The Smarmy Carny

How can you possibly pass up Cold Stone Creamery's World's Largest Ice Cream Social?

On September 25, 2008 from 5pm until 8pm, Cold Stone Creamery is giving away free 3 oz. "Make-a-Wish"-sized creations. This free portion is about 60% the size of Cold Stone's "Like It" (small) size, which is approximately 5 oz. The stipulations are that your sample will be Emily or Jack's Creation:

• Jack's Creation — Marshmallow ice cream with OREO® Cookies, Chocolate Chips and Fudge
• Emily's Creation — Nutter Butter® ice cream with White Chocolate Chips, Kit Kat® and Yellow Cake

These are two new flavors created by two Make-a-Wish children named — you guessed it — Jack and Emily, who are 9 and 10 years old, respectively.

Why free ice cream? Cold Stone is doing this for a good cause: About 85% of all donations given during that time will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Visit these official sites for the full "scoop":

• Cold Stone Creamery's Promotions page
• Make-A-Wish Foundation's page for The World's Largest Ice Cream Social

Kahala Brands owns Cold Stone Creamery, and some of their other stores are also having giveaways during the last week of the month. If you live near Blimpie, The Great Steak & Potato Co., Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill, or TacoTime you can grab some free stuff from those locations, too! Of course, don't forget to donate to a great charity while you're there!

Cold Stone Creamery is giving away free ice cream tonight for their 5th Annual World’s Largest Ice Cream Social, September 28, 2006, from 5pm to 8pm. There are also "family activities" planned for the night.

What's the special event? Cold Stone is selling stars to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation®. Since you're getting a really good value with this free ice cream, you might as well donate at least that cost to Make-A-Wish®. The free product is a 3 oz. portion of Cole's Creation in a cup. The free creation is the new "Make-A-Wish Creation" inspired by Cole, a 10 year old Wish Child from Colorado. Cole’s Creation combines chocolate ice cream with fluffy yellow cake, chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles.

I wasn't planning on posting this on such short notice, but this is to benefit Make-A-Wish®. Regular readers will remember that I blogged for Make-A-Wish® during Blogathon 2006.

Not sure where your local Cold Stone Creamery is? Head over to Cold Stone's "Nearest Stone" page to find out where yours is!

Thanks to those who pledged to donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of America.

Even if you don't have money, that doesn't mean you can't do anything. Head over to Make-A-Wish®'s volunteering page, type in your 5-digit zip code, and contact your local Make-A-Wish® chapter. Often, our time is more valuable to charities than our money. And if you don't have money, your time may be the only thing you have to donate.

Just because the Blogathon is ending soon, doesn't mean you have to stop giving!

Ryan meets Joe

4-year-old Ryan wished to meet Joe from Blue's Clues and have a Blue's Clues party. Donovan Patton ("Joe") was more than willing to help out the cause.

Ryan and his family got a limo ride to the Hilton Garden Inn, where 79 friends and family were waiting to celebrate Ryan's 5th birthday. During the party, Joe appeared to meet Ryan. They were both wearing identical orange shirts. The two spent some time together and had a great day.

Read more about Ryan's encounter with Joe at Make-A-Wish®'s website, wish.org.

Willie's hammock

10-year-old Willie wished to take a nap on a hammock between two palm trees on the beach in Hawaii.

Willie was flown to Hawaii, where he and his family were met by lei greeters. They spent seven days in Hawaii, enjoying the sights. As part of their activities, they took a snorkeling cruise.

Make-A-Wish® got reservations at the Hyatt Regency in Maui, since they had hammocks readily available. If that weren't enough, the hotel picked the best hammock and designated it "Willie's hammock" for Willie to enjoy whenever he wanted.

When Willie returned home, a local store had donated a hammock for his backyard so that Willie can relax and remember his Hawaii trip whenever he wishes!

Read more about Willie's Hawaii trip at Make-A-Wish®'s website, wish.org.

Cameron leaves the ice

6-year-old Cameron wished to be a player for the Los Angeles Kings.

The L.A. Kings had no problem with helping grant Cameron's wish. Cameron got a limo ride to meet up with Ian Laperriere at the Kings' training center. Cameron put on his full hockey gear, including an official L.A. Kings jersey.

Cameron dished out hip checks, made some passes, and took some slap shots. He weaved his way through the legs of Laperriere and Derek Armstrong to rack up goals on goalie Cristobal Huet.

After the practice, Cameron joined the players in the locker room for some Gatorade. The players also took pictures with Cameron and gave him autographs.

In addition, Laperriere invited Cameron and his family to the L.A. Kings game the following night. Laperriere scored two goals in the game and he saved the first puck just for Cameron! He also gave Cameron the stick he used for that game, which included the autographs of the entire team.

Read more about Cameron's day as an L.A. King at Make-A-Wish®'s website, wish.org.

Moky Varlet

15-year-old Amy wished to be an animated character in a Disney cartoon.

The makers of Dave the Barbarian were glad to help make this wish a reality. Amy sent in a picture of herself, and the animation team got to work.

The day Amy arrived at the Disney studios, she got a full tour. She then got to see sketches of her cartoon self based on her picture.

At that point, Amy was taken to the recording studio in L.A. to do the voice work for her character. She had no problem jumping right into the role and giving a great performance.

She also got to meet another character voice for the show before she received gifts of animation sketches, posters, a personalized nameplate, and other Disney paraphernalia.

Disney is a huge supporter of Make-A-Wish, as many children wish to do to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, or take a Disney cruise.

See a clip of Amy's performance as Moky Varlet at Make-A-Wish®'s website, wish.org.