Kraft Canada and TSN Announce Top 20 Finalists for the Fourth-Annual Kraft Celebration Tour

- Canadians can vote online to select the 10 winning communities -
- A record 572 nominations were received for the cross-country tour that hits the road August 17-26 -

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TORONTO, July 1, 2012 /CNW/ - After a massive surge of community pride that saw a record 572 nominations submitted by Canadians across the country, Kraft Canada and TSN today revealed the Top 20 communities selected as finalists for the summer's biggest community celebration: the Kraft Celebration Tour.  Now it's time for Canadians to vote by visiting KraftCelebrationTour.ca or Tourneedecelebrationkraft.ca.

As announced earlier today exclusively on SPORTSCENTRE on TSN and SPORTS 30 on RDS, the Top 20 communities have been paired up and will be narrowed down to 10 tour stops for the Kraft Celebration Tour through 10 days of head-to-head online voting from July 9 to 21.

As part of the Kraft Celebration Tour, the 10 winning communities each receive $25,000 from Kraft Canada to put towards improvements to a local recreation facility and serve as a backdrop for a live broadcast of SPORTSCENTRE.

The Top 20 communities, along with the match-ups and scheduled voting dates are as follows:

• Monday, July 9 - Kimberley, BC vs. Creston, BC
• Tuesday, July 10 - Clarenville, NL vs. Canning, NS
• Wednesday, July 11 - Cochrane, AB vs. Innisfail, AB
• Thursday, July 12 - Pugwash, NS vs. Port Hawkesbury, NS
• Friday, July 13 - Porcupine Plain, SK vs. Kerrobert, SK
• Monday, July 16 - Sussex, NB vs. Bathurst, NB
• Tuesday, July 17 - Hamiota, MB vs. Manitou, MB
• Wednesday, July 18 - Chicoutimi, QC vs. Sainte-Adèle, QC
• Thursday, July 19 - Kakabeka Falls, ON vs. New Liskeard, ON
• Friday, July 20 - Trenton, ON vs. Lindsay, ON

Voting for each match-up is unlimited and runs online from 12 noon ET each weekday for a 24-hour period.  Results of each vote are announced the following weekday on SPORTSCENTRE on TSN and SPORTS 30 on RDS.

Leading up to each vote, SPORTSCENTRE and SPORTS 30 will profile each match-up with a look at both communities and their proposed community improvement projects.

The Kraft Celebration Tour editions of SPORTSCENTRE and SPORTS 30 air live from August 17 to 26.  TSN's Darren Dutchyshen and Kate Beirness host SPORTSCENTRE from all Western Canada stops, while Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole bring Canada's #1 sports news program to all Eastern Canada communities.

In addition, RDS anchors François-Etienne Corbin, Alain "Le Baron" Chantelois, Valérie Sardin and Geneviève Langlois join the Kraft Celebration Tour festivities in Quebec, as they host a live broadcast of SPORTS 30 from either Chicoutimi or Sainte-Adèle.

A record total of 572 nominations were received for this year's Kraft Celebration Tour, with nearly 14,000 comments submitted by community members in support of local nominations.  The 20 finalists were selected based on essays and photos describing how a $25,000 award from Kraft Canada would not only make a difference in the community, but also help improve a local recreation facility that builds strong social ties and promotes healthy, active living in the area.

During the tour, fans can keep up with the cross-country adventure 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 #kraftcelebrationtour and #tourneedecelebrationkraft.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Twitter
Kraft Celebration Tour: @KCTAndy, www.Twitter.com/KCTAndy
SportsCentre: @SportsCentre, www.Twitter.com/SportsCentre
Darren Dutchyshen: @dutchysc, www.Twitter.com/dutchysc
Kate Beirness: @KateBeirness, www.Twitter.com/KateBeirness
Jay Onrait: @JayOnrait, www.Twitter.com/JayOnrait
Dan O'Toole: @tsnotoole, www.Twitter.com/tsnotoole
François-Etienne Corbin: @fecorbinRDS, www.Twitter.com/fecorbinRDS
Valérie Sardin: @ValsardinRDS, www.Twitter.com/ValsardinRDS
Hashtags: #kraftcelebrationtour and #tourneedecelebrationkraft

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

About Kraft Canada
Kraft Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: KFT) is a global snacks powerhouse with an unrivaled portfolio of brands people love. Proudly marketing delicious biscuits, confectionery, beverages, cheese, grocery products and convenient meals in approximately 170 countries, Kraft Foods had 2011 revenue of $54.4 billion.  Twelve of the company's iconic brands - Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Tang and Trident - generate revenue of more than $1 billion annually.  On Aug. 4, 2011, Kraft Foods announced plans to divide and create two independent public companies: a high-growth global snacks business and a high-margin North American grocery business.  The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of 2012.  A leader in innovation, marketing, health & wellness and sustainability, Kraft Foods is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index.  Visit kraftfoodscompany.com and facebook.com/kraftfoodscorporate.

About TSN
TSN is Canada's Sports Leader and Canada's most-watched specialty network. Delivering more sports coverage in High Definition than any other network in Canada, TSN's comprehensive broadcast schedule features an exciting lineup of sports including NHL, CFL, NFL, NBA, MLS, the IIHF World Junior Championship, Season of Champions Curling, Golf's Majors, F1, NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, Grand Slam Tennis, EURO 2012 and 2016, the Tour de France, NCAA March Madness tournament and Championship Boxing events.  TSN properties include TSN2, TSN MOBILE and the industry-leading sports website TSN.ca.  Official broadcaster of the London 2012 Olympic Games, TSN is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company.

For TSN:
Greg McIsaac, (w) 416.384.5180, (c) 416.458.3591, [email protected]
Chobi Liang, (w) 416.384.7584, (c) 416.859.4738, [email protected]

For Kraft Canada:
Dane Gergovich, Media Profile, (w) 416.342.1816, [email protected] 

Twitter: @TSN_PR