Blog - Page 1474 of 1553

Photos: Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times Halloween Carnival

Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times hosted its 18th Annual Family Halloween Carnival on Sunday, October 24 in the Universal Studios Backlot. The event benefited Camp Ronald McDonald, which provides a cost-free sleep-away camp for children with cancer.

Street Surfing, maker of The Wave caster board and the Whiplash scooter, was one of the sponsors at the Halloween Carnival. More than 3,000 people attended the event including celebrities such as Gilles Marini and Rachel Griffiths (Brothers and Sisters); Billy Bush (Access Hollywood); Shar Jackson (Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp); Marissa Jaret Winokur (The Talk); Constance Marie (George Lopez); Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family); Alison Sweeney (Biggest Loser, Days of our Lives); Dan Benson (Wizards of Waverly Place); Daniella Monet (Victorious); Italia Ricci (Unnatural History, Secret Girlfriend); and Robbie Amell (True Jackson VP). Everyone had the opportunity to ride The Wave and Whiplash, as well as enter to win one of the many raffled off Street Surfing boards and other giveaways.

Record A Story Donates Books to Military Program

Beginning this Veterans Day (November 11), military parents separated from their children can record a story for their child and ship it to him or her in time for the holidays. As a part of the initiative, Publications International, Ltd. (PIL) will donate its new Record a Story books to the non-profit United Through Reading Military Program for deployed service members to record for their children.

The United Through Reading Military Program has been sending kids videotapes of their military parents reading books aloud since 1990. Operation Record a Story will take the program to the next level by donating the recordable storybooks. As children turn the pages, the story is read aloud to them. Titles include ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, Sesame Street: Together at Heart, Dora the Explorer, and Guess How Much I Miss You. Both the book and a video of the parent recording the story will be shipped to kids.

Recordings will take place at the following United Through Reading locations: USO DFW – Dallas/Fort Worth, Tex.; USO – Fort Hood, Tex.; USO – BWI Airport; USO Camp Beuhring – Kuwait; USO Balad – Iraq; USO Kandahar – Afghanistan; USO Bagram – Afghanistan (Pat Tillman Memorial USO); USO of Georgia – Jean R. Amos USO Center; USS George H. W. Bush in Naval Station Norfolk, Va.; and USS Abraham Lincoln in Everett, Wash.

For information on the United Through Reading Military Program, visit www.unitedthroughreading.org.

Victoria Justice Inspires New Build-A-Bear Fashions and Accessories

Build-A-Bear Workshop has partnered with teen actress and singer Victoria Justice for branded fashions and accessories for the plush bears that will available in stores and online at buildabear.com. The collection will launch with a bear-sized T-shirt that will be available in December, followed by a red carpet-inspired dress and a Victoria Justice stuffed animal that will be introduced in 2011. Build-A-Bear fans can visit facebook.com/buildabear during the holiday season to hear Victoria’s style suggestions and fashion picks for her favorite plush animals.

Photo: Business Wire

TIF and BGCA Kick Off Holiday Season with Toy Distribution

In time for Thanksgiving, representatives from the Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) and Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) will deliver new toys and games to more than 5,000 children at Florida’s MacDill Air Force Base.

The event, to be held November 17, will be the latest and largest event during the first year of the new TIF-BGCA Play Comforts partnership. Senior MacDill Air Force officials will be on-hand to accept the toys on behalf of the Air Force community. According to TIF, Play Comforts is the only known toy distribution program to support every branch of the U.S. military. TIF plans to distribute 25,000 toys to military children through the Play Comforts partnership by the end of the year.

Senario’s Zibits Gets iPhone Game

Senario has released a new iPhone game for its popular Zibits remote control (R/C) robotics series, Zibits Rush. In the game, created by Senario and ChaYoWo Games, players can choose their own Zibits characters and complete levels in four different worlds by clearing hurdles and defeating enemies. After all levels are complete, the player’s final score is displayed and can be posted to Facebook, Twitter, or the online leader board. The game can be downloaded for 99 cents from Apple’s App Store. To learn more about Zibits, visit www.zibits.com.

Lego Universe to Launch Tomorrow, Photos and Videos Revealed

Coinciding with the European launch of Lego Universe, the Lego Group revealed new videos, screenshots, and art for the game on Friday. The North American launch is scheduled for Tuesday, October 26.

Lego Universe is published by the Lego Group, developed by NetDevil, and distributed in mass retail by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game invites players to use their imaginations to build objects and to creatively battle opponents. To learn more about Lego Universe, visit www.LegoUniverse.com.

Photo: Disney Unveils Times Square Store’s Digital Sign

Photo: Mickey Mouse unveils Disney Store’s new state-of-the-art digital billboard in the heart of New York City’s Times Square, as the countdown begins for the grand store opening celebration on November 9. The two-story store will be Disney’s largest in North America and will feature exclusive merchandise plus N.Y.-themed products, and will boast Disney’s new concept design.

Credit: Disney Store North America

Learning Express Expands with New Pop-Up Stores

Learning Express has opened four new pop-up toy store locations in time for this year’s holiday season. All of the Learning Express temporary holiday stores are owned and operated by existing franchisees. The new Learning Express holiday stores are located in: Wesley Chapel, Fla. (The Shoppes at New Tampa); Hinsdale, Ill. (36 E. Hinsdale Ave.); Garland, Tex. (The Firewheel Center); and Burlington, Mass. (The Burlington Mall).

Rubie’s Brings WWE Halloween Costumes to Stores

Rubie’s Costume Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of Halloween costumes and accessories, has partnered with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to produce officially licensed Halloween costumes for children and adults.

These costumes are currently available at WWE.com and at various retailers nationwide including Target, Kmart, Walmart, and Party City. The costumes will feature WWE Superstars and Legends such as John Cena, Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Rowdy Roddy Piper. The Rubie’s products feature muscle chest technology to create realistic costumes that fans of any age can enjoy wearing during the holiday. Read More…

Harry Potter Licensees Announced for Upcoming Movies

Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) has announced its licensing roster so far for the upcoming feature films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, in theaters November 19 and July 15, 2011 respectively.

Coinciding with the release of Part 1, Lego will debut an array of Lego Harry Potter construction sets, including Hogwarts Castle, Freeing Dobby, Quidditch Match, Hagrid’s Hut, The Burrow, and Hogwarts Express. Other licensees include The Noble Collection (wands, chess sets, high-end sculpts), Tomy, Panini, DeAgostini, Hasbro, Rubie’s Costume Co., Artbox Entertainment, Gentle Giant, Giant Merchandising, Jibbitz, BioWorld Merchandising, Inc., Hallmark, Andrews McMeel Publishing, Tonner Doll, and more.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 marks the first part in the final chapter of the series. Directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves (based on the book by J.K. Rowling), the movie is produced by David Heyman, David Barron, and Rowling.