Featured Press Releases

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For Immediate Release, June 2007
Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert to Toss Ceremonial “First Pint” at RiverDogs Game

Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert to Toss Ceremonial “First Pint” to Jerry Greenfield at Charleston RiverDogs Game

Piggly Wiggly to Donate Ice Cream Sales Profits to Colbert’s AmeriCone Dream Fund

Charleston native Stephen Colbert, an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedian, satirist, actor and writer, and a mainstay on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, will appear at the Charleston RiverDogs home baseball game on Saturday night, July 7, against the Savannah Sand Gnats.

Named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2006, Colbert, who was raised on James Island, will throw the game’s ceremonial first pitch (actually, it will be a pint of “Stephen Colbert’s AmeriCone Dream” ice cream instead of a baseball) to Jerry Greenfield (of Ben & Jerry’s fame) and will also be a part of the RiverDogs’ radio broadcast for an inning with play-by-play announcer Josh Maurer.

Fans will receive two-for-one general admission tickets for the July 7 game when they present an AmeriCone Dream pint top to the RiverDogs box office (although those in the box office will gladly accept pints filled with ice cream). AmeriCone Dream is available for sale at all local Piggly Wiggly stores.

The RiverDogs will ask fans to wear patriotic attire that night with a chance to win free AmeriCone Dream ice cream and Piggly Wiggly’s beloved mascot, Mr. Pig, will be handing out coupons for $1 off of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. (Piggly Wiggly coupons will be available at every game through the end of the season.) The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a free beach towel courtesy of Force Protection Industries.

Throughout the game the RiverDogs will conduct a series of contests for those in patriotic outfits and hold trivia contests in which they hand out Ben & Jerry’s newest ice cream as prizes. Then, during the 7th inning stretch, Colbert will lead the crowd in the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

Stephen Colbert is donating his portion of proceeds from the sale of AmeriCone Dream to charity through The Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream Fund which will be managed by the Coastal Community Foundation. Piggly Wiggly will also donate their profits from the sales of the ice cream from July 7 until the end of the RiverDogs’ 2007 season to the Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream Fund.

Additionally, any business or individual who donates $1,000 or more to the Colbert Family Fund at The Coastal Community Foundation will receive 20 tickets to the game plus an ice cream party, courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s and Piggly Wiggly.

Tickets for the July 7 game – and all RiverDogs games – are now on sale at the Riley Park Box Office by calling 843/577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com.

About AmeriCone Dream:

In February of this year, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream unveiled a new flavor in honor of Colbert, calling it “Stephen Colbert’s AmeriCone Dream.” The ice cream is vanilla with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and caramel.

About Stephen Colbert:

Born May 13, 1964, in Washington, DC, Colbert was the youngest of 11 children. His father, James Colbert, was the vice president for academic affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Colbert attended Porter-Gaud School, less than a mile from Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. He first attended Hampton-Sydney College and later transferred to Northwestern University’s School of Communication.

For his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Colbert received three Emmys and two Peabody awards. His credits also include Saturday Night Live, The Dana Carvey Show, Good Morning America and Strangers with Candy. He has hosted The Colbert Report, a Daily Show spin-off, since October 17, 2005. On April 29, 2006, Colbert was the featured entertainer for the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Colbert is co-author of the satirical text-and-picture novel Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not (2003), and the forthcoming I Am America (And So Can You!)

On December 9, 2006, Merriam-Webster announced that it selected Colbert’s word truthiness, as its Word of the Year for 2006, and earlier that year, he was named by Maxim Online as the “Second Sexiest TV News Anchor” as the only man on the list.

About Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company:

A Charleston-based Supermarket Company founded in 1947, Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company today is the largest employee-owned, privately operated retail company in South Carolina. The Company has more than 115 stores and more than 5,000 employee owners throughout South Carolina and the southeastern regions of Georgia and North Carolina.

About Coastal Community Foundation:

CCF is a public grant-making foundation that fosters philanthropy for the lasting good of the community by helping individuals, families and businesses create charitable funds at CCF to give back to their community.

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