by , 10:25 AM EDT, September 19th, 2006

The grand opening of Apple's retail stores in Columbia, MD, and at Providence Place in Providence, RI, and Village Pointe in Omaha, NE will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 23. In addition to the standard amenities, including the Genius Bar, the stores will feature The Studio where customers can get one-on-one training from creative experts. Apple is planning a week long series of events to celebrate the Grand Openings, free training events and free prizes including T-shirts for the first 1000 visitors.

One lucky winner will walk away from each store with the grand prize, a "Digital Lifestyle Collection" valued at US$2229, including a 17-inch flat-panel Intel Core Duo iMac, an iPod nano, a Canon PowerShot SD450 digital camera, a Sony Handycam CCD-TRV138, and an HP Deskjet 5440 printer.

The Village Pointe store also marks the first Apple retail location in Nebraska.

For a complete list of events, and directions to the new Columbia, Providence Place, and Village Pointe stores, visit the Apple Retail web site.