Philadelphia – Barney, the purple dinosaur, will appear live on PBS KIDS Sprout’s The Sunny Side Up Show from 9 a.m. to noon ET on Thanksgiving (Nov. 22).
Barney, who is turning 20 in PBS character years, will be sharing thankful messages sent in by preschoolers and their parents from across the country, and five lucky Sprout viewers will receive a super-dee-duper live phone call from Barney during the show.
Parents will be able to go to SproutOnline.com to send Chica from The Sunny Side Up Showan email, along with a photo of their child, explaining why they would like to have a call from Barney. The five lucky families will be chosen and Barney will call them live on the air that morning to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving and hear what they are thankful for this holiday season.
After the live show, Sprout will air a six-hour Barney Marathon from noon to 6 p.m. Between episodes, Barney will show viewers celebrity hand turkeys created by Sesame Street’s Elmo, the Teletubbies, Angelina Ballerina, Thomas the Tank Engine and more. Instructions for viewers to make their own hand turkeys will be available on SproutOnline.com.
This week, leading up to Thanksgiving, The Sunny Side Up Show host Kelly and her sidekick Chica will be showcasing “Sproutlet Thanksgiving Shorts,” artwork sent in by viewers, which has been transformed into holiday-themed animated shorts. Technology created by Royi Akavia from The Little Director company allows children’s drawings on paper to become animated stories.
Through Friday (Nov. 16), parents can submit their child’s artwork on SproutOnline.com. Drawings will be chosen at random and turned into an original animated short that may be featured live on-air this week or throughout the day on Thanksgiving.
