Monday, January 28, 2008

Superheroes Descend Upon Silver Theatre



Yesterday was fun and so much more.

The real Batman sped in from Gotham, Superman left the Fortress of Solitude for an afternoon and Wonder Woman flew in on her invisible jet all to greet dozens of children and families from Georgetown Hospital at Hope for Henry's annual Superhero Celebration in the AFI Silver Theatre.

Young superheroes were bedecked with capes, and covered with temporary tattoos, and ready to pose for photos with their favorite superhero, or to pose for caricatures as their favorite superhero.

They also had the opportunity to meet one of their own heroes-- National Soccer Hall of Famer John Harkes -- thanks to Athletes for Hope. John was wonderful to donate his time. He was incredibly gracious and the kids loved meeting a real-life star.

Hands filled with superhero action figures, DVDs, comic books (and everything else superhero), and faces covered with smiles, the kids clearly enjoyed their escape from the hospital.

Just as the families from Georgetown were leaving, hundreds of Hope for Henry supporters -- more than 400 in fact from the Washington, DC area and around the country --filled AFI's historic theatre.

Little kids dressed as Batman, Supergirl, Mr. Incredible and Wonder Woman paraded around as the Georgetown Hoyas basketball cheerleaders cheered them on. Kenny Curtis, the incredibly talented host of XM Satellite Radio's XMKiDS morning Animal Farm program, put the "master" in master of ceremonies as he kept the organized chaos of the day rolling right along.

The kids posed for pictures with live superheroes, engaged in a Wii gaming tournament, the "Wii-for-All," rocked out to the band Milkshake and had an all-around great time -- all while contributing tens of thousands of dollars to Hope for Henry.

We can't wait for the Superhero parties for kids at the other Hope for Henry hospitals.

Stay tuned. Same Bat-time. Same Bat-channel.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Superhero Celebration Email Invite

The email reminder for the second annual Superhero Celebration at the AFI Theatre went out to everyone the other day, and RSVP's are pouring in. It is truly exciting to have so many more people planning to come this year.

Like last year, we'll have costumes, parades, real-live Superheroes, cartoons and a photo booth. But this year we're adding caricaturists and Wii competitions.

The entertainment is getting finalized and it looks like we'll have a great band coming to play, and it may be possible that we'll also have a very special guest - a super sports hero - make an appearance and sign autographs.

The capes arrived yesterday. Batman, Superman and making their first appearance at a Hope for Henry event - pink Supergirl capes with great frill and bows.

It is all very exciting and everyone is going to have a wonderful time.