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<\/a><\/p>\nRiver cruise line AmaWaterways has donated the entire onboard art collection from its recently renovated ship, the AmaDagio, to the Avignon chapter of Kiwanis International. The artwork, which will be auctioned off to raise money for local children\u2019s charities, was ceremoniously handed over at a special reception aboard the AmaDagio on Saturday, August 4, 2012. <\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the main reasons we started this company 10 years ago was to provide enriching experiences that bridge different cultures and bring people together,\u201d said Kristin Karst, AmaWaterways\u2019 executive vice president and co-founder. \u201cOver the years, we\u2019ve established a warm relationship with the townspeople along our European routes and we\u2019re very excited to now have this opportunity with the beautiful city of Avignon.\u201d<\/p>\n
AmaWaterways has operated in southern France for several years and the 150-passenger AmaDagio cruises exclusively in the Rhone River Valley. Recently, the company opted to replace the ship\u2019s existing artwork with reproductions of Vincent Van Gogh\u2019s paintings, in honor of the artist\u2019s lifelong love of Provence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe AmaDagio\u2019s former art collection included a number of lovely, high quality paintings,\u201d explained AmaDagio\u2019s Hotel Manager Luis de Sousa Marques. \u201cWe thought it was a wonderful opportunity to make a positive contribution to the local community, and the Kiwanis club in Avignon generously agreed to auction off the collection to benefit worthy children\u2019s charities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The AmaDagio event was attended by about 40 guests, including local dignitaries and city officials, the Italian Consul in the Department of Vaucluse, Mrs. Monique Albergati, AmaDagio Captain Louis Devaux, members of Kiwanis France and local print\/broadcast media. Karen Argonza, representing AmaWaterways US headquarters, was also on hand for the festivities. Attendees were treated to a VIP tour of the ship\u2019s facilities, cocktails, and remarks from AmaWaterways Director of European Operations Leonardo Starico, Kiwanis d\u2019Avignon President Jacques Cambuzat, Avignon\u2019s deputy mayors, Aim\u00e9 Gallo and Val\u00e9rie Wagner, and the city\u2019s mayor, H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Mazarian. Later, approximately two dozen Kiwanis members from clubs in Avignon and Carpentras stayed aboard for a luncheon prepared by the AmaDagio\u2019s executive chef.<\/p>\n
\u201cKiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time,\u201d Mr. Starico said. \u201cAmaWaterways is proud to be associated with such a dedicated and respected organization, and we look forward to an ongoing and rewarding relationship with the citizens of Avignon.\u201d<\/p>\n
About AmaWaterways<\/strong><\/p>\n Founded in 2002 by river cruise pioneer Rudi Schreiner, river cruise executive Kristin Karst and founder of Brendan Vacations, Jimmy Murphy, AmaWaterways is the premier river cruise line on Europe\u2019s Danube, Rhine, Main, Mosel and Rh\u00f4ne rivers. Known for its custom-designed ships, extensive complimentary amenities and personalized service levels, AmaWaterways consistently leads the way in river cruising. With destinations traveling through Europe, Russia, Vietnam and Cambodia, and new voyages to Africa and Portugal the line\u2019s award-winning fleets compliment a variety of travel plans.<\/p>\n The Europe fleet includes the AmaPrima (2013); AmaCerto (2012); AmaVerde (2011); AmaBella (2010); AmaLyra (2009); AmaDolce (2009); AmaCello (2008), AmaDante (2008); AmaLegro (2007) and the AmaDagio (2006). In the spring of 2012, AmaWaterways introduced the new 164-passenger AmaCerto in Europe, joining the AmaVerde and AmaBella in offering an exclusive Twin Balcony design in the majority of staterooms; multiple dining venues; complimentary Internet and Infotainment system, a heated swimming pool or whirlpool on the Sun Deck plus many more unique design elements.<\/p>\n In addition to the European destinations, AmaWaterways offers the separate and distinct AmaVoyages to Vietnam and Cambodia via the AmaLotus (2011) and the La Marguerite (2009); Russia via the AmaKatarina (2011); Portugal via the AmaVida (2013); and Africa via the Zambezi Queen (2009).<\/p>\n About Kiwanis International<\/strong><\/p>\n Founded in 1915, Kiwanis International is a global organization of clubs and members dedicated to serving the children of the world. Kiwanis and its family of clubs, including Circle K International for university students, Key Club for students age 14\u201318, Builders Club for students age 11\u201314, Kiwanis Kids for students age 6\u201312 and Aktion Club for adults living with disabilities, dedicate annually more than 18 million service hours to strengthen communities and serve children. The Kiwanis International family comprises nearly 600,000 adult and youth members in 7700 clubs in 80 countries. For more information about Kiwanis International, please visit www.kiwanis.org.<\/p>\n For more information on AmaWaterways or to book your cruise, please call Premier Custom Travel at (800) 304-6789.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is a great thing that AmaWaterways is doing. Here’s their official press release:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[496],"tags":[178,154,133,179,91],"class_list":["post-674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cruises","tag-amadagio","tag-amawaterways","tag-cruises","tag-kiwanis-international","tag-small-ship-cruises"],"fifu_image_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premiercustomtravel.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premiercustomtravel.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premiercustomtravel.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiercustomtravel.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiercustomtravel.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=674"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiercustomtravel.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2693,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiercustomtravel.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674\/revisions\/2693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premiercustomtravel.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiercustomtravel.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiercustomtravel.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}