Travel briefs

Dallas Arboretum celebrates anniversary

Dallas — They always do things big in Texas, and the Dallas Arboretum’s Dallas Blooms festival is no exception.

Nearly a half-million bulbs are in flower at the arboretum, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Visitors will see thousands of brightly colored tulips, daffodils, irises and hyacinths, along with 20,000 azalea bushes and 80,000 pansies, violas and other spring-blooming flowers.

The art of topiary is also on view in the form of a three-tiered birthday cake that’s 13 feet tall and 20 feet in diameter. The cake’s “frosting” is made from 8,000 flowers, including white begonias, silvery Dusty Millers and blue violas.

The festival at the 66-acre garden began March 6 and concludes on Easter Sunday, April 11. The arboretum is on the southeast shore of White Rock Lake at 8525 Garland Road. It’s open daily from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for visitors 65 and over, and $4 for children ages 3 to 12. For more information, call (214) 327-4901 or visit www.dallasarboretum.org.

Museum plans exhibit on ‘Lord of the Rings’

Boston — You don’t have to travel to New Zealand to get the inside scoop on the movie that swept the Oscars. Just head to Boston this summer, where the Museum of Science will display an exhibit featuring costumes, props and hundreds of pieces of memorabilia from the “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy.

The museum will showcase the groundbreaking technology used in the films, such as computer-generated special effects and animatronics. Videos of exclusive interviews with the cast, crew and director will also be shown, along with demonstrations of how filmmakers make average-size actors appear to be tiny hobbits or giant wizards using trick photography, perspective and props made at different scales.

The exhibit opens Aug. 1 and travels to Sydney, Australia, after it closes Oct. 24 in Boston.

Admission to the show will be by timed ticket only. Tickets are $19 for adults, $17 for senior citizens and $16 for children. Reservations will be available beginning June 1 at www.mos.org/lotr or by calling (617) 723-2500.

Train links Portland with Astoria region

Astoria, Ore. — The Lewis and Clark Explorer Train starts running again May 28, connecting Portland to the historic Astoria-Warrenton region after a successful season last summer carrying travelers along the south shore of the Columbia River, through nature preserves and passing by the Lewis and Clark trail.

The train will run through Sept. 20. Tickets are available through Amtrak at (800) USA-RAIL or www.amtrak.com. The debut of the line in 2003 was the first time since 1952 that a train had carried passengers along that route.

For help in planning your visit, contact the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce at (800) 875-6807 or check out www.oldoregon.com.