Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

In September, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and ZERO TO THREE released Expanding Access to Early Head Start: State Initiatives for Infants and Toddlers at Risk. The publication highlights how states are using innovative funding, policies, and partnerships to expand the critically important Early Head Start (EHS) program to better meet the needs of more low-income children and pregnant women. Twenty-three states currently have at least one initiative that builds on the federally-funded EHS program. The publication is available at www.zerotothree.org/expandingehs or at www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/ehsinitiatives.pdf.

In addition to the report, there are nine updated in-depth state initiative profiles. They will be available online on the CLASP and ZERO TO THREE websites shortly. Hope that you will find the report useful in your work.

Approximately 375,000 children in Minnesota currently receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year. When the school year ends however, only about 20 percent of these kids continue to access similar meal programs over the summer.

In an effort to strengthen the battle against childhood hunger, the Minnesota Vikings will host Taste of the Vikings presented by Carlson at Nickelodeon Universe® on Monday, Nov. 19 to rally support for the one in six kids who are at risk of hunger.
This ticketed event is an opportunity for individuals to sample food and beverages from the Twin Cities’ finest restaurants while mingling with Minnesota’s top professional athletes including current and former Vikings players Adrian Peterson, Christian Ponder, Percy Harvin, Jared Allen and many more. All proceeds will benefit the Vikings Children’s Fun Summer Lunch Program and Second Harvest Heartland to bring more summer meals to kids.

Taste of the Vikings is a companion to the nationwide Taste of the NFL. In their 21 years, Taste of the NFL has distributed more than $12 million to hunger relief organizations in NFL cities.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at www.vikings.com/schedule/taste-of-the-vikings.html. For more information, see this video from the 2011 Taste of the NFL Minnesota event.
Remember
WHEN: Monday, Nov. 19, 2012, 7 – 9:30 p.m.
WHERE: Mall of America – Nickelodeon Universe

BE THERE!

According to today’s news, Disney has agreed to pay $4.05 billion to buy Lucasfilm which is owned completely by George Lucas. Disney will own LUcasfilm in its entirety including the class Star Wars films, the film production company, visual effects and post-production. It is expected that the company will remain in its current location in northern California and Kathleen Kennedy will become president of Lucasfilm.

Read more: http://kidscreen.com/2012/10/30/disney-buys-lucasfilm-for-us4-05-billion/#ixzz2AolsgHNg

ABC gets into the Halloween spirit with the annual airing of the animated Peanuts special It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on Halloween night, Wednesday, October 31, at 8p. This year, the network is hosting Trick or Tweet event, where fans will have the chance to take part in a special live chat with Snoopy via Twitter on Halloween night, @Snoopy, #Snoopy and follow @Snoopy. For further information check in at www.abc.com, and use the show hashtag as well as #ABCTrickorTweet.

The classic animated Halloween-themed Peanuts special, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, will air Wed., Oct. 31 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. In the 1966 animated special It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween, with Linus hoping that, finally, he will be visited by The Great Pumpkin, while Charlie Brown is invited to a Halloween party. Cast members include Peter Robbins (Charlie Brown) and Christopher Shea (Linus). The cast also includes Sally Dryer as Lucy, Chris Doran as Schroeder, Bill Melendez as Snoopy, Kathy Steinberg as Sally, Tracy Stratford as Violet and Ann Altieri as Frieda.

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was executive-produced by Lee Mendelson and created and written by Charles M. Schulz. Bill Melendez is the producer and director and Vince Guaraldi is the music composer.

On October 2, 1950 the Peanuts comic strip launched in seven American newspapers. Who would have guessed the impact the brand would have around the world for decades to come. Nearly 60 years later, the comic strip appears in over 2,200 newspapers, in 75 countries and 21 languages. Peanuts animated specials have become a seasonal tradition and thousands of consumer products are available in virtually all retail channels. Charlie Brown kicking the football, Linus and his blanket and Lucy leaning over Schroeder’s piano are images to which everyone can relate. Such phrases as Security Blanket and Good Grief have become a part of the global vernacular. Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez’s association with Charles Schulz stretches back to 1965 with A Charlie Brown Christmas, which debuted on CBS in 1965 with Mendelson as executive producer and Bill Melendez as animator and director. The three men continued their long-term association until Schulz’s death, working together on 50 PEANUTS network specials and four feature films. The network specials won five Emmys, two Peabodys and 18 other Emmy nominations.

Acclaimed soprano Renee Fleming has performed the original song “Still Dream” on the soundtrack for the upcoming Rise of the Guardian. “This is a truly beautiful film and I am honored to perform ‘Still Dream,’ which serves as the perfect finale for Alexandre’s incredible film score,” says Renee Fleming. One of the most beloved and celebrated musical ambassadors of our time, soprano Renee Fleming captivates audiences with her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry, and compelling stage presence. Known as “the people’s diva” and named 2012 Female Singer of the Year by the German Echo awards, she continues to grace the world’s greatest opera stages and concert halls, now extending her reach to include other musical forms and media. Ms. Fleming is a Three-Time Grammy® Award Winner. Last June, in a historic first, she sang on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

The film features a score by Four-Time Academy Award® nominated and Grammy® Award winning composer Alexandre Desplat. The original, end-credit song “Still Dream” was written and produced by Desplat, with lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. The complete score was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and features choral work by London Voices. To create the music and lyrics for the original song, Desplat and Lindsay-Abaire drew upon the film’s heroic and sweeping story as inspiration. “There is much more music in Rise of the Guardians than is found in the average live-action film,” says Desplat, who conducted the London Symphony Orchestra. “The goal with the score was to emphasize every moment of joy, sadness and soul so that audiences would be able to dive with the characters into their worlds. The main theme – conveying all the wonder of children’s dreams and their beliefs became the melody on which I wrote the song.”

Rise of the Guardians is an epic adventure that tells the story of a group of heroes; each with extraordinary abilities. When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world. The film stars Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, Chris Pine and Hugh Jackman.

Rise of the Guardians is directed by Peter Ramsey, written by David Lindsay-Abaire, produced by Christina Steinberg and Nancy Bernstein and executive produced by William Joyce and Guillermo del Toro. Link to trailer: http://www.riseoftheguardians.com/