Travel briefs

Talent set for New Orleans Jazzfest

NEW ORLEANS -- Harry Connick Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Smokey Robinson, Branford Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, Dave Brubeck and B.B. King are among scores of acts -- some widely known, others with small but faithful followings -- set for this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Others set for appearances during the festival's 35th anniversary run -- from Friday, April 23 through Sunday, May 2 -- include the Neville Brothers, Shaggy, Emmylou Harris, the Steve Miller Band and Irma Thomas.

Most of the acts take place on any of a dozen stages during the festival's Louisiana Heritage Fair, held at the Fair Grounds Race Course, April 23 to 25, and April 29 through May 2.

Schoolchildren send invitations to visitors

BISMARCK, N.D. -- People across the country could soon be getting letters from North Dakota bearing a simple, handmade message from schoolchildren: Come visit.

The goal of the North Dakota Invitation Project is to mail 110,000 overtures to out-of-staters. Some tourism groups and school districts have pledged to pay for postage.

"I think there is nothing more powerful than a personal invitation," said Ken Maher, principal of Memorial Middle School, which is joining some 50 schools in the effort.

"I think the kids are pretty excited about it," Maher said. "Many of the letters will be to grandma and grandpa and relatives and friends. The goal is to get the letters out."

Eleven-year-old Ian Visina said he is writing his grandmother in Phoenix.

"I'm going to tell her that I want to see more of her and she's missing out on a whole lot of fun in North Dakota," he said. "We have a lot to do here like hunting and fishing. And I'm going to try to get her on a snowmobile."

Tour Wyoming on bike

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- The eighth Tour de Wyoming -- a six-day, 360-mile bicycle trip on the state's western edge -- will be July 18-23.

Registration by both mail and online opened Monday and tour officials expect the slots to fill quickly. The entry fee is $140 for adults and $90 for youth. It covers a continental breakfast each morning, rest stops with snacks, luggage transport and support if riders need a lift.

Overnight accommodations will be at community facilities such as schools, where participants may camp in gyms or on sports fields.

The route begins and ends in Kemmerer. The first day is a 72-mile trip into the Green River Basin, ending at Big Piney. Day Two covers 90 miles through Daniel and Bondurant before wrapping up at Jackson.

Day Three involves a climb over Teton Pass before circling into Idaho and returning to Wyoming for a night in Alpine. Day Four covers 33 miles to Afton. After a climb over Salt River Pass, Cokeville will be the destination on Day Five.

-- From wire reports