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When visiting Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach Resort, there is ample entertainment for all the children with the fantastic Nickelodeon Land.

Several new rides have been added for the 2011 grand opening of Nickelodeon Land including Diego’s Rainforest Rescue, Krusty Krab Order Up, Fairy World Taxi Spin, SpongeBob’s Splash Bash and Wonder Pets! Big Circus Bounce. Overall there are 12 attractions including 2 rollercoasters, 2 water rides and 8 other rides.

The £12 million pound park is the latest incarnation of the children’s area, designed for anyone up to the age of 14. Nickelodeon Land is linked to international fun park chains such as Movie Park, Germany and Kings Dominion in Virginia, Dreamworld in California and Carowinds in Canada.

Nickelodeon parks try to be more local in feel, and include popular existing rides alongside some new ones. SpongeBob has been a huge cartoon sensation in the UK, and it is no surprise to see a themed water ride named after the character. The ride has the added attraction of being interactive, and you might get splashed by the passengers on it who are loaded up with on-board water blasters.

Dora’s World Voyage is a lovely coast through a water river on a decorative gondola-style family seat. The character of Dora the Explorer is a ‘Nick’ character, and there is merchandising available at the gift shops littered throughout Nickelodeon Land if you want to buy a souvenir. Dora herself is a Latin American girl, who loves to travel the world, so you can point out cultural items as you go, and enjoy the sentiment of diversity, which Dora is no doubt, meant to embody.

Catering to the modern generation, the visitor’s website has interactive video games that you can let the kids play on before leaving home! Fiery Tracks of Fury sees SpongeBob and Patrick trying to escape a rollercoaster called the Fist of Pain.

If you are visiting the Pleasure Beach Resort with your children, make sure you go and visit Blackpool’s Nickelodeon Land and make the most of the new attractions and adventures on offer.

Then in the evening come and enjoy a nice meal at Toast Café Bar & Grill Restaurant Blackpool’s premier child friendly eaterie. Check out our menus with a great favourites and healthy choices for kids too. Click here to book now.

Need accommodation try the Homecliffe Hotel 4* quality guest accommodation as seen on TV Autumn.2011 Enjoy the show!

Remember! Blackpool has days of fun such as Pleasure Beach Resort, Nickelodeon Land, Sandcastle Water Park, Madame Tussauds, Sea Life Centre and lots more including the fabulous Blackpool Tower. Visit Blackpool Tourism website for more details.

Showzam Central February 10 – 19 in 2012, is an exciting FREE attraction in Blackpool providing a hub of information for the whole festival. Showzam Blackpool is the annual circus magic and cabaret entertainment festival. Performances are on offer at the Blackpool Tower, The Winter Gardens, the piers, the Pleasure Beach Resort and the Seafront.

The highlight of the program is the annual Carnival Ball, which is of course, fancy dress. This year’s theme is burlesque, and is sure to bring out the creative and naughty alike. The fancy dress extends to the streets for the duration of the festival, with street performers on every corner. The Showzam Blackpool festival is designed to showcase the craft of pleasure industry entertainment, carnival magic and circus activities. There is something for everyone, and it is great fun for all the family.

Back bigger and better than before, Showzam Central features new FREE shows, exhibitions and much, much more…..

Highlights include:

• Dr Phantasma’s Amazing Ten in One Show newly created for Showzam 2012, featuring the Human Volcano, the Human Gasometer, and Arachnia- the Girl and the Tarantula.

• Van Buren’s Temple of Illusions is back by popular demand featuring yet more magic, illusions, circus skills and a few surprises along the way for all of the family.

• Jon Marshall’s Sideshow Illusions returns with two 1950s sideshows with the original frontages. The mysterious Yvette – The Headless Lady, and The Monster Show with Frankenstein’s monster.

• The Insect Circus – the epitome of entomological entertainment crawls to Showzam! With agile ants, balancing beetles and beauteous butterflies, weird worms, wild wasps and flighty flies, astonishing
  novelties will be presented!

• Pinball Geoff will bring his remarkable collection of pinball and slot machines to Showzam Central with some dating back from the true inception of pinball, through to its golden age in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

• Romany Diva Of Magic -The first female magician of the year, will perform her incredible Half Lady magic show.

• The Bikini Beach Band will bring a taster of their unique blend of wild costumes, crazy dances and great sound.

Extra’s

• Sarah Petulengro Blackpool’s premier world renowned fortune teller,

• Nancy Petulengro – an award winning 15 yr old Romany gypsy singer, songwriter, accordionist and guitarist.

History

Blackpool’s tourism agency, visitBlackpool, co-ordinates the festival, which brings together the talented theatrical community in all its forms in an event designed to showcase the best of their talents. Held each year on February half term, there are many fun activities for children and the not-so-young to enjoy and do.

The show attracted over 25,000 visitors last year, with many parents feeding back to the organisers their appreciation of the free entry and free activities that were on offer. Originally, Showzam Blackpool was a cultural project, Admission all Classes, that was so successful the organisers decided to expand the brief.

Now in its 5th year, Showzam aims to show the world that Blackpool is the entertainment capital of the UK, and is a heavyweight contender for international recognition too. The buzz around the festival is huge, as performers and artists come together to provide unique acts, interactive things to do with the crowds, and also cater for tourists visiting from all around the globe.

Visitors have described their experience of Showzam Blackpool as ‘mesmerising’; ‘out of this world’, with the Pleasure Beach backstage costume tours proving so popular in 2010, staff had to run three times as many tours to keep the queue moving. An experience not to be found anywhere in the world, the fun and lively entertainment of Showzam Blackpool is something not to be missed if you are visiting in February half term time.

Dine at Toast Café Bar & Grill Restaurant Blackpool’s ‘best’ child friendly eaterie. Check out our menus with a great healthy choices selection for kids too. Click here to book now and allow at least an hour for dining prior to shows at the Winter Gardens and Tower Ballroom which are within walking distance from our venue.

Need accommodation try the Homecliffe Hotel 4* quality guest accommodation as seen on TV this Autumn. Enjoy the show!

Remember! Blackpool has days of fun such as Pleasure Beach Resort, Nickelodeon Land, Sandcastle Water Park, Madame Tussauds, Sea Life Centre and lots more including the fabulous Blackpool Tower. Visit Blackpool Tourism website for more details.

Bringing a touch of old-world grandeur and glamour to the smash hit show. Strictly 2011 is set to be the best yet with a spectacular live programme from Blackpool’s famous Tower Ballroom will play host for the grand final broadcast in dazzling 3D.

Waltzing their way to the north, hosts Sir Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly will be joined by the remaining couples in the competition, as well as the judging panel of Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, Craig Revel Horwood and Alesha Dixon.

Blackpool Tower Ballroom originally played host to the popular BBC series Come Dancing, which was the predecessor for today’s hit show.

Viewers will see the finalists battle it out live from Blackpool Tower Ballroom, as they compete for this year’s prestigious glitterball trophy and the chance to be crowned winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2011. The free-to-air broadcast of the final in 3D will be available to anyone who has access to a 3D TV set and to HD channels bringing the magic of Blackpool’s ballroom to life for fans to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes.

Blackpool will be buzzing the weekend of Saturday 17th December 2011 just like it was last year so book early. You are best to dine before or after attending the show and make sure you check the start time on your ticket as they get you in early ready for the filming. Click here to book now and allow at least an hour for dining the Tower Ballroom is within walking distance from the venue.

Need accommodation try the Homecliffe Hotel 4* quality guest accommodation as seen on TV this Autumn. Enjoy the show!

Remember! Blackpool has days of fun such as Pleasure Beach Resort, Nickelodeon Land, Sandcastle Water Park, Madame Tussauds, Sea Life Centre and lots more including the fabulous Blackpool Tower. Visit Blackpool Tourism website for more details.

A “Comedy Carpet” featuring the catchphrases, jokes and names of more than 1,000 comedians has been unveiled by Ken Dodd at the foot of Blackpool Tower on the promenade for all to see.

Comic legends, including Ken Dodd, Les Dawson, Frankie Howerd, Tommy Cooper and Morecambe and Wise, are featured in the giant engraving made of granite and concrete. Featuring 160,000 individually cut letters spelling out the comic phrases.

The project has taken five years from conception to installation and is integrated into the Tower Festival Headland at the foot of Blackpool Tower. The centre of the “carpet” features five sections devoted to Ken Dodd, Les Dawson, Morecambe and Wise, Frankie Howerd and Tommy Cooper.

Around the edge of it, there is a list of comic performers and writers from the days of music hall and variety, through to contemporary performers.

Designer Gordon Young said: “I’d been looking at photographs of stars and the Blackpool Tower was a recurring backdrop to the photos – Eric and Ernie in deck chairs, Ken Dodd, Les Dawson.

“It soon became obvious that Blackpool had been a magnetic chuckle point for the nation. From Mae West to modern maestros like Peter Kay, the sheer breadth of comedians who’ve performed in the town over the decades is amazing.

“As I stand on the carpet I can see, ‘Let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it while the mood is right’ – that’s Victoria Wood – and if I twist in the other direction, I can see, ‘Nick nack nick nack nicky nacky noo’, which is a lot of silliness but it’s Ken Dodd.”

The engraved letters vary in size from a few centimetres, to almost a metre in height, so the piece can be seen nearby and also from a height – at the top of Blackpool Tower.

Graham Cain, Blackpool Council’s cabinet member for tourism and culture, said: “This magnificent work is all part of the continuing regeneration of Blackpool. It’s a truly unique work of accessible public art at one of our resort’s most famous locations.

“There’s already a huge amount of interest in the carpet and I’m looking forward to seeing people enjoy it now it’s officially open.”

Dine at Toast Café Bar & Grill Restaurant Blackpool’s ‘best’ child friendly eaterie which is within walking distance from the Comedy Carpet. Check out our menus with a great healthy choice menu for kids too. Click here to book now.

Need accommodation try the Homecliffe Hotel 4* quality guest accommodation as seen on TV this Autumn. Enjoy the show!

Remember! Blackpool has days of fun such as Pleasure Beach Resort, Nickelodeon Land, Sandcastle Water Park, Madame Tussauds, Sea Life Centre and lots more including the fabulous Blackpool Tower. Visit Blackpool Tourism website for more details.

Blackpool is not full of ‘old greasy spoons’ and Toast Café Bar & Grill Restaurant is a good example of what Residents & Visitors alike are looking for. The Town centre eaterie has just been awarded top marks in the new Food Hygiene Rating system which is a Food Standards Agency initiative and gives consumers informed choices about hygiene standards in cafes and restaurants.

The Restaurant was awarded 5 out of 5 after a recent visit from Environmental Health Officers from the council’s Quality Standards team. A one means major improvements are needed, a three suggests standards and satisfactory and a five means they are very good. All Cafés and Restaurants will have their score published on the Food Standards Agency website so the public can see how well they fared.

Mike Gibson, General Manager from Toast on Corporation Street, said: “I think any kind of barometer like this is a good idea because it makes people self regulate and think about their responsibilities. All the Staff and Management at Toast are extremely proud of the quality and cleanliness of the venue and work hard to ensure that high standards are maintained. It’s a very similar system to the Hotel rating system, and like to know what star rating a property holds before they book, now they can do the same with Cafes and Restaurants.”

When selecting where to eat in Blackpool whether you live locally or are visiting Blackpool be sure to choose wisely, click here to see all Blackpool Town Centre eateries.