Cricket Celebrates Portland Launch with ‘12 Days of Cricket’
PORTLAND – December 7, 2006 – Cricket, the only wireless company to offer unlimited anytime minutes, long-distance and text messaging in Portland, will celebrate its December 12 launch with a series of holiday-themed events. Called the “12 Days of Cricket,” these community activities will culminate with a donation to the Oregon Food Bank and free phone calls anywhere in the world so Portlanders can call home for the holidays.
Cricket will celebrate the arrival of unlimited wireless service with a series of events called “The 12 Days of Cricket.” The festivities begin on Monday, December 11 with a free party and benefit for the Oregon Food Bank (OFB) in Pioneer Courthouse Square. For each person who attends the event, Cricket will increase its December 22 donation to OFB. The remaining 11 days will be filled with a variety of giveaways and events throughout the metro area.
“We’re making our debut in Portland during the season of giving, so it is appropriate for us to give back in a variety of ways, both to those in our community who need extra support and to all of those who have shown so much enthusiasm for the wireless freedom Cricket is bringing to the area,” said Neil Grubb, President and CEO of Cricket LCW, the joint venture bringing Cricket service to Portland.
The complete schedule for “The 12 Days of Cricket” is as follows:
December 11 – 11:00am-1:00pm
Cricket kicks things off with a free party and benefit for the Oregon Food Bank. Escape artist Thomas Solomon will attempt to free himself from a straightjacket while suspended 100 feet above Pioneer Courthouse Square as attendees enjoy free food, drinks and a performance by March Fourth marching band. Cricket will make a donation to the Oregon Food Bank for each person who attends.
December 12 – 4:00pm-6:00pm
Cricket partners with Z100 to grant one listeners’ holiday wish each day for the next 12 days. The holiday wish-granting gets underway at Cricket’s Clackamas store (11400 SE 82nd).
December 13, 2006 – 4:00pm-6:00pm
Cricket gives away tickets at its Hillsboro store (402 SE 9th) for the Portland Trailblazers’ December 20 game against the Houston Rockets. Tickets are limited, so basketball fans should arrive early.
December 14, 2006 – 4:00pm-6:00pm
Country music star George Strait is coming to town, and Cricket will send several lucky people to the concert for free. These are some of the hottest tickets in town this holiday season, so head to Cricket’s Vancouver store (5000 East Fourth Plain Blvd., Suite A104) before they’re gone.
December 15, 2006 – 4:00pm-6:00pm
The Cricket Street Team will be at Fubonn Grocery (2850 SE 82nd, Suite 80) carrying customers’ groceries to their cars and helping give away Fubonn gift cards.
December 16, 2006 – 12:00pm-2:00pm
Wireless users from any carrier are invited to compete for the title of “fastest text messager” in Portland. The top four finishers from Cricket’s Clackamas and Hillsboro stores will advance to the Finals on December 19 to face off against America’s fastest text messager (and former world record holder) Ben Cook.
December 17, 2006 – All Day
Cricket will give a $10 gift card to the first 10 people who purchase and activate a Cricket phone at any Fred Meyer store in the metropolitan area. The Cricket Street Team will be at the Beaverton Fred Meyer (11425 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway) letting people spin the Prize Wheel, but customers at every Fred Meyer are eligible to receive a gift card, while supplies last.
December 18, 2006 – 4:00pm-6:00pm
Cricket invites Portlanders to chill indoors rather than outdoors, as the company gives away 100 passes to the indoor skate park “Department of Skateboarding.” The Cricket Street Team will be giving away tickets while they last at Affordable Wireless (2929 SE Powell Blvd.).
December 19, 2006 – 1:00pm-2:00pm
The eight fastest text messagers in Portland face off against 18-year-old Ben Cook, the fastest text messager in America and the former world record holder. The person who comes closest to Ben (or defeats him) wins a Motorola RAZR. If Ben is defeated, Portland could be home to the next world record holder for text messaging! The “Beat Ben” competition takes place at Cricket’s Lloyd District Superstore (401 NE Weidler).
December 20, 2006 – 12:00pm-2:00pm
’Tis the season for ice skating! The Cricket kiosk in Lloyd Center will be giving away free passes to skate at the Lloyd Center ice rink, a decades-old holiday tradition for many Portland families.
December 21, 2006 – 4:00pm-6:00pm
Cricket’s Vancouver store teams with Albertson’s to give away holiday hams to 50 lucky families.
December 22, 2006 – 11:00am-1:00pm
The “12 Days of Cricket” culminate with Cricket making its donation to the Oregon Food Bank in a ceremony at Cricket’s Clackamas store. Cricket will also provide everyone in attendance with a free three-minute phone call – anywhere in the world – so they can wish their friends and family “happy holidays” wherever they may be.
About Cricket® Service
Cricket® service is a simple, affordable mobile phone service offering consumers and local businesses a flat-rate, unlimited service over a high-quality, all-digital wireless network. Designed for customers under-served by traditional communications companies, Cricket service is the pioneer of unlimited minutes with no long-term commitments or credit checks required. Cricket service offers customers access to a variety of the latest handsets and feature-rich mobile applications such as unlimited text, instant and picture messaging, popular games, ringtones and wallpapers. For more information on Cricket service visit www.mycricket.com.
About Cricket LCW
Cricket LCW is joint venture between Cricket Communications, Inc., CSM Wireless, and WLPCS Management providing Cricket wireless service in Portland, Salem, and Eugene, OR, and Vancouver, WA.
