News, Tips & Bargains : SFMOMA Closes for Move Downtown

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has closed its doors in the War Memorial Veterans Building in the Civic Center--its home since 1935--as it prepares to move to new quarters.

Dedication ceremonies are set for Jan. 18 at the $60-million building in the Yerba Buena Gardens area. The museum will be within walking distance of the Moscone Convention Center, the Financial District and Union Square. The MuseumStore, formerly MuseumBooks, will open Oct. 11 at 151 3rd St. For information, call (415) 357-4000.

Fall Pilgrimage in Natchez

Twenty-four antebellum mansions open this weekend for the three-week Fall Pilgrimage in Natchez, Miss., the oldest continuous settlement on the Mississippi River. Visitors may tour three houses ($14) or four ($17) on any of six tours that are scheduled daily from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5:30 p.m. Different houses are opened on different days. Tours conclude Oct. 21. For information, call (800) 647-6742.

Water’s Back On in Puerto Rico

Thanks to September rains that ended months of drought, water restrictions have been lifted in key tourist areas of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The surrounding areas of Old San Juan, Isla Verde and Condado--where many of the largest hotels are located--now have normal water service.

New Music Fest in ‘Land of Song’

This fall marks the debut of a new music festival in the resort town of Llandudno on the north coast of Wales.

As befitting a country that has been called the Land of Song, the Llandudno October Festival will feature a 300-voice concert by seven men’s choirs and appearances by jazz singer Elaine Delmar, Irish country singer Daniel O’Donnell and opera stars Victoria de los Angeles and Nicolai Gedda. The festival runs Oct. 15-22. Tickets, at $12 to $23, are available from the North Wales Theatre, Canolfan Aberconwy, Promenade, Llandudno, LL30 1BB, Wales; tel. 011-44-492-879771.