The Wright Center hosted “Get Wimpy with Jeff Kinney: The Party Pooper” show on Saturday, Oct. 25. Birmingham Al. was the eighth stop on the book tour celebrating the 20th book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series: “Party Pooper”.
The show brought together families from all around Alabama to celebrate the new book while also giving fans a chance to play games, win prizes, watch special sneak peeks and celebrate the importance of children’s literature.
“We have been traveling across the east coast and down into the south,” said Venessa Jedrej, the global brand manager of Wimpy Kid Inc. “We are putting on a full-blown party for families to celebrate this occasion with kids all across America.”
The price of admission was for more than just a show. Every person upon entry was given three items: raffle ticket, an individual paper covered with graphics and characters from the new book and a signed copy of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Party Pooper.”
The entryway of the Wright Center was also donned with photo opportunities and merch stands. Stacks of previous books in the series were for sale and were all signed by author, Jeff Kinney.
The hourlong event began with a raffle before Kinney took the stage. What ensued was a party full of games and surprises. Kinney would bring kids and their families on stage by showing unique character designs on the screen. If a kid had that character on their paper, they would get to go up. Once onstage, games like cup stacking, trivia, taste tests, and more were played. Each game sent participants home with a unique prize.
“My favorite part of a party is the games,” said Kinney.
Members of the audiences also got special looks at future Wimpy Kid projects such as a never-before-seen trailer for an upcoming movie on Disney+ and the cover to an upcoming sequel to the spinoff series an “Awesome Friendly Kid.”
The show was interrupted throughout by all sorts of characters such as a downer clown who makes fun of Kinney and electrified the audience with 6-7 jokes, a member of the “fart” police who made sure the dads in the audience weren’t stinking up the place and an Instagram influencer that tried to stop Kinney from reaching 300 million books sold, a goal set by Kinney at the top of the show.
The event ended with compilation of fans from the original “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” getting an opportunity to praise the newest installment while encouraging the next generation of young readers before a parent dance party that had a tour of the Wimpy Wagon (Kinney’s tour van) on the line.
Kinney showed his appreciation for events like these as he was intentional to thank the kids for coming and parents for bringing them. “This room could be full of future writers and illustrators,” said Kinney. He also acknowledges how great it is that kids are excited about books. “What we should be celebrating is readers.”
Sports Editor
