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The brisk winter weather will undoubtedly keep many people huddled inside their warm homes this January, but a few thousand fans of independent cinema know that the real heat can be found in Utah. The Sundance Film Festival will be held January 15-25, 2009, continuing a three-decade tradition that has transformed the motion picture industry and inspired generations of filmmakers. Venues in and around Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah will screen the best new dramas, comedies, and documentaries by filmmakers from the U.S. and around the world, and if history is any guide, a few lucky festival attendees will be among the first to see a film that will go on to become an all-time classic. After all, Sundance is the place where filmmakers such as Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Soderbergh, and Quentin Tarantino got their big breaks. This year's candidates include Sophie Barthes's Cold Souls, a story starring Paul Giamatti about a man looking for his own soul; Big River Man, a documentary by John Maringouin about endurance swimmer Martin Strel; and The Cove, the powerful tale of the challenges faced by dolphins in the world's oceans. Festival attendees will schuss down the slopes of the various ski areas in the morning hours and take in screenings during the afternoons and evenings. Of course, the festival is as much about the grand parties as it is about the silver screen, but there's nothing wrong than discussing movies with friends and family while enjoying a fine meal and a glass of wine. Some might even say that's what life is all about. Guests at the Sheraton Salt Lake City Hotel will enjoy the cinematic experience of this legendary film festival.

"I want to assassinate painting," declared a 34-year-old Joan Miró in 1927, the year the artist kicked off a decade-long attack on the medium. He rejected traditional techniques, delved into collage, and heralded the physical qualities of material, creating works such as "48," on unprimed canvas during a winter in Paris when he shut himself off from the rest of the world. Twelve of the artist's series from this decade of redefinition and reinvigoration now hang at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the exhibition "Joan Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting 1927-1937."

The vast exhibition traces Miró's creative output through this ten year period by presenting works from every single year, beginning with the "Paintings on Unprimed Canvas" series and ending with "Still Life with Old Shoe," the colorful piece that brought the artist back to the realm of the still life, and catapulted him into the next phase of his career.

Miró may have set out to assassinate painting, but in my humble opinion these works are just delightful. Go see them now, because on January 12, they all come down, and if you live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, why not make a weekend out of it? The Sheraton Manhattan at Times Square and Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers are both offering Tri-State area residents ten percent off regular rates. Both hotels are just right down the street from the museum. Watch the video to get a glimpse of Miró's oeuvre.

Australia is a nation with plenty of elbow room, so when they do things, they tend to go big, and when it comes to Aussie music festivals, it's hard to top the Woodford Folk Festival. Located in the picturesque Queensland town of Woodford, the festival features six days and six nights of entertainment, with everything from jazz and rock 'n' roll to comedy, cabaret, and "social dialog." From December 27, 2008 to January 1, 2009, more than 2000 performers will put on 400 events at venues throughout the festival grounds, with the finest Australian artists taking the stage alongside their contemporaries from around the world. Keep an eye out for the dynamic African ensemble Asanti Drum & Dance Theater and local percussion and brass favorites Jambezi. The Festival is a short drive from the Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa Gold Coast.

Phoenix's Desert Botanical Garden will shimmer in the night this holiday season as it celebrates the annual Lumi: Las Noches de la Luminarias festival. It's a feast of lights in the desert, with more than 7,000 flickering luminarias lining the walkways of this gorgeous park now through December 23, 2008. An evening at the garden involves more than just a leisurely stroll among towering, candle-lit saguaro cacti and scarlet-flowered ocotillos. The exhibit Chihuly: the Nature of Glass, for example, places the fantastical class sculptures of Dale Chihuly amid the plants and wildflowers, lending a whimsical air to a natural place. And visitors can savor an alfresco dinner buffet while enjoy live entertainment from acts ranging from mariachi bands and Dickens carolers to swing dancing and Native American cedar flute. It's a pretty eclectic mix, so check the schedule to see what events coincide with your visit. Guests at the nearby Sheraton Desert Oasis or any of Starwood's Phoenix-area properties might appreciate this holiday tradition with a southwestern twist.