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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Akshara Padmanabhan clapped her hands Monday as she danced through fields of tulips in the Windmill Island Gardens at the Holland Tulip Time festival in Holland, Mich. Akshara and her parents, from Boston, were vacationing in Chicago and took a day trip to visit the Tulip Festival.
Contest seeks top New Mexico tale
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. » Gov. Susana Martinez on Monday kicked off the state Tourism Department’s newest promotion, a contest that invites travelers to share their stories and pictures for a chance to win $5,000.
The 14-week "New Mexico True Stories" contest is an extension of the New Mexico True campaign the state launched with ads last spring in Texas, Colorado and Arizona.
The campaign encourages people to post pictures and stories about their travel in New Mexico. The top vote-getter will win $5,000. Prizes of $450 gas cards will also be given out, and the top 20 stories will be featured in the state’s 2014 Vacation Guide.
Martinez kicked off the contest at the governor’s annual tourism conference, held this year at the Hotel Albuquerque.
Mount Rainier center open daily
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. » Mount Rainier’s Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise is now open daily for the summer season.
The visitor center is only open on weekends during the off-season, typically from October through May. Beginning Saturday, it’s open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More than 1 million people visit Mount Rainier National Park every year, and many of them head to Paradise, on the south side of the 14,410-foot volcano.
ABBA stars in Stockholm museum
STOCKHOLM » ABBA wants to be remembered for more than just catchy hits.
A museum opens in Stockholm on Tuesday to show off band paraphernalia, including the helicopter featured on the cover of ABBA’s "Arrival" album, a star-shaped guitar and dozens of glitzy costumes the Swedish band wore at the height of its 1970s fame.
But some gear is definitely not on show. Band member Bjorn Ulveaus says certain items are "forever lost," conceding only that they are "embarrassing" tight costumes he wore when he was "slightly overweight." He declined to say more.
Some 40 sets of the trademark shiny flares, platform boots and knitted hats are on display. Visitors can try on costumes, record music videos and sing such hits as "Dancing Queen" and "Mamma Mia" in a studio.
