TSN and Kraft Canada announce Top 20 finalists for the Kraft Celebration Tour

    
    -   Canada selects 10 winning communities in 10 days of online voting,
        beginning July 12 -
    -   Kraft Canada to award a total of $250,000 for community refreshes
        across Canada -
    -   SPORTSCENTRE broadcasts live from winning communities from August 20
        to 29 -
    

TORONTO, June 30 /CNW/ - Canada...it's now time to rock the vote! Following an outpouring of Canadian pride from coast to coast, Kraft Canada and TSN today announced the Top 20 communities selected as finalists for the Kraft Celebration Tour (www.tsn.ca/kraftcelebrationtour).

Now, the fate of these 20 communities rests in the hands of their compatriots as Canadians can vote for the 10 most-deserving tour stops to host TSN and SPORTSCENTRE (www.tsn.ca/sportscentre)this summer during 10 days of intense, head-to-head online voting from July 12 to 23. As part of the Kraft Celebration Tour, each winning community receives a $25,000 community refresh from Kraft Canada to be used for improvements to a facility in the prize-winning area.

During the voting period (July 12-23), the Top 20 communities are paired up. One pair of communities is featured per day and Canadians can visit www.TSN.ca/kraftcelebrationtour or www.RDS.ca/tourneedecelebrationkraft to vote for their favourite Kraft Celebration Tour nominations. Voting for each match-up is unlimited and runs from 12 noon ET each day for a 24-hour period. SPORTSCENTRE on TSN and SPORTS 30 on RDS highlight the day's featured match-up with a look at the duelling communities and their proposed community refreshes. Results of each vote are announced the following day on SPORTSCENTRE and SPORTS 30.

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

    
    -  Monday, July 12: Bay Roberts, NL vs. Stephenville, NL
    -  Tuesday, July 13: Port Dover, ON vs. Victoria Village (Toronto), ON
    -  Wednesday, July 14: Gagetown, NB vs. Pictou, NS
    -  Thursday, July 15: Pinawa, MB vs. Steinbach, MB
    -  Friday, July 16: Abrams Village, PE vs. Georgetown, PE
    -  Monday, July 19: Indian Head, SK vs. Outlook, SK
    -  Tuesday, July 20: Wakefield, QC vs. Beauceville, QC
    -  Wednesday, July 21: Fort Macleod, AB vs. Wetaskiwin, AB
    -  Thursday, July 22: Elmvale, ON vs. Brighton, ON
    -  Friday, July 23: New Westminster, BC vs. Nelson, BC
    

The 10 winning communities serve as a backdrop for a live broadcast of SPORTSCENTRE with hosts Darren Dutchyshen and Jennifer Hedger in Eastern Canada, and Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole in Western Canada. In addition, SPORTS 30 featuring Chantal Machabée and Marc Labrecque joins the Kraft Celebration Tour, broadcasting live from any winning Francophone communities.

Kraft Celebration Tour editions of SPORTSCENTRE and SPORTS 30 air live and in High Definition from August 20 to 29.

A total of 460 nominations were received for this year's Kraft Celebration Tour, with 3,553 (and counting!) comments submitted by community members in support of their local nomination. The 20 finalist communities were selected based on their essay and photos describing how a $25,000 community refresh from Kraft Canada would make a difference in their community. In addition, the nominations had to demonstrate their community's spirit and passion for sports and a healthy and active lifestyle.

The Kraft Celebration Tour is supported by a multi-faceted marketing campaign utilizing TSN and RDS broadcasts and platforms, as well as media platforms throughout the CTVglobemedia family. In-store displays were set up in grocery stores across Canada.

Fans can join the Kraft Celebration Tour Fan Page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kraftcelebrationtour), follow the tour and its personalities on Twitter, and get a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road with Kraft Celebration Tour blogs on www.TSN.ca. Fans can also relive last year's coast-to-coast celebration with the one-hour special BEST OF THE KRAFT CELEBRATION TOUR 2009 on Wednesday, July 7 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN Classic.

    
    About Kraft Canada
    ------------------
    

With annual revenues of approximately $48 billion, Kraft Foods is a global powerhouse in snacks, confectionery and quick meals. The company is the world's second largest food company, making delicious products for billions of consumers in more than 160 countries. The portfolio includes 11 iconic brands with revenues exceeding $1 billion - Oreo, Nabisco and LU biscuits; Milka and Cadbury chocolates; Trident gum; Jacobs and Maxwell House coffees; Philadelphia cream cheeses; Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings; and Oscar Mayer meats. Approximately 70 brands generate annual revenues of more than $100 million. Kraft Foods (www.kraftfoodscompany.com; NYSE: KFT) is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index. In Canada, company brands include Kraft Dinner macaroni and cheese, Christie cookies and crackers, Kool-Aid and Del Monte beverages, Caramilk chocolate, Maynards candy, and Stride and Dentyne gum.

    
    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, IIHF, CFL, NFL, NBA, Blue Jays Baseball, Season of Champions Curling, Golf's Majors, F1, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Grand Slam Tennis and Championship Boxing events. TSN properties include TSN2, TSN MOBILE and the industry-leading sports website www.tsn.ca. Official broadcaster of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and London 2012 Games of the Olympiad, TSN is a division of CTVglobemedia.

For further information: For TSN: Chobi Liang, (w) 416.384.7584, (c) 416.859.4738, [email protected]; For Kraft Canada: Lynne Galia, (w) 416.441.5610, [email protected]