December
26, 2002
FREEZE YER GIZZARD
IN KEYPORT’S WINTER WONDERLAND
KEYPORT, NJ – Barring a serious blizzard, you’ll be able to bowl on the sidewalks of downtown Keyport during the Keyport Business Alliance’s Winter Wonderland Sales January 18-20. You won’t need special shoes, but you might want to wear gloves to boost your score in frozen-chicken bowling.
The “lanes” will be set up from noon to 2 p.m. all three days
on the sidewalk along West Front Street. There won’t be any pins to
knock down, since the object of frozen-chicken bowling is to see who can roll
the rock-hard birds the longest distance. Winners will receive up to $100
in Keyport “BID bucks,” which can be used at any of the more than
500 businesses, merchants and retail establishments participating in the promotion.
The frozen-chicken bowling is the brainchild – or is that bird-brained
idea – of marketing guru Sylvia Allen, a native of Minnesota, where
a frozen-turkey bowling event is held every January as part of IceBox Days.
Allen, whose firm Allen Consulting, of Holmdel, produces special events for
the Keyport Business Alliance, said IceBox Days take place the third weekend
in January near International Falls, Minn., the coldest place in the continental
United States. She said the frozen-turkey bowling is among several zany events,
including a 10K Blizzard Run in the snow, that make up the four-day Ice Box
festival.
“Originally, I wanted to have ice-sculpting demonstrations at Keyport’s
Winter Wonderland,” said Allen, “but sculptors gave us the cold
shoulder, and that’s only for watching. Frozen-chicken bowling is something
people can participate in.”
Allen said KBA President Jeffrey Fink was originally cool to the idea – no pun intended. “Then we pointed out that everybody’s got a touch of cabin fever come January, and frozen-chicken bowling is just wacky enough to bring people out,” she said.
Fink said that Keyport shops would be featuring some great buys during the three-day promotion, “but I have to admit,” he said, “frozen-chicken bowling, maybe followed by a nice cappuccino, offers a pretty good way to chill out if shopping isn’t your thing.”
More “BID bucks” can be won in the Find the Winning Snowflake contest, in which participants draw snowflakes to find the one that matches the winner on display in one of the stores. No purchase is necessary, and the person holding the winning snowflake gets $250 in “BID bucks.”
Allen said Super Foodtown Food Circus would be providing the poultry for the frozen-chicken bowling, and the chickens would be donated later that day to an area soup kitchen.
For more information on Keyport, visit www.keyportonline.com. For additional information on the Winter Wonderland event, contact Allen Consulting at 732-946-2711.