2006 Orlando World's Fair for Kids Kicks Off April

The 2006 Orlando World’s Fair for Kids will be held Apr. 15-23, at the new one million square feet Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

|PIC1|The World’s Fair for Kids is the cornerstone of the 2006 Orlando Family Spring Break (the family equivalent to the phenomenon known as the College Spring Break) and will feature twenty-one themed Pavilions, covering sports, health, food, science and technology, communications, fashion, travel, learning, toys and games and education.

Christian pop sensations Jump5 and Everlife will be performing at the event, while thirteen-year old recording artist and actress Jillian Wheeler will be the official “spokeskid” for the event, and Quasi – the world’s first interactive animatronic robot created by Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center – will be the event’s official mascot. The first World’s Fair held in the United States since 1984, this historic event is expected to draw over 400,000 over a nine day period.

“We’ve pulled out all the stops to put together the largest single aggregate of world class live kids and family talent ever assembled under one roof to achieve the grandness that the World’s Fair moniker represents,” says Brian Sockin, CEO and Executive Producer of the event. “Our goal is to provide an entertainment experience for kids of all ages they’ll soon not forget.”

Other celebrities appearing at the event will be recording artist, film and television star Raven Symone, Christian country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley, two-time Grammy Award winners Riders in the Sky, Christy Carlson Romano, the Bellamy Brothers, Big Comfy Couch, B5, Bob-the-Builder, Calliou, Trout Fishing in America, and Savvy.

The event comes at a time when children’s direct buying power and influence on family purchases is at an all-time high, projected in 2006 to be upwards of $51.8 billion on food and beverages, clothing, personal care items, entertainment and other products. Parents will also spend approximately $175 billion on their kids in 2006 and kids will influence an additional $100 billion in larger family purchases, according to U.S. Kids Market 2002.

Beyond market growth, marketing content and message delivery to children is increasingly being put under the microscope by major consumer packaged goods and service companies, with a keen eye to “family unit marketing” tactics.

Sockin notes, “Reaching kids with parents present in an experiential context is quickly climbing to the top of children’s and family brand marketing wish lists. The Orlando World’s Fair for Kids epitomizes this concept, sprinkled with interactive fun and learning.”

For more information, go to www.wfkids.com.