Angry Birds at Space Needle

CHANGE IN PLANS: We were in the car on our way to school this morning and, as usual, I was flipping through radio stations looking for something we'd like to listen to. My button pushing ceased at 107.7 "The End" when I heard the DJ talking about the release of the Angry Birds Space game today - and a big event at the Space Needle to go along with it. Well that certainly had our attention!

Details were sketchy. In fact, the DJ said organizers were being a bit mysterious about the event. Hmm. We were intrigued. As we exited the freeway in Shoreline, I asked the kids if they were interested in checking out what might - or might not- be going on at the Space Needle. I told them that if we went, it would mean missing their music class. I also warned them that the event - whatever it was - very well might be over by the time we got to the Space Needle, which means they could miss both music AND the Angry Birds event. They thought it over for a few seconds and decided they wanted to go check it out. So, I flipped around in front of the school and back to Seattle we went.

We got lucky and found a free 2-hour parking spot by Key Arena. It was 9:45 as we did a walk-trot hybrid toward the Space Needle. As we approached, at the northeast corner of the Needle, I could see a bunch of news cameras and people staring up, so I figured we hadn't missed whatever it was.

BTW, the gentleman in the red hoodie is one of the Angry Birds developers. He's taking a photo with his phone.

So, of course, we joined the rest of the people staring up. What we saw was a whole bunch of rigging, a couple of unfurled banners, and a big red something in the middle. ...

I was trying to listen into conversations, and I heard a woman associated with the Space Needle say whatever it was was originally scheduled for 10 a.m. (hence all the media), but winds and other obstacles had slowed things down. So, we waited. And waited. While we waited, CJ and Annabelle were interviewed by radio and TV stations.

It got to be approaching 11 and we noticed a couple of people walking toward us carrying Angry Birds stuffed animals, t-shirts and such. CJ and Annabelle asked one little boy where he got his bird, and he and his parent explained they were giving away merch at a table under the Needle. Oh boy!

So, we headed over there and waited in a l-o-n-g, s-l-o-w line. It took us about a half hour to wind to the front. Once there, it was certainly worth the wait. The kids got to meet the game's developers. (They were super nice!)

They also got a ton of great swag - they each got t-shirts, big stuffed Angry Birds of their choice, key chains, and a FABULOUS book, signed by the author. Sweet!

After the swag haul, we went back to our viewpoint and watched and waited some more. By then, they were starting to inflate the big red Angry Bird.

We waited awhile longer, during which time, CJ and Annabelle read their great new book.

When we picked it up, based on its title "Angry Birds Space," I thought it was going to be a game playing guide. Wrong! Instead, the book, published by National Geographic and written by Amy Briggs, is all about space. How great is that?! There are pics of Angry Birds interspersed throughout, but the real "stars" are of the space kind. 

We hung out until around noonish waiting for something spectacular to happen. The kids were hoping they were actually going to launch the bird over the Needle, I think. Unfortunately, they were just 'launching' the product. ;)



We decided to stop by home to get the hungry kids' lunches, and then head up to their LEGO class. I told them if they wanted to, we could come back after LEGO class and see if anything was up with the bird. So, that's what we did.

We found the bird now hanging by the banners we saw earlier, in a way so that it looked like the bird was in a slingshot getting ready to hit the top of the Space Needle.

All in all, an unexpected, amazing day that the kids won't soon forget! After all, it's not every day you get to see an Angry Bird attached to the Space Needle.

STILL COUNTING: We did well on our food budget on Day 4 of the United Way of King County Hunger Challenge. Kids' breakfast, lunch and dinner (combined) total: $6.80 + .40 dessert = $7.20; Christian & I:  $2.80 bfast + $1.13 lunch + $2.86 chili dinner = $6.79. Grand total: $13.99. Living large, we are!