...we had a celebrity in the house on Saturday.
Our friends at McNeil Designs (a Delaware toy company!) have just started up an online version of one of our favorite games - You've Been Sentenced. You can play it on the WDEL website. Daily winners win a copy of the board game, and one lucky winner will win a trip to Punta Cana! Students can even win a whiteboard copy for their classroom! Complete details are on the WDEL website.
Emily & I were honored to be invited to the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Delaware Children's Museum on Monday in front of the old Kahunaville on the Delaware waterfront. Over the past year, we've met lots of people from the Delaware Children's Museum - from the opening of the new Laura Novak studio to the Point-to-Point races and the Best of Delaware party. We've met with Paige, Juli-Anne, Traci and Julie. We love what they're doing to get a world-class children's museum to Delaware and Monday marked a huge step towards that becoming a reality.
The event was well-attended by politicians, press and donators. Delaware's entire Congressional delegation was on hand (Senators Carper & Kaufmann, Congressman Castle) as well as Governor Markell, Lt. Governor Denn, Mayor Baker & New Castle County Executive Chris Coons. (That's Governor Markell, Chris Coons & Senator Carper in the pic)
It was a brilliant day and we were thrilled to be a part of it.
If you have to ask who Joe the barber is, you're not from around here, are you?
One of our favorite games, 'You've Been Sentenced' is on the verge of hitting the big time. Parris-Randall Productions - a Hollywood based production company, has reached an licensing agreement with Wilmington based McNeil Designs to produce the show. They still have to pitch the show to the networks, but it's great news for our friends over at McNeil Designs.
'You've Been Sentenced' was the brainchild of Don McNeil and it was first sold to the public at Mitchell's and it was the first product we got in for YoYo Joe's.
Check out their press-release here.
We love the First State Children's Theater Company. I've blogged about them before, but wanted to let everyone know of their current tour of the State of Delaware doing "The Maltese Falcon" as part of Delaware's "The Big Read" initiative. Find a location near you and check it out. They do a great job!
Here's the e-mail they sent us
What is “The Big Read”: The Big Read is an initiative of the Delaware Division of Libraries and the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. This is the first year Delaware has participated in this celebrated national program.. The 2009 Big Read for the state of Delaware is Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon. Through the energies of Patty Langley (from the Delaware Division of Libraries), the Delaware Center for the Book and their partners, Delaware libraries have spent 2009 hosting book discussions, theatrical readings, film series, and scholar-led presentations and discussions. In addition, many public libraries have been offering other locally planned, supplementary programming to enhance and expand the reading experience.
What is our tour: This touring production of The Maltese Falcon is staged in the spirit of a radio play and involves 4 actors with live foley (sound effects). The original script is adapted is directly and faithfully from the book – and uses only dialogue and narration by Dashiell Hammett; so that the audience discovers this crime story through his unique/signature writing style, phrasing, vocabulary, and slang.
When is our tour: We are touring this performance April 21 – May 5.
How long is the performance: This performance runs I hour, 20 minutes.
Who is the target audience: Anyone who would read and enjoy Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon.
How much are tickets: This performance is free to the public. It is free to attend.
Who are the actors/PTTP alumni:
What a wonderfully simple idea.
The main thrust behind the 3/50 project is that you pick your three favorite locally owned brick and mortar stores and spend $50 a month among them. Maybe that means heading off to YoYo Joe's to buy a birthday present instead of Target. Maybe that means getting your ice cream at Sweet Lucy's instead of the Dairy Queen. Maybe that means grabbing the latest CD at Rainbow Books & Music instead of downloading it from itunes. Maybe that means shopping for books at Ninth Street Book Shop instead of Borders. How about picking up your daily coffee at Brewhaha instead of Starbucks?
Why? According to Cinda Baxter, the mind behind the movement, if half the employed population did this, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.
Why should you care about local brick & mortars? She also says the for every $100 you spend at a locally owned independent store, $68 of that money stays local. For chain stores, that number drops to $43. For online stores, that number drops to $0 - so it's far better for everyone in the long run to keep your money local.
The project launched in mid-March and has taken off. I've gotten three e-mails about it from three entirely different sources - fellow toy retailers, a local record store and from a toy group.
Check out the 3/50 Project website and shop a local today.
Hotrodders, race fans, one day only!
Today is YoYo Joe's first Spring Fling - with events all day. First, joining us from 12-1 is Rocky Bluewinkle, mascot of the Wilmington Blue Rocks. From 1-2, John Flynn will meet & greet with fans and also perform several songs live! (Check out this interview with John on the Fox Sports 1310 AM Phillies fan blogsite Phoulballz.com - thanks for the plug, Jay!) Also from 1-2, Kat from Laura Novak Photography will be taking pictures of kids at the event, a chance to get real professional photos of your kids grooving with John! From 4-5 is our regular weekly yo-yo club meeting, and don't forget, save 20% all day off the prices of all outdoor toys!
What a day! Don't miss it - today only!
I was honored to be selected to appear as a member of the 'Panel of experts' for a high school class project on Tuesday. Erin McNichol, art teacher at Ursuline Academy (and daughter-in-law of Catherine McNichol, a longtime Mitchell's employee) asked me, as well as seven other 'experts' to help evaluate her students projects .
I got to hear nine separate presentations from one junior and 19 seniors from Ursuline Academy for girls and Salesianum Academy for boys.
I'd give you details from the presentation, but these projects were not just class projects - they're serious pitches for products these students hope to get into the system - so I am sworn to secrecy.
I saw several projects that I thought were awesome, and I'd love to carry their items in our store if they get that far. I know from talking to some of the other judges that they were impressed with some of them as well. Hopefully, you'll be seeing some of these cool new 'toys that teach' at YoYo Joe's.
The group shot above includes students Christen Martinelli, Ben Mancari, Alexis Rushton, Christene Zane, Nick DeMichiel, Thatcher Howell, Brian Kelly, Kelley Doogan, Dan Wham, Joe Potts, Lauren Batemen, Annie Carter, Ethan Essick, Casey Parker, Kevin Shishko, Katherine Kneubuehl, Megan Krieg, Brian Debbrecht, Derek Slesinger & Wynn Koval. The picture also includes the experts - Maxine Gaiber - Executive Director of the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, Sarah Willoughby, Executive Director of the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Carole Katchur - Museum Store Buyer & Manager for Hagley Museum & Library, Connie Cordeiro - Buyer/Manager for the Delaware Art Museum, Saralyn Rosenfield - Family Programs Manager for the Delaware Art Museum, Mariah Romaninsky - Tour and Outreach Coordinator for the Delaware Museum of Natural History, Eliza Lugar from the soon to come Delaware Children's Museum and yours truly. Finally, Erin McNichol, the person who put it all together is smack dab in the middle.
Thanks again to Erin for including us. Erin tells me the News Journal is doing an article about this program.
So, what's the big deal about buying local anyway? It's so much easier to buy online, right?
To listen to AM 1290 steaming, click here
To listen to 1410 WDOV streaming, click here
If I'm lucky, I will be able to pitch YoYo Joe's during the broadcast.
Go Rocks!
As proof, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance provides this data:
"Every $100 you choose to spend at a locally owned, independent business generates more than $50 in additional economic activity in our region. That same $100 spent at a big-box store creates only $14 in benefit for the local economy. Much of the difference is due to the fact that local businesses buy more goods and services from other local businesses, while chains siphon money out of the state."
If you're a Delawarean, you're quite familiar with the sense of how small we are. We're the only state in the US that does not have a major television network. We're the lowest state, with an average altitude of 60ft above sea level. We're the second smallest state (ha-ha Rhode Island) and we have the fewest counties of any state (3).
So, when something breaks out of Delaware, we're pretty darn proud of it. In the 15 or so prior years I've gone to Toy Fair, I remember exactly one company that was from Delaware exhibiting there. So, it was cool this year to see the second one this year.
You've Been Sentenced, from McNeil Designs here in Delaware, is a game that we've carried now for years. We were the first store ever to carry the game, and, for the past two years, it's been our best-selling game. Plus, it's educational! Plus, it's fun! It's local, educational and fun! What more can you ask for?
The general idea is that you get ten five-sided cards - each side features a word. Turn the cards to match the words to form a sentence. Generally, the sentences formed tend to go to the silly side, but as long as they're grammatically correct, they count. The fun, of course, comes from the wacky sentences that are formed by the players.
If you haven't played the game, you can check it out online here (it's in beta mode). You can also read a brand new article about the game at the Delaware Today website.
A recent survey by the Independent Business Forum shows that in communities that promoted "Buy Local" campaigns, sales for independently owned businesses were up an average of 2%, as opposed to those in communities that did not promote "Buy Local" campaigns where they were up only .5% 82% of the 1382 nationwide independent businesses surveyed said the fact that they were locally owned and independent matters to their customers. Read a summary of the findings here.
OK, I cribbed this entirely from my latest Tales from the White Dog Cafe newsletter. A 'locavore,' by the way is (according to the newsletter) "one who eats locally produced food." The White Dog Cafe is a well-known Philadelphia restaurant that has a rep for being big enthusiasts for promoting locally owned companies. I learned of them while watching a CSPAN speech given by Ben (or Jerry) from Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.
In the latest issue (which you can download here, if you're interested), they list "25 reasons why going local is important." Obviously, some are restaurant centric - but most apply to all kinds of businesses. And, by the way, if you've never been to the White Dog, I heartily recommend it.
So, here's their list:
1 - Locally owned businesses provide unique character to the streets of our towns and cities.
2 - Buying local builds community wealth, while buying from chainstores drains capital from our community.
3 - Local merchants - the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker - provide personal relationships that enrich community life.
4 - Supporting local musicians, artists, writers and artisans strengthens our creative class and builds local identity.
5 - Producing basic needs locally builds regional self-reliance, reducing our dependency on long distance supply routes, easily disrupted by climate change and the rising cost of oil.
6 - Buying locally produced products cuts the carbon emissions of transport.
7 - Eating local food strengthens family farms and increases food security for our region.
8 - Buying local renewable energy such as wind power and biodiesel increases our energy security while protecting our environment.
9 - Localizing clothing productions decreases imports of this basic need, building self-reliance. Let's legalize hemp, the natural fibercrop for our region.
10 and 11 - Food from the industrial system has been modified to extend shelf life for long distance shipping and conformity of size and color, while reducing flavor and nutritional value. Food grown locally is more nutritious. And it tastes better!
12 - Fresh beer tastes better, too, and eliminates preservatives needed for shippoing.
13 - Locally owned businesses make larger charitable contributions to community causes as a percentage of their sales than do chain stores.
14 - Supporting and honoring local heroes builds community pride and encourages civic activism.
15 - Engagement in local politics - supporting candidates, running for office, and taking a stand on local issues - builds responsible government that protects our place.
16 - Local independent media covers events important to our community and provides views independent of large corporate ownership.
17 - Local knowledge - the history of our place, understanding where our water, energy and food comes from, and where our garbage and waste goes to - supports wise decision making that protects our natural environment and culture, and builds a healthier and happier region.
18 - Investing locally through local banks, credit unions, and The Reinvestment Fund, puts our capital to work locally, providing a "living return" - the benefit of living in a healthier community and stronger local economy.
19 - Drinking local tap water cuts out wasteful plastic bottles, long distance shipping and the draining of aquifers in other communities.
20 - Buying from locally owned companies brings economic control to our communities away from distant board rooms where decisions are not always made in the best interest of local communities.
21 - Buying local spreads ownership, wealth and power more broadly, which builds a stronger democracy rather than concentrated wealth and corporate rule.
22 - Buying from local producers allows greater transparency. Whether tracing contaminated spinach or children's toys, local production allows exact identification and first hand relationships with producers who reside in our own community.
23 - Local traditions - festivals, parades and annual gatherings - provide collective joy. (Like the Mummers Parade and White Dog's annual New Years Day PJ Brunch). Having fun doesn't mean we have to burn carbons and dollars travelling to exotic vacation destinations. We can create fun at home.
24 - Making a commitment to a place and taking responsibility for its care and well-being is personally grounding, meaningful and satisfying.
25 - Being a part of a local community brings a sense of belonging and security that money cannot buy.
