The World Famous Pleasure Pier Brings Free Interactive Activities and
Entertainment to Kids of All Ages
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
As part of its series of free centennial celebration and weekly Twilight Dance
Series summer events, today the Santa Monica Pier hosted School`s Out!, a
day-long celebration of entertainment and hands-on programs for children and
families, to pay tribute to the Pier`s last 100 years as the West Coast`s last
great pleasure pier.
Thousands of kids and their families from all over Southern California and
visitors from around the world joined the Santa Monica community en masse to
celebrate the first weekend of summer at the School`s Out! event at the Santa
Monica Pier. Highly anticipated performances by upcoming star and Radio Disney
hit Steve Rushton, and nationally renowned hip hop dance group the Groovaloos
were well received by crowds on the Pier who also indulged in the enormous range
of activities, from tightrope-walking to making original animations. The
celebration ended with a dance party hosted by MYfm.
School`s Out! hosted a variety of activities and shows for families and kids of
all ages including the following activities and performances:
* Youth Guide to the Santa Monica Pier made possible by the Sempra Energy
Foundation: Kids followed an interactive guide, created specifically for the
Pier`s Centennial celebration that navigated around the Pier and let them
experience the rich history of the past 100 years.
* Cirque du Soleil "Circus Play Area": Kids learned from circus arts trainers
how to balance broomsticks and other objects, juggle, tumble, and walk a
tightrope.
* Drumtime*: Kids banged the morning away in a drum circle with hands-on help
from Drumtime drummers.
* Movies By Kids: At the "Movies By Kids Studio," kids learned to create movies
during a mini-workshop with their own ideas and sets built from Legos and
operated all the equipment to bring real animations to the big screen.
* Precision Los Angeles: Kids learned how to explore new kinds of movement as
they imitate different animals, plants and objects through Creative Movement
Exercises.
* Kids On Stage: Young actors explored their imagination and flexed their drama
skills with Kids On Stage, a premiere performing arts and video.
* reDiscover: Kids created fish and other sea creatures from recycled materials
while learning environmental responsibility.
* Broadway Gymnastics*: Kids climbed, jumped and tumbled through an interactive
gymnastics obstacle course.
* Heal the Bay`s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium: Kids interacted with more than 100
local species of the Santa Monica Bay, viewed wildlife at the marine observation
station on the Pier`s west end, got up close to tide-pool animals at the "touch
tank" and visited the Aquarium for arts, crafts and on-going displays.
* YogaBuddies*: Kids learned a calming breathing technique to do before bed and
lots of yoga poses that will help kids stretch, strengthen, focus and be calm.
* Rock Nation School: The next generation of rock stars performed live at the
event. Kids participated in an e-jam session, mini guitar lessons and competed
in Guitar Hero.
* A Creative Space*: A Creative Space/Playhouse presented a short Rock and Roll
Musical Version of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Nights Dream".
* Steve Rushton: With a cameo in "Hannah Montana: The Movie," two songs on that
film`s soundtrack and a Radio Disney hit of his own, Steve Rushton is breezing
along on a career fast track. His song "Ready to Rock" is the single and video
tie-in with the Walt Disney Pictures/ Jerry Bruckheimer film GFORCE in theatres
July 24th. "Ready to Rock" will be available on iTunes July 15th. Steve is
performing throughout this summer at Disneyland's Tomorrowland Stage.
* The Jump Squad*: The Jump Squad created a fun, exciting and engaging
environment where jumpers learned the fundamentals and advanced techniques of
jump rope and double-dutch.
* Trapeze School New York: Kids refined their hula hoop skills and swung on a
mini trapeze. The Trapeze School New York will celebrate their one year
anniversary at the Santa Monica Pier on June 27.
* Groovaloos: The winners of NBC`s "Superstars of Dance" came together in
Groovaloos, a high-energy hip-hop and freestyle dance happening that tells their
personal journeys as it showcases their athletic dance moves.
* Daytime Dance Party: MYfm hosted a closing dance with MC B. Woods and DJ
Chunk.
* Special Note: Groups with an * were provided by CREST. During the school year
CREST offers childcare, enrichment classes, playground access and youth sports
programs at Santa Monica public elementary and middle schools (offerings vary by
site & grade level). During school breaks, they run two-day camps: Camp Santa
Monica and Santa Monica Sports Experience.
"It was the perfect way to ring in the summer and the turnout was incredible.
The community came together with a celebration that paid tribute to the Pier as
the hallmark of summertime fun for kids of all ages," said Ben Franz-Knight,
executive director of the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation. "The Santa
Monica Pier has a tradition of creating long-lasting memories and it is an
unforgettable part of the lives of anyone that ever had the chance to visit the
Pier during the summer. We look forward to playing a role in creating new
memories among today`s kids, just as the Pier did for generations before."
The Pier will continue its centennial celebration series throughout the summer
with the La Monica Ballroom Re-dux on July 23rd, which will consist of a
large-scale dance party in spirit of the Pier`s historic ballroom, complete with
live big band sets and free dance instruction. The final event, the Centennial
Celebration, will be on Centennial Day, September 9th where the Pier`s 100th
anniversary will be marked by a grand rededication ceremony, with civic and
government officials present, as well as local celebrities, and a grand
fireworks spectacular over Santa Monica Bay.
Adds Franz-Knight, "Each of these celebratory events aims to bring our
communities together and give people a place where they can enjoy a wide variety
of free entertainment and special events."
About the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation
The Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation (SMPRC), established in 1983, is a
non-profit, public benefit corporation made up of business and community leaders
who represent the full range of community interests. It was created by the Santa
Monica City Council to preserve and enhance the pleasure pier experience for
people of all ages and for future generations and is funded by the City of Santa
Monica. For more information, visit, http://www.santamonicapier.org.
About the Santa Monica Pier Centennial Celebration
The Santa Monica Pier Centennial Celebration, through a series of free, public
events and festivals, will engage the public in the rich history of the Santa
Monica Pier by re-creating and paying homage to some of the most memorable
moments from its past. Throughout the Centennial, the Pier will highlight the
place that the Santa Monica Pier has in the everyday life of the city. The Santa
Monica Pier Centennial looks 100 years in the past, 100 years ahead in the
future that will create an atmosphere of fun, festivity, and fitness that will
last for another 100 years. The events of the Santa Monica Pier Centennial will
pay tribute to the past, enhance the visitor experience of the present, offer a
new set of events for a new population and attract event visitation and economic
development on a year round basis.
School`s Out! Was Sponsored By:
Cirque du Soleil, Time Warner Cable, Preserve America, City of Santa Monica,
Sempra Energy Foundation, Big Blue Bus, Clear Channel, Santa Monica Convention
and Visitors Bureau, Hotel Shangri-La, Pacific Park, Bubba Gump Shrimp and the
Santa Monica Pier Lessees Association.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5991549&lang=en
The Pollack PR Marketing Group
Mark Havenner, 310-556-4443
mhavenner@ppmgcorp.com
Anya Goldberg, 310-556-4443
agoldberg@ppmgcorp.com
or
Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation
Anne N. Railsback, 310-458-8786
anne@santamonicapier.org
Copyright Business Wire 2009
