DAY OUT WITH THOMASâ„¢ 2008: THE GREAT DISCOVERY TOUR PULLING INTO CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE
Chattanooga, Tennessee – Peep! Peep! Thomas the Tank Engine is set to roll into Chattanooga for the "Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour."
The event, which takes place April 25, 26, 27 and May 2, 3, 4, 2008, will be hosted by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee (www.tvrail.com) and presented by HIT Entertainment.
For more than six decades, children have been captivated with the tales of Thomas the Tank Engine. Pulling out of the station for its 13th consecutive ride on the rails, the "Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour" will visit more than 45 cities in the United States and Canada. Day Out With Thomas is the only place for families to take a ride with a 15-ton replica of everybody's favorite #1 engine, Thomas the Tank Engine, and enjoy Thomas-themed activities at the Imagination Station, including stamps, temporary tattoos and hands-on arts and crafts. Each year the tour grows, traveling to new destinations, adding new activities and welcoming new visitors.
Thomas the Tank Engine, star of Thomas & Friends™, on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS SproutSM will be kicking off his "Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour" in March and is expected to welcome more than 1 million passengers through December. This limited-engagement experience features a variety of "Thomas & Friends"-themed entertainment for the entire family, including:
A 25-minute (approximate) ride with Thomas the Tank Engine
The opportunity to meet Sir Topham Hatt, Controller of the Railway
A Thomas & Friends Imagination Station; featuring stamps, temporary tattoos, hands-on arts and crafts activities and coloring sheets.
Storytelling, video viewing and live music
The tour provides a unique, interactive family experience at every station, offering a variety of entertaining activities that reflect the local flavor of each stop. At the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, activities will include: hay bale maze, bouncy tent, magic shows, blowing bubbles, and more.
The approximately 25-minute train ride with Thomas the Tank Engine will depart hourly, rain or shine, with departure times at 9:00am through 6:30pm daily.
For general information or to find a "Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour" event near you, visit www.thomasandfriends.com
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are $18 for ages two and up and are on sale now. Call toll-free 866/468-7630 or log onto www.tvrail.com or www.ticketweb.com/thomas For more information and directions, contact the TVRM at 423/894-8028 or 800/397-5544 or www.tvrail.com
FOR MEDIA USE ONLY
For high-resolution downloadable artwork or additional information please go to www.hitnewsonline.com; select "Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour" artwork.
ABOUT THE TENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM
The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum is a non-profit, educational organization founded by volunteers in 1961 with a mission to preserve, restore, and operate historic railway equipment. Trains operate within Chattanooga daily in season with many additional special events and excursion trips throughout each year. Every ticket sold is a fundraiser to keep the history of American railroading alive and available for the public to experience. For more information and schedules, please visit www.tvrail.com
ABOUT THOMAS & FRIENDS
"Thomas & Friends," the #1 preschool toy property in the US (source: The NPD Group/Consumer Panel Tracking: YTD September 2007) invites children to enter a world of imagination through the tracks of a train and the words of a story. Today, families in more than 100 countries enjoy fun and adventure with their engine friends while experiencing timeless life lessons of discovery, friendship and cooperation. "Thomas & Friends" is making tracks to great destinations on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS SproutSM. For more information about the world of "Thomas the Tank Engine" and his friends, please visit www.thomasandfriends.com
ABOUT HIT ENTERTAINMENT
HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners, is one of the world's leading independent children’s entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT's portfolio includes properties, such as "Barneyâ„¢," "Bob the Builderâ„¢," "Thomas & Friendsâ„¢," "Pinguâ„¢," "Fireman Samâ„¢," "Angelina Ballerinaâ„¢" and "Rainbow Magicâ„¢." HIT represents "Fifi and the Flowertotsâ„¢" in North America and Japan and acts as a worldwide representative for The Jim Henson Company's library of classic family brands and as representative for "The Wiggles®" in the UK. HIT also owns the Guinness World Recordsâ„¢ publishing and television property. Launched in 1989, HIT's lines of business span television and video production (including studios in the US and the UK), publishing, consumer products licensing and live events. With a catalogue of more than 1,000 hours of young children’s programming, HIT sells its shows to more than 240 countries worldwide, in more than 40 different languages and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. In 2005, the Company joined Comcast Corporation, PBS and Sesame Workshop to launch PBS KIDS SproutSM, a 24-hour digital cable channel and VOD service for preschoolers. In 2007, HIT and Chellomedia, the European content division of Liberty Global, Inc. and its subsidiary ChelloZone, announced a joint venture to launch and distribute JimJam, an international preschool TV channel (excludes the US, UK and China). For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com
March 31, 2008
Posted in: United States South