‘If you like to talk to tomatoes…’

The Veggie Tales crew took on the responsibility of entertaining a sanctuary full of toddlers and grade school children twice Oct. 7. The showings were held at TRBC at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Children sang, giggled and danced in the aisles to their favorite Veggie Tales songs as they were performed live on stage by Bob the tomato, Larry the cucumber and some of their friends.

Veggie Tales Live has been performing the “Sing Yourself Silly Tour” since Sept. 22. There are over 30 shows nationwide, stretching from Ohio to Texas. The show included a Silly Song Top 10 countdown that featured songs like “I Love My Lips,” “Water Buffalo” and “Dance of the Cucumber” and “Hairbrush.”

Mark Kennedy was all smiles and excitement at the event. His parents Josh and Marcy Kennedy drove him and his little brother Seth Kennedy to the Veggie Tales Sing Along for Mark’s fifth birthday. His favorite song was “Hairbrush” which appropriately was number one on the Silly Song Top 10.

A no less enthusiastic attendee was junior Jennifer Klugh. Klugh was present at the show sporting her Bob the Tomato Bible cover, which was a 20 birthday present from her sister.

“I have been a VeggieTales fan as long as I can remember,” Klugh said.

She got her first Veggie Tales DVD, “Dave and the Giant Pickle” around age eight. This is the same movie with her favorite song, “I Love My Lips.” She said this event was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Sarah Jackson’s favorite character was Larry and she bought the Larry Boy doll from the Veggie Tales gift table to prove it. Her brother Lathan said his favorite character was all of them and he liked the songs from the “Bob and Larry Sing the 80s” CD.

Both the Jacksons and the Kennedys heard of the sing-along from Spirit FM. At the intermission, the radio station held a drawing for a DVD player with parental control. The Spirit FM staff also gave away free stickers and a chance to win some Veggie Tales DVDs. The winner of the DVDs and DVD player will be announced on the station within the next few days.

Earlier this fall, the station had a “Sing Yourself Silly Contest” to promote the event. In this event, children made videos of themselves singing the Veggie Tales theme song and their favorite silly song and posted them on YouTube. Each day, winners were chosen who were awarded with tickets to the show. At the end of the show, a grand-prize winner was chosen to win a backstage pass to meet the Veggies and the entire Veggie Tales library. The  Spirit FM also interviewed Larry the Cucumber Oct. 1.

Also at the intermission were the Veggie Tales paraphernalia table and the World Vision Table. World Vision, a partner of Veggie Tales, enabled parents and young people to sign up to support a needy child across the world for a monthly donation.

HEAVNER is a news reporter.