Kraft Canada and TSN Launch Fifth-Annual Kraft Celebration Tour

- Canadians can nominate their communities now at kraftcelebrationtour.ca and tourneedecelebrationkraft.ca -

- Canada's #1 sportscast, SPORTSCENTRE, to broadcast live from 10 communities this summer -

- $250,000 in community awards available to be won from Kraft Canada -

- The Kraft Celebration Tour has helped Canadians live healthier lives through $1 million donated to deserving communities across the country since 2009 -

To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/17rstl0

TORONTO, April 29, 2013 /CNW/ - Canada becomes the backdrop for the country's biggest summertime celebration as the award-winning Kraft Celebration Tour gets set to hit the road for the fifth consecutive year.  Beginning today, Canadians can nominate their city or town for the chance to win $25,000 toward a community project that improves an existing space or helps create a brand new one.  Each winning community will also host one of 10 live broadcasts of Canada's most-watched sports news program, SPORTSCENTRE, as part of this summer's cross-country tour from August 16-25.

Also joining the Kraft Celebration Tour once again this summer is RDS, as the network's daily sports talk show, SPORTS 30 LE MAGAZINE, broadcasts live from winning communities in Quebec.

The Kraft Celebration Tour recognizes the passion and community spirit that brings people together and promotes healthy active lifestyles from coast to coast.  Since 2009, the Kraft Celebration Tour has helped hundreds of thousands of Canadians in 40 deserving communities with a total of $1 million toward projects such as:

• Building a skateboard park
• Upgrading a sports field
• Improving a boxing facility
• Renovating a community youth centre

"Each year we embark with TSN on the Kraft Celebration Tour and are amazed at how committed Canadians across the country are to improving the communities that they live in," said Jack Hewitt, Vice-President, Marketing Insights and Services, Kraft Canada.  "Watching cities and towns rally around a common goal and show such incredible hometown pride is inspiring, and we look forward to experiencing it again this year and for years to come."

"Through the Kraft Celebration Tour, we've been able to continue our tremendous partnership with Kraft Canada and give back to deserving Canadians across the country," said Stewart Johnston, President, TSN.  "The communities that are honoured and the stories that are told by the Kraft Celebration Tour help remind us how fortunate we are to live in such a diverse and beautiful country filled with countless remarkable people.  To be a part of something as special as this program is an honour for all of us at TSN and we can't wait to head out on the road again."

Canadians can nominate their community online at kraftcelebrationtour.ca and tourneedecelebrationkraft.ca until June 7.

To nominate a community, Canadians are asked to submit a short essay and up to five photos explaining why their community deserves to be a part of the Kraft Celebration Tour and how the $25,000 community award will go towards the creation or improvement of a local community space.  The essay should also touch upon how the award would help promote community spirit, a passion for sports, and an active lifestyle.

Leading the special SPORTSCENTRE broadcasts are anchors Darren Dutchyshen, Jennifer Hedger, Jay Onrait, and Dan O'Toole.  For SPORTS 30 LE MAGAZINE, RDS anchors Marc Labrecque, Luc Bellemare, and Valérie Sardin will broadcast live from winning communities in Quebec.

On June 30, TSN and RDS will announce the 20 finalists selected by a panel of judges.  Then it's up to Canada to decide the 10 winning Kraft Celebration Tour stops via 10 weekdays of head-to-head online voting beginning July 8.

Fans can keep up with the Kraft Celebration Tour on social media by visiting and liking the Kraft Celebration Tour Fan Page on Facebook and by following and interacting with the tour's personalities on Twitter.  Official Twitter hashtags for the Kraft Celebration Tour include #KCT and #tourneedecelebrationkraft.

This year's Kraft Celebration Tour follows last year's cross-country event, which garnered a record 572 nominations from communities across Canada and saw more than 4 million votes cast to select the 10 winning communities (click here for more information on last year's tour stops and community award recipients).

Launched in 2009 in celebration of TSN's 25^th anniversary, the Kraft Celebration Tour has garnered numerous accolades, including a 2012 Award of Distinction at the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada in the Media Sponsorship category, along with a Silver 2012 PROMO! Award for Best Sponsorship Campaign, and a Gold 2011 and Silver 2010 PROMO! Award for Best-Building Campaign.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Twitter
Kraft Celebration Tour: @KCTAndy, www.Twitter.com/KCTAndy
Darren Dutchyshen: @dutchysc, www.Twitter.com/dutchysc
Jennifer Hedger: @jenniferhedger, www.Twitter.com/jenniferhedger
Jay Onrait: @JayOnrait, www.Twitter.com/JayOnrait
Dan O'Toole: @tsnotoole, www.Twitter.com/tsnotoole
Marc Labrecque:@mlabrecqueRDS, www.Twitter.com/mlabrecqueRDS
Luc Bellemare: @lucbellemareRDS, www.Twitter.com/lucbellemareRDS
Valérie Sardin: @valsardinRDS, www.Twitter.com/valsardinRDS

Hashtags: #KCT and #tourneedecelebrationkraft

Facebook
Kraft Celebration Tour: www.Facebook.com/KraftCelebrationTour
TSN: www.Facebook.com/TSN

About Kraft Foods Group
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: KRFT) is North America's fourth largest consumer packaged food and beverage company, with revenues of $18 billion in 2012.  Launched as a public and independent company on Oct. 1, 2012, the new Kraft has the spirit of a startup and the soul of a powerhouse.  The company has an unrivaled portfolio of products in the beverages, cheese, refrigerated meals and grocery categories. Its iconic brands include Kraft, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Planters and JELL-O. Kraft's 23,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada have a passion for making the foods and beverages people love. Kraft Foods Group is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 and the NASDAQ-100. For more information, visit www.kraft.com and www.facebook.com/kraft.

About TSN
TSN is Canada's Sports Leader and #1 specialty network. With a broad portfolio of multimedia sports assets, TSN delivers world-class content across industry-leading platforms including TSN2, TSN.ca, TSN Radio and TSN Mobile TV. Official broadcaster of the Grey Cup, IIHF World Junior Championship and FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, TSN's slate of live sports coverage includes NHL, CFL, NFL, NBA, MLS, Season of Champions Curling, UEFA Euro 2016, MLB Sunday Night Baseball, Barclays Premier League, Golf's Majors, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Canadian Tire Series, F1, Grand Slam Tennis, NCAA March Madness, and Skate Canada events. TSN is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company.

Image with caption: "Kraft Celebration Tour (CNW Group/TSN)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130429_C9473_PHOTO_EN_26105.jpg

SOURCE: TSN