The US Open is the fourth and final instalment in the annual Grand Slam tournaments, beginning on the last Monday in August and lasting or two weeks, which means the middle weekend coincides with the Labor Day holiday.

Unlike the French Open which is played on clay, and Wimbledon which is played on grass, the US Open is played on a hard surface. The material is called Pro DecoTurf which is a multilayered cushioned surface which has slightly less friction and lower bounce qualities when compared to most hard courts. They are distinctively painted blue with white stripes to allow optimum viewing from the back of the stands and also on the television.

The event consists of five main championships spread over 22 courts and 2 weeks. The championships are the men's singles, the women's singles, the men's doubles, the women's doubles and also the mixed doubles. There are also additional tournaments for senior players, junior players, and wheelchair players. The event is hosted by USTA (the United States Tennis Association) at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in New York City. Players compete for world rankings, a trophy and a cash prize, with the winners of the singles events taking home $3.5 million (figure from 2016) and adding 2000 points to their ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and WTA (Women's Tennis Association) profiles.

As this is a Grand Slam event, you can always expect to see all of the top names in tennis competing, providing they are not recovering from an injury. Every year sees historic tennis records smashed and some tense edge of your seat action. It is a knockout tournament which sees a large number of competitors taking on each other in succession until only two remain to battle out in the final. The US Open is the only Grand Slam event that uses tie breakers in every set of the match, unlike the other events which only employ these in the last set. The event also makes use of the Hawk-Eye computer system to help with line call challenges and umpiring conflicts.

With spectator attendance reaching around the 700,000 mark yearly, this is a massive event on the ATP calendar. For those unable to attend the competition, there is excellent media coverage of all of the matches through ESPN and the Tennis Channel. Those who can attend the event have access to a range of formal and informal dining establishments, workshops and some world class tennis action. There are plenty of easy connections using public transport to get to the venue from all over New York with subway line 7 providing easy and convenient access. This is much easier than trying to fight your way against the traffic and to search for a car parking spot, although this is also possible.

Ticket pre-sales tend to start around June for the following event in August. More information can be found on the US open official website (usopen.org) including playing schedules, ticket prices and news from the tennis community.

Every year, as part of the Formula One circuit, a Grand Prix is held in Austin, Texas. This has been intermittently occurring since 1908, and since 2012 it has been hosted at the Circuit of the Americas in Elroy, which is close to the city of Austin.

Formula One, officially known as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seat auto racing, and has been a vital part of the automotive world since it's birth in 1950, although there have been a number of similar competitions that preceded the official inauguration and happening alongside the F1 until 1983. It is a yearly circuit of races, referred to as Grand Prix, featuring 20 drivers competing in over 20 races internationally on purpose built raceways and occasionally on public roads. Formula One is also the most popular annual sporting series worldwide.

While Europe is the birthplace and the traditional base of Formula One racing, it has come across the sea to America where the competition encompassed the United States Grand Prix, originally known as the American Grand Prize, which has been happening intermittently since 1908. The circuit itself is 3.4 miles, and is completed 56 times by the racers during the event, and is one of the last races in the series.

The event in Austin attracts a lot visitors, and has been reported as very successful due to the unique atmosphere that the Texans provide coming from a cultural background of music and art. in 2016 the event had record attendance figures, seeing some 270,000 people enter the grounds, despite the return of the racing event in Mexico City which drew a lot of potential internal attendees south of the border. Despite suffering some funding cuts, the race seems to be going strong.

Attendees can not only expect some high class racing action and edge of your seat entertainment, but also a certain level of glamour and prestige. As soon as the race begins, driving is non-stop and exceeds 220 miles per an hour. The grounds are filled with spectators, celebrities, drivers and their teams, and the atmosphere is unforgettable. Outside of the race grounds, the city of Austin comes alive as bars and restaurants host parties and special events to accomodate for the spectators and to keep the atmosphere alive. The actual event last for three days, including practice runs, qualifying and the race itself, although the day preceding practice runs also sees a press conference at the race grounds and some promoter activities for three day ticket holders. Qualifying laps and practice runs are broken up by the Masters Historic Racing and the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup competitions to ensure a bit of diversity amongst events. The race concludes on the Sunday with the presentation of the trophies and the national anthems of the winning teams.

Accommodation and race entry packages are available through the grandprixevents.com website near to the start of the event, along with exact dates of all of the upcoming races on the Formula One circuit.

The Grand Canyon is a natural cross section of geology that shows millions of years of history in it's rock faces. It covers almost 5000 square kilometres of land in the state of Arizona in the United States, and attracts millions of visitors every single year, and when you walk along the South Rim of the national park, it is very easy to understand what makes it so popular. Firstly, the size of it is just unfathomable. Photos will never do justice the emotion one feels when they first set their eyes upon it. After a few minutes you can begin to watch the colours change as the clouds cast shadows over the iridescent landscape of striking red rock against lush green valleys. If you stay for a few hours, as the day progresses, you will see it in an entirely new light and in a new mood. It is an ever changing canvas of natural beauty.

Every year, the Grand Canyon Association hosts an event called The Grand Canyon Celebration of Art which starts as six days of art related events followed by a three month exhibition in Kolb Studio, situation on the South Rim of the National Park. The initial six days occur every September with the exhibition stretching until January the following year.

The artists trying to capture this area of unimaginable beauty work in the medium of plein art. The term derives from the French term “En plein air” which simply means the act of painting outdoors, as opposed to studio painting. This allows artists to work with the real time natural light that they see around this, and became particularly popular in the 19th century with the impressionist movement. As paints became portable (as before being available in tubes artists would have to create their own), the medium became more common, and can be seen by artists such as Monet and Pissarro.

The artists compete in a plein air painting competition in view of the park visitors and residents as they try to represent the national park. Such a huge and striking landscape is very difficult to photograph, yet alone paint, and some of the results are just as dramatic as the canyon itself. Each artist brings a studio piece with them and then spends some time in various sections of the national park (South Rim, NorthRim, Phantom Ranch and at the Indian Garden) creating more work and experiencing the national park in different lighting and weather conditions.

At the end of the week of painting, the artists place their work in an auction which is sold off at a quick draw event in the Grand Canyon Village. An exhibition of the work is then displayed in the Kolb Studio for three months.

The national park itself is open all year to visitors, although some walking tracks can be closed in bad weather. There are plenty of camping spots and accomodation for visitors wishing to stay the night, and activities such as hiking, viewpoints, helicopter tours and information centres to accomodate for everybody's taste. Your first sighting of the Grand Canyon is something you will never forget.

We all require food to survive, but far too many of us simply feed ourselves enough to get by without taking the time to really relish the practice of providing ourselves with sustenance. Spanning over 5 days on Miami Beach in Florida,

The Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival

hosts over 80 events and 400 chefs and culinary personalities, and is a huge celebration of everything we put in our mouths. Thousands of guests attend this event which has established itself as a favourite of industry professionals and top chefs.

Hosted by the Food Network and Cooking Channel and Florida International University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, this all out event features several dozen top celebrity chefs and industry leaders leading cooking events, presentations, special dinners, classes and delivering some unique and delicious food. And what is a good food festival without anything to drink? There are many impressive wines, often matched to the food on display, craft beer and artisanal liquors to enjoy with your meal.

One of the really unique factors of the festival is that many of the events and classes take part directly on the beach. Many of the tents of the chefs and winemakers and the Goya Foods' Grand Tasting Village are pitched into the sand. The remaining events, in the most part, are hosted at iconic Miami properties such as the Fontainbleau. The food festival does an excellent job of combining a cross section of Miami Beach culture and fantastic food by showcasing some of the best locations in the area to visitors.

As well as the tastings and food tents, there are a number of parties that accompany the event. Official and unofficial events are held all around Miami Beach, inviting guests into the world famous Miami nightlife scene.

Alongside the famous culinary experts, several other celebrities attend the event. In February 2017, Chef Guy Fieri teamed up with Snoop Dogg for a special presentation, followed by a DJ performance by Snoop Dogg. As the festival continues to establish it's place in the culinary world and to gain popularity and fame, we can expect to see many large names grace Miami Beach.

The event originates from a small event on Lincoln road in 1994, but ballooned into a larger event at the FIU University Campus in 1997 before it was relocated in 2001 to the beach, where it has grown to accomodate over 50,000 guests. The festival helps to run funds for the FIU's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management team, which helps to build the future of chefs and hospitality experts likely to be featured in the event in the years to come.

The event takes place annually in February, and most events are ticketed and sell out quickly so it is worth keeping your eyes on the official website to ensure you reserve your places before it's too late. The website for the 2018 event will launch in September 2017, and tickets are expected to go on sale in October 2017. This is every self acclaimed foodie's dream, and should not be missed.