Second year of Elmer Day celebrations set for May 27 following new licensee signings.
The second annual Elmer Day is due to take place this weekend, as Andersen Press and Metrostar continue to build up the licensing programme around the classic character.
A raft of events are being planned for Saturday May 27 in book shops, libraries, nurseries and schools across the UK and Ireland.
Sign ups for activity packs and resources have grown by 63%, with event listings on the special patchwork Elmer Day events map currently showing a rise of 40% year on year.
Schools and nurseries have been targeted for the first time with specially created teaching resources designed to engage the whole school in celebrating Elmer, created for Andersen Press by CLPE for use in the run-up to the day itself. Events have been registered across the UK and Ireland, from Shetland to Cornwall and Galway to Dover.
UK highlights include theatre performances at Hay Festival, a programme take-over at Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books and Elmer’s inclusion in Story Museum Oxford’s Wild in Art exhibition.
In addition to the UK activity, Elmer Day 2017 will be an international event with a number of Elmer’s foreign language publishers participating. Publishers in Iran, Macedonia, Japan, Russia, France, Romania, Luxemburg, Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Italy are all holding events and running competitions and craft-based activities. The Japanese publishing partner will also host an exhibition featuring original Elmer artwork.
Across the board, Elmer the Patchwork Elephant is seeing strong brand growth in 2017, following Elmer’s successful babywear debut in Tu at Sainsbury’s.
Five new licensing partners were confirmed earlier this year: JoJo Maman Bebe, Casa Chicos, Amscan, Milly & Flynn and Cooneen. They join existing partners Paul Dennicci, Rainbow Designs, Hype, Flametree and Petit Jour.
Mark Hendle, Andersen Press md, said: “We are delighted to see Elmer Day grow year-on-year and look forward to seeing thousands across the country enjoying Elmer.
“Through our new licensing with carefully selected partners we are reaching more people than ever, reinforcing Elmer as a key brand for children and parents alike.”
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