Aug. 6-19. Dozens of international pavilions will be set up throughout Winnipeg during what is claimed to be the world's largest multicultural festival. There'll be ethnic food, native dancers, musicians and singers as well as cultural folkloric displays.
Contact: Murray Greenfield, Folk Arts Council of Winnipeg, 375 York Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3J3; tel. (800) 665-0234.
A complimentary copy of the 1995 Top 100 Events can be obtained by sending a postcard to: American Bus Association, 1100 New York Ave., NW, Suite 1050. Washington, D.C. 20005-3934. The 20-page, magazine-size publication, not only lists and briefly describes the events, but also gives addresses and telephone numbers of whom to contact for more information.