Three-time Academy Award nominated actress Sigourney Weaver will host this year?s Bermuda Culinary Arts Festival, the Ministry of Tourism announced yesterday.

The star of dozens of critically acclaimed films, including ?Aliens?, ?Ghostbusters?, ?Gorillas in the Mist? and ?Working Girl?, will join festival sponsors at a VIP event. She will also host the gala dinner at the Fairmont Southampton Princess, where the festival will run from November 11-16.

Ms Weaver burst into Hollywood in her 1979 motion picture debut as warrant officer Ripley in Ridley Scott?s ?Alien?. Along with the ?Alien? films she has created a host of other characters, both dramatic and comic, both on the movie screens and Broadway stages.

?She is one of the most respected actresses in Hollywood, as well as on Broadway, and we are thrilled with Ms Weaver?s involvement,? Tourism Minister Ewart Brown said.

?Ms Weaver epitomises the Epicurean traveller that Bermuda seeks to attract. She is sophisticated, elegant, and discerning, and we are honoured she will be celebrating Bermuda and fine dining with us.?

The event, run in conjunction with Food & Wine magazine, has attracted some of the world?s best chefs and wine experts. It was first held in 2002 when hundreds of visitors made the trip to Bermuda to take part.

This year, the Ministry of Tourism is primarily sponsoring the event, and it is being heavily promoted in key gateway cities.

Tourism officials said vacation packages, with rates as low as $1,699, are being offered to visitors seeking to attend the event. The packages are based on three-, four-, five- or six-night?s accommodations at the Fairmont Southampton Princess.

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