Big Kid News

Peppa Pig picks Dallas-Fort Worth for first permanent playdate in U.S.

Peppa's ready to play.

UPDATE: The Peppa Pig World of Play at Grapevine Mills will open at 10 am February 12, the mall has said. Regular hours will be 10 am-6 pm Monday through Saturday and 11 am-7 pm Sunday. The last admission for entry is 90 minutes before closing. Admission is $20 for children and $5 for adults. Tickets are now on sale at www.peppapigworldofplay.com.

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The preschool set's favorite loveable little piggy is coming out to play in Dallas-Fort Worth. The first U.S. location of Peppa Pig World of Play, a family-friendly indoor play center, will open at Grapevine Mills mall on February 12, 2019.

According to a release, the new permanent attraction will allow children to step into the world of Peppa Pig and her family in a special setting full of "oinktastic" activities. It "will take families on an unforgettable journey where they can join Peppa and her friends to explore and interact with instantly recognizable locations from the show in a number of colorful playscapes that have each been lovingly recreated from the hugely popular animated series," the release promises.

The attraction will include 14 Peppa-themed play areas for little ones. According to the release, highlights include:

Peppa’s Family House: where visitors can play inside the iconic living room and kitchen, have a conversation with a talking Polly Parrot and a photo opportunity with Daddy Pig.
Supermarket: children can have fun grocery shopping and helping Miss Rabbit on the cash register at the local supermarket where they can find items from Peppa’s family shopping list;.
Zoe Zebra and Daddy Dog at the Garage: an activity area where children can help Mr. Zebra deliver the mail and repair a truck at Grandpa Dog’s Garage.
Madame Gazelle’s School Bus: children can climb aboard Madam Gazelle’s school bus and sing along with Peppa and her friends on an exciting trip to the theatre.
Rebecca Rabbit’s Underground Adventure: little ones will love crawling through tunnels, exploring bedrooms and sliding into a big muddy puddle in the Rabbit family’s underground burrow.
Peppa’s Treehouse, George’s Fort, Muddy Puddles and George’s Dinosaur Discovery: imaginatively themed play areas that recreate key themes from the show for children to enjoy.
Sensory Garden: this interactive sensory garden features a duck pond, hen house, Grandpa Pig’s train and more.

There will also be a theater, gift shop, facilities for families to relax and play, and lots of photo opps. It is operated by global leisure giant Merlin under a licensing agreement with eOne, the owner of the Peppa Pig brand.

For those not familiar with what's captivating kids on screen these days, Peppa Pig is a British-based preschool animated TV series focused on the adventures of an anthropomorphic female pig named Peppa and her family and friends. Peppa loves to play as real kids play — swimming, jump-roping, riding bikes, and playing on the playground.

So a permanent Peppa playground makes perfect sense. (And is also a good tounge-twister for all ages.) Grapevine Mills Mall is also home to Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life Grapevine Aquarium.

“The universally loved Peppa Pig brand offers us the chance to create a truly magical experience for our youngest visitors and families,” says Mike Vallis, Merlin Entertainments divisional director for new brands, in the release. “By giving fans a unique opportunity to step into the incredible world of this hugely popular little piggy and encouraging them to discover, explore and play, we are confident that Peppa Pig World of Play will become a popular destination for families in Texas."

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Reduce, Reuse, Relisten

McKinney record store joins creative effort to give old vinyl a new life

Photo by Eric Krull on Unsplash

A new program is trying to keep old vinyl out of landfills.

North Texas vinyl collectors going through the disappointment of discovering a damaged record in their collection can at least avoid sending it to the landfill. A new initiative is turning 11 independent record stores across the United States, including Red Zeppelin Records in McKinney, into vinyl take-back points for potential recycling.

The pilot is a collaboration among the record stores, Warner Music Group (WMG), and Virterras Materials, a recycling technology business that specializes in "challenging" materials like plastics and rubber. It will run from "the end of June through September," a press release says.

All customers have to do is drop off damaged records — any kind or condition is accepted.

The program is still in an exploratory phase; the partners don't know the best way to organize the collection yet, and they are vague about what the records might become. The release says the goal is "to better understand how damaged or unwanted records can be collected, consolidated, and directed toward potential material recovery pathways."

Funding comes from a grant from the Vinyl Institute.

The partners will gather information about participation rates, material quality, the work it takes to move and process the records, and the different possible outputs after recycling. The release notes that vinyl records have become more popular over the past decade, but that industry-wide information about disposal is lagging.

This May, WMG, GZ Media, and Abbey Road Studios completed a manufacturing study that confirmed that it is possible to turn unsold and obsolete records into new pressings with audio quality that is high enough for commercial sale. The take-back pilot continues pulling that thread.

Launching the pilot at different stores around the U.S. — those in "major music markets," the release says — serves to diversify the communities getting involved, whether it's locals with specific preferences or fans of different kinds of music.

Two other stores in Texas are participating: County Line Records in Keller and Antone's Record Shop in Austin.

Red Zeppelin Records is a locally owned record store located at 206 E. Louisiana St. in McKinney. It's open 11 am-6 pm Monday-Thursday, 10 am-8 pm Friday-Saturday, and 12-5 pm Sunday.

"Independent record stores have long served as gathering places for music fans and stewards of music culture," said Warner Music Group senior director of ESG Madeleine Smith in the release. "The pilot brings together retailers, recovery partners, and music fans to explore an important question: what would it take to create practical pathways for recovering unplayable or damaged vinyl records? It’s a vital first step in understanding what’s possible."

Participating stores include:

County Line Records (Keller, TX)
Red Zeppelin Records (McKinney, TX)
Antone’s Record Shop (Austin, TX)
Amoeba Hollywood (Los Angeles, CA)
Criminal Records (Atlanta, GA)
Easy Street Records (Seattle, WA)
Home Rule Records (Washington D.C.)
Rough Trade NYC (New York City, NY)
Spin Me Round (Easton, PA)
Reckless Records (Chicago, IL)
Sweat Records (Miami, FL)

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