To experience the nostalgia and fun eating style of Zoo Pals™ plates, I headed to Lavan Chelsea New York for the official re-launch party......

To experience the nostalgia and fun eating style of Zoo Pals™ plates, I headed to Lavan Chelsea New York for the official re-launch party...just for adults.

Note: I was invited as media to the event. However, any views expressed are always 100% my own.


The event was filled with fun activities including decorating your own Zoo Pals™ plates, an immersive room covered in tweets from #ZooPals fans, and a dining experience by Chef Jeremy Scheck of childhood meals (elevated!).


I have to admit, eating "sushi" from animal shape plates was fun. And easy cleanup since sauce and other condiments were "contained" in the ears.

The plates are also

• Soak-resistant
• Microwave safe for reheating foods
• Made with sustainably sourced paper

With all of these features, of course Zoo Pals™ plates are popular with families and adults. So much so that the Hefty® brand brought the products back after receiving numerous requests and feedback from customers.

Re-Launched Zoo Pals™ plates

Zoo Pals™ plates are a colorful line of paper plates featuring original animal “Pals” like Curly the Pig, Domino the Dalmatian, and more. Better yet — 10 of the original “Pals” will be coming back!

Each plate offers three perfectly portioned sections for your favorite foods, snacks and dips, with one large space for the main item and two ears or feet for dipping sauces and sides

While Zoo Pals™ plates Make Eating Fun!™, they also take some of the strain off parents who might have picky eaters, particularly when it comes to new foods.

Keeping children interested and focused on wanting to eat can be hard but Zoo Pals™ plates makes eating an interactive, playful experience.

Zoo Pals™ plates are available at online retailers.

For more information, visit - www.ZooPals.com

To see more Hefty® brand products, visit - www.Hefty.com

Since August is Black Business Month, I'm sharing a few standout Black entrepreneurs and developers, the Apple Apps team highlighted thi...

Since August is Black Business Month, I'm sharing a few standout Black entrepreneurs and developers, the Apple Apps team highlighted this month.

Fitnesse: On Demand (Free/In-App Purchases)

Offering approachable, at-home circuit training, Fitnesse was founded by Michael Garrick and Marcus Harrison, longtime friends and college athletes, who found their fitness regimen adrift after starting careers in tech.

Once the app launched, it didn’t take long for the duo to branch out into holistic health and wellness platform.

Read more of their story - apps.apple.com/story/id1618337475

kweliTV: Our Culture. Curated (Free/In-App Purchases)

kweliTV is dedicated to Black-centric indie films, series, documentaries, and kids’ shows and has resonated with a broad audience.

DeShuna Spencer created kweliTV in 2012 after looking for a show or movie that centered on Black characters. What little she found didn’t represent her experiences at all. So she decided to create her own streaming service—one that met her ideals.

Read more of her story - apps.apple.com/story/id1591099972

Spiritual Me: Awakened Mind (Free/In-App Purchases)

Spiritual Me is a personal guide to meditation that aims to help users harness the power of mindfulness for enlightened living. The app walks users though the experience of completing interactive meditation routines.

Founder A. Divine Ramirez founded the app with the desire to share the benefits of meditation that he discovered during stressful periods of his life. He recently attended Entrepreneur Camp for Black founders during which he improved on design elements of the app.

Learn more - apps.apple.com/us/app/spiritual-me-awakened-mind/id985365789

Boddle Learning (Free/In-App Purchases)

Boddle Learning is an interactive 3D game that makes learning and practicing math exciting and engaging. Used by thousands of schools, teachers, parents and students, Boddle is proven to provide young learners with healthy screen time while providing adults with the insight and assurance of learning progress.

Founder Edna Martinson, who has always had a passion for edtech, founded the company with her husband Clarence, and her team recently attended Entrepreneur Camp for Black founders.

Learn more - apps.apple.com/ae/app/boddle/id1520367760

Wisdom - Live Better (Free/In-App Purchases)

Wisdom is a social networking app that elicits insightful conversations and reflections through various voice chat rooms. The app helps connect interesting people to users and surfaces dozens of topics, from business, fitness, and dating to startups, religion, and beauty.

Founder Dayo Akinrinade attended Apple’s 2022 Entrepreneur Camp for Black Founders.

Learn more - apps.apple.com/us/app/wisdom-audio-community/id1576484544

Coming-of-age aquatic adventure DreamWorks Animation’s, RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN Collector’s Edition, is available on Digital August 29,...

Coming-of-age aquatic adventure DreamWorks Animation’s, RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN Collector’s Edition, is available on Digital August 29, 2023, and on Blu-ray and DVD September 26, 2023, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Discover the hero just beneath the surface with over an hour of bonus content filled with never-before-seen bonus features including deleted scenes, “Make Your Own Aquarium” how-to video, interviews with cast and crew, character drawing tutorials and more!

SYNOPSIS

Dive into the turbulent waters of high school with this heartwarming action comedy about a shy teenager who discovers that she’s part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea krakens and that her destiny, in the depths of the oceans, is bigger than she ever dreamed.

Learning to be an all-powerful sea creature while hiding among humans is hard enough for Ruby, but to make matters worse, her super popular new bestie, Chelsea, is secretly a mermaid!

Mermaids have been battling the Krakens for eons to rule the ocean, but Chelsea has come to land to finally put an end to that conflict. However, when Chelsea double-crosses her, Ruby will ultimately need to embrace who she is and GO BIG to protect those she loves most.

Cast: Lana Condor, Toni Collette, Annie Murphy, Colman Domingo and Jane Fonda

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken | Own on Digital, 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray



Bonus Features* (vary by retailer and are exclusive to the Blu-ray)

• DELETED SCENES WITH INTROS – Introductions by Co-Director Faryn Pearl
• PROLOGUE
• WALK TO SCHOOL
• CRAB ‘N SKATE
• OCEANSIDE DRAWING GUIDE – Head of story, Glenn Harmon, will teach everyone how to draw Ruby Gillman in her teenager and kraken forms, Grandmamah, Chelsea, and mermaid Chelsea.
• RUBY GILLMAN
• KRAKEN RUBY
• GRANDMAMAH
• CHELSEA VAN DER ZEE
• MERMAID CHELSEA
• MAKE YOUR OWN AQUARIUM – With a few simple products and a little imagination, you can bring the undersea world into your own home.
• KRAKENARIUM
• WELL OF SEAS
• SQUAD SOLIDARITY: ADVENTURES IN ADR
• THE KRAKEN: MYTH OR MONSTER – In this animated piece narrated by Lana Condor and Annie Murphy, we dive deep into the mysteries of krakens and discover how stories of these mythical beasts have evolved over hundreds and hundreds of years.
• MEET THE GILLMAN CAST - Meet the cast behind your favorite RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN characters and discover what they loved about lending their voices to this aquatic adventure!
• THE KRAKEN KREW: MEET THE HUMANS BEHIND THE GILLMANS
• PROM STORIES – Ruby’s greatest wish was to attend prom with her friends and crush Connor! Here, the cast of the movie share their own prom stories and explain how they would design a promposal.
• SUPER SEA GIRL BESTIES – If you can see it, you can be it! In this piece we meet the talented women involved in the making of RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN.
• FEATURE COMMENTARY - with Director Kirk DeMicco, Co-Director Faryn Pearl, Producer Kelly Cooney Cilella, Head of Character Animation Carlos Fernandez Puertolas and Head of Cinematography, Layout Jon Gutman.

Written By: Pam Brady and Brian C Brown & Elliott DiGuiseppi
Executive Producer: Mike Mitchell
Co-Producer: Rachel Zusser
Produced By: Kelly Cooney Cilella p.g.a
Co-Director: Faryn Pearl
Directed By: Kirk DeMicco

With the purchase of RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN on disc or digital, fans are eligible to earn points towards digital movies via the Universal All-Access Rewards program. Members can redeem their points for digital movies, swag and more!

For registration, visit www.MyUniversalRewards.com

Learn more, visit - www.uphe.com/movies/ruby-gillman-teenage-kraken

Each year The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival has a "Student Design Contest" presented by Temple University, which gives loc...

Each year The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival has a "Student Design Contest" presented by Temple University, which gives local students the opportunity to design a lantern for the Festival.

photo credit: Jeff Fusco for Historic Philadelphia, Inc. and Tianyu


Note: I was invited as media to preview the exhibit. However, any views expressed are always 100% my own.

This year the students were invited to submit a drawing of a rabbit to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. Then the winning drawings was crafted into lanterns and displayed during the Festival.


While at the festival this year, I saw the student's rabbit lanterns and were so impressed with their creativity and rabbit designs.

To learn more about the contest and how it feels to have your drawings made into an lantern for all to see, I interviewed the 2023 winner Sadie Olszewski.

Motivation to Enter Contest

Sadie Olszewski: My mom's friend daughter entered one year. So my mom wanted me to enter this year. I also wanted to do it, because it looked really cool.

Coming up with Rabbit Design

Sadie Olszewski: I wanted to do a rabbit that was different, so I made it colorful. I wanted it to be colorful, so it can show that I'm creative.

Advice for Students

Sadie Olszewski: When making a design, make it different because if it's just a regular design that people expect to see in the competition, it won't standout.

Just be creative. Make it yours so that it shows "you" through it. So if you win, you get a sense of "you" not just a sense of "art" that you did.

Seeing Her Winning Design as a Lantern

Sadie Olszewski: I felt it was really cool because, I didn't know it was going to be that big. And everyone was taking pictures, it was really cool.


After my interview with Sadie, I briefly spoke with her mom Alison Kurowski, who shared her thoughts about the contest and her daughter being the 2023 winner.

Alison Kurowski: We were absolutely thrilled that she won. It felt so special being in Philadelphia and having the opportunity to participate in this way. As a younger person, in something that is culturally relevant, as well as Philadelphia relevant.

Alison Kurowski: You don't see competitions for younger people all that often, especially one where the recognition is so public. We're always proud of Sadie, we think she's an amazing artist. And to have her lantern sitting in a park in Philadelphia is just such an honor.

Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival

The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival is currently in Franklin Square, June 21 – August 13, 2023, with magnificent steel-framed and silk-wrapped giant lighted artistic sculptures.

In addition to the light installations, visitors can enjoy live cultural stage performances, see the choreographed fountain light show, taste Asian cuisine and American comfort food, drink a toast at the Dragon Beer Garden, and shop for Chinese folk artists’ crafts created on site as well as Festival-themed merchandise.

The Festival will illuminate Franklin Square at 6th & Race Streets in Historic Philadelphia. Guests can also play Philly Mini Golf, ride the Parx Liberty Carousel, and more.

Tickets Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival

Friday and Saturday tickets (timed tickets required):

· $25 for adults
· $14 for children (ages 3-12, 2 and under are free)
· $23 for youth (13-17), senior (65+), and active military (with I.D.)

Sunday tickets:

· $22 for adults
· $14 for children (ages 3-12, 2 and under are free)
· $20 for youth (13-17), senior (65+), and active military (with I.D.)

Combination tickets including Franklin Square attractions are available.

A portion of the proceeds from the Festival benefits Historic Philadelphia, Inc., the non-profit that operates and manages Franklin Square, for the programming and care of this important public space and its many year-round free events.

Learn more, visit - www.phillychineselanternfestival.org

While the Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival was in Franklin Square, June 21 – August 13, 2023, we visited to see the returned 200-foot-l...

While the Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival was in Franklin Square, June 21 – August 13, 2023, we visited to see the returned 200-foot-long dragon, along with never-before-seen giant lantern displays.

Note: I was invited as media to preview the exhibit. However, any views expressed are always 100% my own.


We had an amazing time! Once again we were wowed by the mystical animals and planets lantern sculptures. But there was also so many non fantasy themes to enjoy seeing.


The flower bridge was one of the favorites. But we also enjoyed the plants and animals, especially the panda bears. The teens really had fun there.


This year some of the giant lighted artistic sculptures are interactive and added something fun for families with kids of all ages to do. Truth be told, lots of adults enjoyed the interactive also.


Besides the lanterns, we enjoyed watching the various Chinese cultural performances on stage. So much talent including a Jiu-Jitsu Acrobatics, Face Changers and Ribbon Dancing.


We also saw folk artists at various tables Aluminum Braiding, Inner-Bottle Painting and Lantern Painting. Such a treat to see how they make their crafts.

While this just highlights some of our time at The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival, there's so many other activities for families to enjoy I didn't include here.

Make sure you visit and enjoy it all with your family.

Activities Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival

In addition to the light installations, visitors can enjoy live cultural stage performances, see the choreographed fountain light show, taste Asian cuisine and American comfort food, drink a toast at the Dragon Beer Garden, and shop for Chinese folk artists’ crafts created on site as well as Festival-themed merchandise.

The lanterns are able to be viewed for free during daytime, while a ticket is required for nighttime entrance after 6 pm (no re-entry). The park will close daily at 5 pm to prepare for the nightly Festival. Advance tickets are strongly recommended.

Tickets Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival

Friday and Saturday tickets (timed tickets required):

· $25 for adults
· $14 for children (ages 3-12, 2 and under are free)
· $23 for youth (13-17), senior (65+), and active military (with I.D.)

Sunday through Thursday tickets:

· $22 for adults
· $14 for children (ages 3-12, 2 and under are free)
· $20 for youth (13-17), senior (65+), and active military (with I.D.)

Combination tickets including Franklin Square attractions are available.

Attractions in Franklin Square

Philly Mini Golf: Putt around the city on this Philadelphia-themed miniature golf course. $13 adults/$11 children (3-12), guests 2 years of age and younger are FREE with paid accompanying guardian

Parx Liberty Carousel: A zebra, a lion, an eagle, horses and more! Hop on this spectacular all-American style carousel with hometown racehorse heroes Afleet Alex and Smarty Jones. $4 per person (adult or child), guests 2 years of age and younger are FREE with paid accompanying guardian

Playgrounds: Slides, swings, and spinners…bring the kids and enjoy two playgrounds! Open year-round and free.

Franklin Square Fountain Show: FREE choreographed “performances” of fountain jets dancing magically with dramatic lighting and music, both day and night. April 29 – October 31, with daily performances every 30 minutes from 12 pm until closing

SquareBurger: SquareBurger has a delicious menu operated by Cooperage. Food options include burgers, fries, and classic thick milkshakes including the legendary Original Cake Shake made with Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets®. Hours vary by season, visit historicphiladelphia.org for schedule and full menu.

A portion of the proceeds from the Festival benefits Historic Philadelphia, Inc., the non-profit that operates and manages Franklin Square, for the programming and care of this important public space and its many year-round free events.

Learn more, visit - www.phillychineselanternfestival.org

Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga, Spider-Man™: Across the Spider-Verse available on Digita...

Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga, Spider-Man™: Across the Spider-Verse available on Digital August 8th and soon on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray / DVD on September 5th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

SYNOPSIS

Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga (2018, Best Animated Feature Film, Spider-Man™: Into the Spider-Verse), SPIDER-MAN™: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE.

After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders, and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.

Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, with Daniel Kaluuya with Mahershala Ali and Oscar Isaac

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE – Special Features Preview



BONUS MATERIALS

Blu-ray™, 4K UHD and Digital Exclusives:

o Obscure Spiders and Easter Eggs
o Deleted Scene: Miguel Calling
o “I’mma Do My Own Thing” Interdimensional Destiny
o Across the Worlds: Designing New Dimensions
o Designing Spiders and Spots
o Scratches, Score and The Music of the Multiverse
o Escape from Spider-Society
o Across the Comics-Verse
o Lyric Videos
o Filmmaker Commentary

Also Includes:

o Creating the Ultimate Spider-Man Movie
o Raising a Hero
o Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Cast

DVD

o Creating the Ultimate Spider-Man Movie
o Raising a Hero
o Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Cast

Based on the Marvel Comics

Directed By: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Written By: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller & David Callaham
Produced By: Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Christina Steinberg
Executive Producers: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Aditya Sood, Brian Michael Bendis

Learn more, visit - www.acrossthespiderverse.movie

Twitter - www.twitter.com/SpiderVerse
Facebook - www.facebook.com/SpiderVerseMovie
instagram - www.instagram.com/SpiderVerseMovie