At Arbor Day, Puffy Pine Cone will celebrate his birthday with 16 mascot friends

THE WOODLANDS, TX – (Wednesday, January 14, 2009) – The community is invited to attend the Annual Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday, January 31, 2009 from 10 am until 2 pm in the award-winning Rob Fleming Park in The Woodlands’ newest Village of Creekside Park, according to Susan Vreeland-Wendt, director of marketing for The Woodlands Development Company (TWDC).  Lovable mascot of The Woodlands, Puffy Pine Cone, will also celebrate his birthday at this event. 

In honor of The Woodlands’ 35th anniversary, 35,000 tree seedlings in 12 different varieties will be distributed free, continuing a 32-year tradition that began in 1977. The selection of trees includes Bald Cypress, Drummond Maple, Eastern Redbud, Elm Cedar, Flowering Dogwood, Live Oak, Loblolly Pine, Nuttall Oak, River Birch, Sweetbay Magnolia, Southern Crabapple, and Southern Wax Myrtle. In addition to receiving free tree seedlings, guests may register at the event to win one of 35, seven-gallon native trees.  The drawings will take place hourly. You must be present to win.
“Over the years, the developer and sponsors have given away over 840,000 tree seedlings to help perpetuate the forested environment,” said Vreeland-Wendt. “We would like to encourage residents of the community to come out and enjoy the Arbor Day festivities and receive new tree seedlings that may replace trees that were lost during Hurricane Ike.”

This free celebration is sponsored by The Woodlands Development Company, the Community Associations of The Woodlands, the South Montgomery County YMCA and The Brickman Group, Ltd.

Free giant inflatable rides and rock walls, pony rides, petting zoo, hay rides and face painting will entertain the crowd.  Musical entertainment includes local talent Sydney Brannan, Scotty Davis, Jessica Ferguson, Kathryn Hallberg, Abbey Moss and nine-year old resident of The Woodlands, Mallory Bechtel.  The Darcy Band, featuring alumnus of The Woodlands High School Andrew McKinney, will also conclude the entertainment with a special birthday song for Puffy Pine Cone.  Free children’s flyers, molded with up to 100% recycled material, add to the fun.

Puffy’s birthday celebration will begin at 1 pm with 16 mascot friends joining in the celebration. Puffy’s mascot friends include Clutch from the Houston Rockets; Alex from the Madagascar movie; Barkley from Woodforest National Bank; Bones from the Museum of Natural Science; Chick-fil-A Cow; Chicken Little from his movie; the Cougar from Tomball ISD; Eddie the Eagle from Conroe ISD; Elmo from Sesame Street, Grimace and Hamburglar from McDonalds; McGruff the Crime Dog; Percy from Primrose Schools; Remy from Ratatouille; SpongeBob from the SpongeBob SquarePants’ cartoon series and movie; and Uniqua from the Backyardigans. Children will also enjoy free birthday cupcakes at the birthday party.
The Woodlands is a 28,000-acre master-planned community located 27 miles north of downtown Houston.  It is a project of The Woodlands Development Company, a limited partnership of Morgan Stanley and General Growth Properties, Inc.

The Woodlands Development Company (TWDC), the Community Associations of The Woodlands, the South Montgomery County YMCA and The Brickman Group, Ltd. are sponsors of the Annual Arbor Day Celebration in The Woodlands. 

Pictured in the front row from left to right: Lorrie Parise, marketing manager for TWDC; Roxanne Davis, north group marketing director for the South Montgomery County YMCA; and Susan Vreeland-Wendt, director of marketing for TWDC.  Pictured in the back row from left to right: one-year old resident of The Woodlands’ Village of Creekside Park, Emily Fowlkes; William Fowlkes, development manager for The Woodlands Parks & Recreation Department of the Community Associations of The Woodlands; Mark Cochran, center executive director for the YMCA; Gary Louie, north group development director for the South Montgomery County YMCA; Marcus Fiedler, branch manager for The Brickman Group, Ltd.; and Rick Gambino, operations manager for Brickman. 

For more information, contact:

Susan Vreeland-Wendt  (281) 719-6174                             Lorrie Parise  (281) 719-6344
svreeland@thewoodlands.com                                                      lparise@thewoodlands.com