Official Press Release

Organizers of the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) have today revealed their plans for Kids Day which will take place on Sunday, April 18, 2010. C2E2, the new pop culture convention which is being launched by the organizers of New York Comic Con (NYCC), is set to debut April 16 â€" 18 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in downtown Chicago and the Kids Day festivities will closely resemble the enormously popular Kids Day at New York Comic Con (NYCC) which attracted 6000 kids and their parents last year. All children under twelve will get into C2E2 for free on Kids Day!

Lance Briggs, the 5-time Pro Bowl player and Co-Defensive Captain of the Chicago Bears, will be the Kids Day Guest of Honor and will participate in numerous events at C2E2 over the course of the weekend, including signing footballs, auctioning off signed Chicago Bears and C2E2 items, as well as moderating a panel on Saturday, April 17. Mr. Briggs is a comic book enthusiast and is also the founder of Briggz4Kids, a foundation dedicated to raising funds and awareness for at risk youth in the Chicago area. Proceeds from his auctioned items will go to benefit Briggs4Kidz. Organizers also note that C2E2 will be sponsoring a week long Scholastic Book Fair during the week of C2E2 at Pershing East elementary school in downtown Chicago.

"We want this to be our best Kids Day ever," notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for Reed Pop Culture and Show Manager for C2E2. "Lance Briggs is an awesome personality to have as our Kids Day Guest of Honor and he has done so many great things for kids. We are incredibly grateful to him for bringing such a high level of recognition to C2E2 and especially to our Kids Day events. Our intent has been to link Kids Day to the wider Chicago community and I think Lance's participation, along with our sponsorship of the Scholastic Book Fair at Pershing East elementary school, certainly does that. We will have a ton of kids' activities at C2E2 and we encourage parents to bring the whole family to our show on Sunday, April 18!"

Pershing East elementary school is located approximately one mile from McCormick Place. The Scholastic Book Fair will run the week of C2E2 and as part of C2E2’s sponsorship, convention organizers are providing each student with $5 to purchase books at the fair. This $5 purchase will put one or two books in each student’s hand. In addition, C2E2 is providing 50 local schools with $5 coupons for all students who want to attend C2E2.

The types of activities that will be a part of Kids Day events at C2E2 include author readings, an opportunity to meet Spider Man and Stormtroopers, a Star Wars Drawing Workshop, and a Making Comics Workshop. Organizers note that all Kids Day programming and guest information is posted on the website at www.C2E2.com. Tickets for C2E2 may also be purchased via the website. Additional information about the convention is available via the show’s official blog, MediumAtLarge, at www.mediumatlarge.net, or follow C2E2 on Twitter at www.twitter.com/c2e2.

About Lance Briggs: Drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 3rd round in 2003, Lance Briggs has carried over his success from the college ranks where he was a 3-time All Pac-10 player at the University of Arizona into the NFL. Lance has established himself as one of the elite defensive players in the league and has been selected to play in 5 consecutive Pro Bowls (2005-2009), the highest honor for current NFL players. He was named Co-Defensive Captain in his 2009 season. He also helped his team earn a trip to Super Bowl XLI in 2007, the ultimate goal for all teams where he played an outstanding game leading his team with 13 tackles.

Lance started a comic book social network www.lancescomicworld.com to combine his love of comic books and football. He is also really active in his community through his Briggs4Kidz foundation.

About Briggs4Kids: Briggz4Kids is a foundation developed to provide emotional and financial support, by raising funds and awareness for at risk youth in the Chicago area. The organization has executed numerous charity efforts since it's launch. One project Briggs4Kiz is most proud of is it's annual Holiday Shopping Spree. Since 2006, the Briggs4Kidz foundation has taken a total of 100 local children from the Chicago land area who need it most on a holiday shopping spree, each child received $250. Eligibility was decided based on their performance in school. Today, Briggs4Kidz has plans to expand these philanthropic endeavors to Sacramento, CA and Phoenix, AZ.

About Scholastic: Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, has a corporate mission supported through all of its divisions of helping children around the world to read and learn. Recognizing that literacy is the cornerstone of a child's intellectual, personal and cultural growth, for nearly 90 years Scholastic has created quality products and services that educate, entertain and motivate children and are designed to help enlarge their understanding of the world around them.

About Reed Exhibitions Pop Culture Group: The Pop Culture Group at Reed Exhibitions owns and operates the New York Comic Con (NYCC), the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), and the New York Anime Festival (NYAF). New York Comic Con was launched in 2006 and quickly became a dominant presence in the pop culture world of public events. In 2009, 452 companies exhibited at NYCC for a total of 84,000 square feet of paid exhibit space, and it has been ranked by Crain's New York Business as the second-largest annual event in NYC. C2E2, which will debut April 16 â€" 18 at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center, is modeled after NYCC and will provide fans the opportunity to meet and greet their favorite writers, creators, and artists, as well as to see, hear and learn about the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. The Pop Culture Group also operates the recently-launched Star Wars Celebration in partnership with the Lucasfilm Ltd. and UFC Fan Expo. Additionally, it holds a strategic partnership with Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in 2008 and will work closely with PAX on the launch of PAX East in Boston in 2010.