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Jakers! Add Spice to National Grandparents Day
Sept. 10, 2004 – Don’t get upset if you don’t get a
card or a hug from your grandchildren this Sunday, Sept. 12.
Grandparents Day has been a national observance since 1979 but few seem
to notice.
 Marian
McQuade, a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia, and long-time
champion of the elderly, founded the holiday. At her urging, President
Jimmy Carter proclaimed it a national event in 1978 and set aside the
first Sunday after Labor Day each year to celebrate National
Grandparents Day. It was first celebrated in 1979.
The 76-year-old mother of 15, grandmother of 40,
and great-grandmother of three has been vice-chairman of the West
Virginia Commission on Aging, delegate to the White House Conference on
Aging, president of the Vocational Rehabilitation Foundation, and vice
president of the Nursing Home Licensing Board.
This year, to get the Grandparents Day ball
rolling, the producers of PBS Kids’ Emmy award-winning, CGI-animated
series, Jakers! The Adventures Of Piggley Winks, teamed up with
the National Grandparents Day Council to create a list of fun-filled
things to do on that special day. See
“Grandpa Piggley’s Top Ten Ways That Grandkids Can Celebrate National
Grandparents Day” below. They will also honor the grandparents of
the year (see
below).
Every
episode of
Jakers! stresses the valuable contributions a grandparent makes to a
child’s life—such as unconditional love, colorful family anecdotes, sage
advice, and simple quality play time. The series features Grandpa
Piggley Winks, who begins each program by telling a fantastic tale about
his childhood shenanigans on Raloo Farm in 1950s Ireland to his three
very contemporary, rambunctious city-dwelling “grandpigs.” The stories
are then brought vividly to life, as we see the eight-year-old Piggley
Winks™ enjoying his adventures. At the end, we return to the present day
and Grandpa Piggley, who sums it all up into a captivating lesson in
life.
Jakers! features the voice talents of
another famous grandfather: comedy legend Mel Brooks, who plays the
anything-but-sheepish Wiley the Sheep. “This is the most fun I’ve had in
years,” says Brooks. “I get to play a sheep with a baa-d attitude,
and I get to impress my six-year-old
granddaughter. What more could a guy want from a part!”
Acclaimed film and TV actress Fionnula Flanagan (The
Others), who plays Grandmother O’Mallard—the grandmother of young
Piggley Winks’ best friend Dannan the Duck—notes that she took the role
in part for the benefit of her six-year-old twin grandchildren.
“My grandchildren are thrilled beyond belief that
I’m playing Grandmother O’Mallard," says Flanagan. "I’ve peformed
everything from the works of James Joyce to Shakespeare and I’ve even
been on Star Trek—but I know that this is going to be the biggest
hit of all time with my grandchildren. And that delights me beyond
measure."
Soccer superstar Cobi Jones, captain of the L.A.
Galaxy and several time World Cup team member, appears in the
three-minute live-action epilogues at the end of each episode of
Jakers,! discussing the show’s themes with boys and girls of all
backgrounds. The grandparent-grandchild theme resonates strongly with
Jones, who was deeply influenced by his own maternal grandmother, who
lived with the family when Jones grew up.
“I can’t say enough about the importance of
grandparents in a kid’s life—I know from experience, because my
grandmother helped raise me during my formative years,” says Jones. “She
was always there to support me in anything I wanted to do, during the
good times and the tough times. She helped make me into the person I am
today.”
Jakers! The Adventures Of Piggley Winks is
produced for Entara Ltd. by Mike Young Productions. The show airs on PBS
KIDS stations nationwide (check local listings for days and times).
Grandparents of the Year to Be Honored by Jakers in LA
Sept. 10, 2004 - In honor of National Grandparents Day 2004, DJ McQuade-Lancaster,
spokesperson for the National Grandparents Day Council, announced the
national as well as 32 state winners of the annual Grandparents of the
Year awards.
Don and Sally Robinson of Kansas City, Missouri - who were nominated by
their eight-year-old granddaughter, Natalie Windham of Prairie Village,
Kansas - were selected both Missouri state as well as overall national
winners of the contest. As part of the nomination process, Windham
entered a piece of original poster art about her grandparents.
“This year, we had so many touching, heart-warming entries from children
of all ages around the country,” says McQuade-Lancaster. “We’re
overwhelmed by the beautiful poems, essays, photos, posters, songs, and
even websites created by kids to pay tribute to their grandparents. It’s
really rewarding, and at the same time, really tough to pick the
winners!”
As
national winners of the contest, the Robinsons and their granddaughter
Natalie will receive a trip to Los Angeles where they will be honored at
an exclusive event hosted by the cast and crew of PBS KIDS’ Emmy
award-winning, CGI-animated series, “Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley
Winks.”
“Grandparents, and the invaluable contributions they make to their
grandchildren’s lives, are a year-round theme on our series,” explains
Mike Young, executive producer of Jakers! and the proud grandpa of four
young toddlers. “So we’re delighted to join the National Grandparents
Day Council in recognizing these real-life role models, who are like our
Grandpa Piggley in Jakers.
The Robinsons will be honored at the ceremony at PBS KIDS’ member
station, KCET, in Los Angeles. The winning grandparents and grandkids
will receive official Grandparents of the Year awards as well as a host
of Jakers!-themed prizes and giveaways. After the ceremony, they will
help more than 100 local LA kids make special Grandparents Day cards for
special delivery to senior citizen centers in the surrounding area.
“Virtually every
American celebrates Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, yet shockingly little
attention is given to National Grandparents Day,” adds Young. “Given
the fact that there are more than 60 million grandparents in the United
States today—of whom 4.5 million nationally and 625,000 in California
alone are raising their own grandchildren—it’s a shame more attention
isn’t given to this holiday or to these important members of the family
in general. We applaud the National Grandparents Day Council for
working to change all that and intend to continue doing our part by
providing more positive grandparent-themed episodes in our series.”
Grandpa Piggley’s Top 10 Ways Grandkids Can Celebrate National
Grandparents’ Day
The Write Stuff: Send your grandfolks a
Grandparents Day card by visiting the Jakers! website at http://pbskids.org/jakers
where there are a variety of themed cards that can be sent via email (or
print them out and send them by regular mail.) In addition, the website
features a special Grandparents Day-themed printable where children can
draw a picture of their grandparents and a Grandpa Piggley
“spot-the-difference” game.
Have You Heard the One About…: Take a cue
from Grandpa Piggley and ask the grandparents to tell the family a story
about their own childhood. If possible, video or audio tape the story
so you have it for all time!
Cooking Up a Tradition: Grandpa Piggley
comes from Ireland, where they like to make a delicious “Colcannon,”
which is a cabbage, leek and potato dish. Ask your grandparents to show
you how to make an entrée or dessert that represents their
heritage—because it’s your heritage, too!
Picture This: Get in the habit of taking
pictures—or ask your parents to take them—every time you get together
with your grandparents. Collect other items, too (like movie stubs,
program books, newspaper articles), that serve as reminders of the
outings. Start page one of the scrapbook by creating a Family Tree on
Grandparents Day!
Time in a Bottle: Bury a time capsule: Ask
your grandparents for a few of their personal items (costume jewelry,
letters, a handkerchief, photos) to include in a coffee can or small
chest. Collect similar items from the rest of the family. Together,
decorate and bury your new “time capsule” in the back yard—maybe it can
be dug up by another generation in the years to come!
You’ve Got Game: Put away the joystick and
play one of the old game favorites, like Monopoly, checkers, chess, or
Go Fish. Or, maybe your grandparents would like to try their hand at a
video game. (Make it an easy one!)
But Grandma…Bungee Jumping?!: Whether it’s
playing the piano, planting flowers in the garden, or enjoying a game of
tennis, try to learn one of your grandparents’ favorite hobbies.
Lasting Impressions: Have everyone (from
the youngest to the oldest) stick their hands and feet in individual
cement blocks. Decorate with leaves, stones and other natural
elements. Arrange and display them in the front or back yard.
Weekly News Flashes: If your grandparents
live far away, ask your parents if once a week the family can put aside
30 minutes for quality time on the phone. If your family uses e-mail
and the Internet, send highlights of everyone’s activities from the
previous week to the grandparents via e-mail, digital photos, even video
clips.
Adopt a Grandparent: If your grandparents
are no longer with us, or if they live at a great distance, “borrow”
some who live near by! Ask your parents to take you to a local senior
citizens center or nursing home where you can enjoy the company of older
people. Get involved in activities as appropriate (be sure to ask
someone in charge first!) and before you know it, your family could have
a new special friend. Even if you see your own grandparents regularly,
it’s great to visit with older folks, anyway—after all, we can never
have too many grandparents!
Finally, grandkids and grandparents can enjoy
weekly quality time by sitting down and watching JAKERS! THE
ADVENTURES OF PIGGLEY WINKS on PBS KIDS stations nationwide (check
local listings). All generations will appreciate the adventures (and
misadventures) of young Piggley Winks™ as he grows up on Raloo Farm in
Ireland, with his best friends Ferny the Bull and Dannan the Duck.
Meanwhile, American transplant Wiley the sheep (voiced by Mel Brooks)
tries to take charge of his all-too-sheepish flock. Each episode begins
and ends with Grandpa Piggley telling these stories of youthful
escapades as entertaining life lessons to his three young “grandpigs.” |
