- Canadians can nominate their communities now online at kraftcelebrationtour.ca and tourneedecelebrationkraft.ca -
- Canada's #1 sportscast to broadcast live from 10 communities in 10 days this summer -
- Kraft Canada to donate $250,000 for community awards across Canada -
To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/IPnDSF
"It takes an event like the Kraft Celebration Tour to remind people that great causes, like community sports and recreation, are important to support."
-- Portage La Prairie Daily Graphic following last year's Kraft Celebration Tour event in MacGregor, MB
TORONTO, April 30, 2012 /CNW/ - Canada's biggest summertime celebration is back, as Kraft Canada and TSN embark on their fourth-annual road trip with the return of the award-winning Kraft Celebration Tour. Beginning today, Canadians can nominate their community for the chance to be one of 10 stops on this summer's cross-country tour, which features TSN's flagship sports news program, SPORTSCENTRE, broadcasting live from Canadian communities over a period of 10 days from August 17-26.
As part of the tour, Kraft Canada will award each winning community $25,000 towards improvements to a local recreation facility that builds strong social ties and promotes healthy, active living in the prize-winning area. In addition, Canada's top rated daily French-language sportscast, SPORTS 30 on RDS, will join the Kraft Celebration Tour, broadcasting live from winning Francophone communities.
Canadians can nominate their local community online at kraftcelebrationtour.ca and tourneedecelebrationkraft.ca until June 10.
To nominate a community, Canadians are asked to submit a short essay and up to five photos explaining why their community deserves to be a part of the Kraft Celebration Tour and how the $25,000 community award will improve a local recreation facility. Previous $25,000 awards have funded projects such as the construction of a skateboard park, the rebuilding of a fire-damaged arena, and the addition of outdoor lights to a recreation centre.
"We recognize that recreation facilities are integral to the social fabric of our communities and deserve to be celebrated," said Jack Hewitt, Vice-President of Marketing Services, Kraft Canada. "Many of these facilities are in need of upgrades and with the Kraft Celebration Tour, we believe we can help improve them so that they can continue to bring people together and promote healthy, active lifestyles."
"For the past three years, we've watched as Canadians embraced the Kraft Celebration Tour with open arms, so it's a great honour to continue giving back to communities dedicated to the betterment of their everyday lives," said Stewart Johnston, President, TSN. "In travelling across the country and telling inspirational stories, we've seen how Canadians can come together to achieve great things through grassroots sports. To be a part of something like the Kraft Celebration Tour that celebrates the human spirit is extremely rewarding for all of us at TSN."
Leading the special SPORTSCENTRE broadcasts and highlighting the accomplishments of local communities and athletes are anchors Darren Dutchyshen, Kate Beirness, Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole. Anchors François-Etienne Corbin, Alain "Le Baron" Chantelois, Valérie Sardin and Geneviève Langlois lead the SPORTS 30 broadcasts in winning Francophone communities.
On Canada Day (July 1), TSN and RDS will announce the 20 finalists selected by a panel of judges. Then it's up to Canada to decide the 10 winning tour stops via 10 intense weekdays of head-to-head online voting beginning July 9.
During the tour, fans can keep up with the cross-country adventure on social media by visiting and liking the Kraft Celebration Tour Fan Page on Facebook, and by following and interacting with the tour's personalities on Twitter. Official Twitter hashtags for the Kraft Celebration Tour include #kraftcelebrationtour and #tourneedecelebrationkraft.
This year's Kraft Celebration Tour follows last year's cross-country event, which garnered 396 nominations from communities across Canada and saw a record 4.5 million votes cast to select the 10 winning communities (click here for more information on last year's tour stops and community award recipients).
Launched in 2009 in celebration of TSN's 25th anniversary, the Kraft Celebration Tour has garnered numerous accolades, including a 2012 Award of Distinction at the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada in the Media Sponsorship category, along with a Gold 2011 and Silver 2010 PROMO! Award for Best Brand-Building Campaign.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Kraft Celebration Tour: @KCTAndy, www.Twitter.com/KCTAndy
Darren Dutchyshen: @dutchysc, www.Twitter.com/dutchysc
Kate Beirness: @KateBeirness, www.Twitter.com/KateBeirness
Jay Onrait: @JayOnrait, www.Twitter.com/JayOnrait
Dan O'Toole: @tsnotoole, www.Twitter.com/tsnotoole
François-Etienne Corbin: @fecorbinRDS, www.Twitter.com/fecorbinRDS
Valérie Sardin : @ValsardinRDS, www.Twitter.com/ValsardinRDS
Hashtags: #kraftcelebrationtour and #tourneedecelebrationkraft
Kraft Celebration Tour: www.Facebook.com/KraftCelebrationTour
TSN: www.Facebook.com/TSN
About Kraft Canada
Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is a global snacks powerhouse with an unrivaled portfolio of brands people love. Proudly marketing delicious biscuits, confectionery, beverages, cheese, grocery products and convenient meals in approximately 170 countries, Kraft Foods had 2010 revenue of $49.2 billion, more than half of which was earned outside North America. Eleven of the company's iconic brands -- including Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia and Trident -- generate revenue of more than $1 billion annually, and 40 have been loved for more than a century. A leader in innovation, marketing, health & wellness and sustainability, Kraft Foods is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index. For more information, visit www.kraftfoodscompany.com and www.facebook.com/kraftfoodscorporate. In Canada, company brands include Kraft Dinner macaroni and cheese, Christie cookies and crackers, Kool-Aid and Del Monte beverages, Caramilk chocolate, Maynards candy, and Stride and Dentyne gum.
About TSN
TSN is Canada's Sports Leader and Canada's most-watched specialty network. Delivering more sports coverage in High Definition than any other network in Canada, TSN's comprehensive broadcast schedule features an exciting lineup of sports including NHL, CFL, NFL, NBA, MLS, the IIHF World Junior Championship, Season of Champions Curling, Golf's Majors, F1, NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, Grand Slam Tennis, EURO 2012 and 2016, the Tour de France, NCAA March Madness tournament and Championship Boxing events. TSN properties include TSN2, TSN MOBILE and the industry-leading sports website TSN.ca. Official broadcaster of the London 2012 Olympic Games, TSN is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company.
Image with caption: "Kraft Celebration Tour 10 in 10 (CNW Group/Kraft Celebration Tour)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120430_C2415_PHOTO_EN_12878.jpg
For further information:
For TSN:
Greg McIsaac, (w) 416.384.5180, (c) 416.458.3591, [email protected]
Chobi Liang, (w) 416.384.7584, (c) 416.859.4738, [email protected]
For Kraft Canada:
Dane Gergovich, Media Profile, (w) 416.342.1816, [email protected]
Twitter: @TSN_PR
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