February 11 agenda: New York Fashion Week opens

(AFP PHOTO/Stan Honda)

Thursday's selection, New York fashion week kicks off, so does the Salvador do Bahia carnival in Brazil. In Europe, the Berlin film festival opens and architect I.M. Pei receives a prize for his career in London, while in Asia, Japan celebrates a national holiday, among other events.

New York Fashion Week
February 11-18
New York, USA

The event kicks off the women's ready-to-wear season in the four fashion capitals (the other three being London, Milan, and Paris), the most important time in the fashion half-year. Designers including Diane von Furstenberg, Alexander Wang, and Calvin Klein will showcase their collections, Jeremy Scott returns from London, and Peter Jensen will make his New York debut.

http://www.mbfashionweek.com/newyork

60th Berlin International Film Festival
February 11-21
Berlin, Germany

The Berlinale, one of the most important dates on the international film industry's calendar with Cannes and Venice, is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2010. The 60th edition will present a retrospective to showcase the festival's diversity with 40 films that marked the festival such as Breathless (1959/60) by Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru (1952) or more recently Magnolia (1999) by Paul Thomas Anderson.

http://www.berlinale.de

Salvador do Bahia Carnival
February 11-16
Salvador do Bahia, Brazil

Less publicized than the Rio festival, the Bahia carnival is as hectic as its southern counterpart and almost as big. It offers samba parades, major outdoor concerts and the best of Afro-Brazilian music and dance.

www.carnaval.salvador.ba.gov.br

National Foundation Day in Japan
February 11
Japan

11th Annual Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival
February 11-14
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Washington, DC, USA

Over 600 wines from Spain, France, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, and the US will be poured and added to this year's festivities in an international food pavilion with gastronomical delights from Europe, Americas, Asia and Australia. The festival expects a crowd of 7,500 participants from over 15 countries.

http://www.wineandfooddc.com/Events.html

I.M. Pei to receive British Royal Gold Medal
February 11
London, UK

The 92-year-old Chinese-American architect I M Pei, best-known for his Louvre pyramid, joins the ranks of Norman Foster, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe by winning the prestigious RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) prize. He will receive the medal from England's Queen Elizabeth II at the official award ceremony.

http://www.architecture.com