February 6-7 agenda: Venice Carnival starts

(AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO)

Weekend selection: Venetians put on their best costumes for the traditional carnival, a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit opens in Vancouver and a Georgia O'Keefe one in Washington DC, the best animated film are awarded in Los Angeles, the international rugby season starts in Europe while American viewers prepare to watch the 44th Super Bowl in the USA and throughout the world, among other events.

Venice Carnival
February 6-16
Venice, Italy

During the oldest and most magical carnival in the world, revelers and party-goers crowd the streets in traditional Venetian masks, and street performers and musicians entertain. Masked costume balls, parades and shows punctuate the week.

http://www.carnevale.venezia.it

Rugby Union: Six Nations Championship
February 6 - March 20
Six European locations: London, England; Paris, France; Dublin, Ireland; Rome, Italy; Edinburgh, Scotland; Cardiff, Wales.

Six nations play to contest the trophy in a 15-match, five-weekend tournament of top-level European rugby. As well as the overall Six Nations trophy, there are several other titles up for grabs. England, Ireland, and Scotland all have special trophies awarded to the winners of their matches, and Wales join them in pursuit of the Triple Crown by winning against each of the four traditional Home Nations.

http://www.rbs6nations.com

The 37th Annual Annie Awards
February 6
Los Angeles, California, USA

The Annie Awards bill themselves as "animation's highest honor," and Star Trek legend, actor, director and producer William Shatner will be hosting the presention which includes Best Animated Video Game, last won by Kung Fu Panda which beat Dead Space and Wall-E to the punch.

http://www.annieawards.org

O'Keeffe's 'Abstractions' on show
February 06- May 09
Washington DC, USA

Préviously seen in New York, the exhibition focuses on the first two decades of Georgia O'Keeffe's artwork with 130 paintings, drawings, and sculptures from the 20th century artist's abstract period, 1915 to the 1930s, at the Philips Collection in Washington DC. Though O'Keeffe is most often associated with her representational paintings and subjects from later years in New Mexico, Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction acknowledges her early work as one of America's first abstract artists, including a series of charcoals considered radical at the time.

http://www.phillipscollection.org

"Leonardo Da Vinci: the mechanics of man"
February 06-May 02
Vancouver, Canada

During the Olympics and after, Vancouver visitors interested in the artistic representation of the human body, not only in sports, will head to the exhibition Leonardo Da Vinci: the mechanics of man at the Vancouver Art Gallery, showcasing the anatomical research undertaken by the Italian Renaissance master with, for instance, the first-known accurate depictions of the human spinal column.

http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca

American Football: 44th Super Bowl
February 7
Miami, USA

The National Football League (NFL) championship final has become an institution in the USA, and the 44th edition in Miami, Florida will be an event with the British group The Who headlining the Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show.

Website : http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/44