The Big Comfy Couch' Set To Float Through New York

Radical Sheep Productions' award-winning preschool show The Big Comfy Couch, is slated to debut as a fabulous float in New York's 77th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade® on November 27th, 2003.

The Parade caps off The Big Comfy Couch's triumphant return for a sixth season in both Canada and the U.S.. The series has won the hearts of families across North America, with viewership fast approaching 10 million kids aged 2 to 5. The Big Comfy Couch airs daily on Treehouse Television across Canada and on PBS affiliate stations in the US.

Twenty-six feet long, 18 feet high and 22 feet wide, the "Fun Abounds on The Big Comfy Couch" float is one of the few new entries this year in Macy's annual event and will undoubtedly be the coziest float in the Parade. Snuggled on the Big Comfy Couch will be the little clown-girl Loonette (Alyson Court), one of the few female live-action leads in children's educational programming, and her best friend Molly the Doll (puppeteer Ben Deutsch). But the Big Comfy Couch wouldn't be complete without Granny Garbanzo (Grindl Kuchirka), Major Bedhead (Fred Stinson) and Uncle Chester (Ed Knuckles) who are going to be joining in for the ride down Fifth Avenue.

"We are extremely excited that The Big Comfy Couch will become larger-than-life for kids and their families in this year's Macy's Parade," said Robin Hall, Executive Producer of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "We saw this as a perfect fit... both the Parade and The Big Comfy Couch bring joy to millions of children worldwide."

Launched in 1992, The Big Comfy Couch was among the first children's series to focus on learning skills to help social and emotional development. On The Big Comfy Couch, preschoolers laugh, grow and learn about the world around them... and about themselves. Live action, innovative puppetry, original songs and music and just plain silly fun cleverly mask an educational focus on social and emotional development. Each episode includes a social/emotional theme, such as sharing or trust, and a physical awareness theme, like balancing and jumping, to get children off the couch and using their bodies. The series also stimulates a child's imagination, encourages creativity through movement, engages children in reading and math problem solving and develops vocabulary skills.