Taste of Home Presents The Second Annual Gingerbread Boulevard Holiday Event In New York City

NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Taste of Home, the leading food and entertaining brand, brings New Yorkers its annual Gingerbread Boulevard installation in New York City's Madison Square Park today. The free, interactive holiday season event features four one-of-a-kind life-size Gingerbread Houses, which will be unveiled at 3:30 p.m. ET, prior to the park's annual holiday tree lighting ceremony.

Taste of Home has partnered with Folgers® as presenting sponsor of the installation and the two companies have been counting down the top five holiday traditions on Facebook, Instagram and TasteofHome.com, culminating in the debut of Gingerbread Boulevard.

"We're thrilled to work with Folgers to bring Gingerbread Boulevard to life in New York's Madison Square Park, sharing our festivities and holiday traditions," said Taste of Home Editor-in-Chief Catherine Cassidy. "Both Taste of Home and Folgers are iconic brands that share a rich history of bringing families together to share and enjoy wholesome experiences."

Taste of Home worked with Shazam to bring an interactive mobile experience to Gingerbread Boulevard. Park visitors can use the Visual Shazam recognition technology to virtually travel inside each house right on their mobile phones. Users will get a 360-degree view of the inside of the gingerbread homes and will be able to click on hotspots where they can take selfies inside the houses and discover exclusive holiday traditions content from Folgers.

Folgers is proud to be a part of this special Taste of Home holiday installation and share a little of the comfort, warmth and optimism of the holidays with New Yorkers. Since 1850, Folgers has been a part of turning shared moments over coffee into traditions that last. From early morning wake-up calls, to quiet moments and holiday celebrations, Folgers is The Best Part of Wakin' Up.

Each house on Gingerbread Boulevard is themed to "Home for the Holidays," celebrating the unique regions and lifestyles of Americans across the country, and include: Surf Shack, Ski Chalet, Farmstead and Houseboat. They also feature life-size candy decorations that represent Mars favorites, including M&M'S®, TWIX®, SNICKERS® and DOVE® Chocolate.

"While our chocolate products are enjoyed throughout the year, they make the holiday season even sweeter," said Berta de Pablos, VP of Marketing, Mars Chocolate North America. "By adding M&M'S®, TWIX®, SNICKERS® and DOVE® Chocolate to Gingerbread Boulevard, we're hoping to inspire families to celebrate the season with Mars Chocolate."

Anyone in the holiday spirit can go to TasteofHome.com/GBBlvd to vote for their favorite house, and enter for a chance to win a $5,000 cash prize from December 9-22, 2015. Visitors can also engage in festivities via social media using the hashtag #TOHBLVD15. Gingerbread Boulevard will be on display to the public at Madison Square Park through December 22. The winning house will be revealed on December 23 on TasteofHome.com.

Beginning in 1912, Madison Square was home to the first public holiday tree in the nation. The annual celebration, hosted by the Madison Square Park Conservancy, is packed with free family activities and live entertainment. Taste of Home will be distributing Folgers Coffee and Mars Chocolates, along with books and magazines to share fun, family-friendly ideas with park visitors.

About Taste of Home
Taste of Home is the leading multi-platform producer of information on food, cooking and entertaining, serving home cooks engaging media that capture the joy and comfort received from food made with love. Our content is available online at TasteofHome.com and via the Taste Digital Community, with more than 39 million monthly visitors*, making these sites top destinations for kitchen-tested recipes, how-to techniques, cooking videos and lively community forums. The same engaging content can be found in Taste of Home magazine, with a circulation of 2.5 million; Simple & Delicious magazine; top-selling bookazines; newsstand specials; popular cookbooks and via digital download on iPad, mobile apps and Kindle.

Taste of Home also produces the Taste of Home Cooking School, one of America's leading cooking school programs, inspiring more than 140,000 passionate home chefs each year and hosting more than 200 events across the country. The Taste of Home Online Cooking School is a convenient at-home experience that delivers the same blend of energy and expertise that those who attend the live Cooking School shows enjoy.

Learn more at TasteofHome.com and join more than 24 million** fans for the latest on recipes and food, by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter and Pinterest.

*comScore Media Metrix, January 2015
**Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram May 2015 

About Madison Square Park Conservancy
Madison Square Park Conservancy is the not-for-profit organization whose mission is to protect, nurture, and enhance Madison Square Park, a dynamic seven-acre public green space, creating an environment that fosters moments of inspiration. The Conservancy is committed to engaging the community through its beautiful gardens, inviting amenities, and world-class programming. Madison Square Park Conservancy is licensed by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to manage Madison Square Park and is responsible for raising 98% of the funds necessary to operate the Park, including the brilliant horticulture, park maintenance, sanitation, security, and free cultural programs for Park visitors of all ages.  madisonsquarepark.org

About The J.M. Smucker Company
For more than 115 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that bring families together to share memorable meals and moments. Today, Smucker is a leading marketer and manufacturer of consumer food and beverage products and pet food and pet snacks in North America with annual net sales of approximately $8 billion. In consumer foods and beverages, its brands include Smucker's^®, Folgers^®, Jif^®, Dunkin' Donuts^®, Crisco^®, Pillsbury^™, R.W. Knudsen Family^®, Hungry Jack^®, Café Bustelo^®, Martha White^®, truRoots^®, Sahale Snacks^®, Robin Hood^®, and Bick's^®. In pet food and pet snacks, its brands include Meow Mix^®, Milk-Bone^®, Kibbles 'n Bits^®, Natural Balance^®, and 9Lives^®. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth, and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. For more information about the Company, visit jmsmucker.com.

About Mars, Incorporated
In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' first roots as a confectionery company.  In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY® bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of building a business based on the objective of creating a "mutuality of benefits for all stakeholders" – this objective serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $33 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 75,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.

Mars brands include: Petcare – PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, BANFIELD® Pet Hospital, CESAR®, SHEBA®, DREAMIES® and NUTRO®; Chocolate – M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Wrigley – DOUBLEMINT®, EXTRA®, ORBIT® and 5™ chewing gums, SKITTLES® and STARBURST® candies, and ALTOIDS® and LIFESAVERS® mints.  Food – UNCLE BEN'S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS®, SEEDS OF CHANGE® and ROYCO®; Drinks – ALTERRA COFFEE ROASTERS™, THE BRIGHT TEA COMPANY™, KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience – COCOAVIA® and WISDOM PANEL®.

For more information, please visit www.mars.com. Follow us:  facebook.com/mars, twitter.com/marsglobal, youtube.com/mars, linkedin.com/company/mars.

About Shazam
Shazam is one of the world's most popular apps, used by more than 120 million people each month to magically connect to the world around them. Building on its pioneering leadership in music identification, Shazam now helps people discover, interact with, and share video, audio, or printed content on TV, radio, movie screens, magazines, newspapers, packaged goods, and retail stores -- and now Shazam lets music fans follow their favorite artists to see their Shazams and share in the thrill of discovery. The app has exceeded 20 billion total Shazams since its launch, and users Shazam over 20 million times each day. Follow us on Twitter @shazam or for more information, visit www.shazam.com

Contact: 
Allyne Mills
Finn Partners for Taste of Home
[email protected]
646.202.9756

SOURCE Taste of Home