What a month April turned out to be!

From Bluey’s two-week stint at Kew Gardens, to Paddington’s appearance at Westfield’s Upside-down Sunflower Garden, and the Gruffalo’s visit to Sterling Mills Shopping Centre in Scotland, the Easter half-term was definitely jam-packed with plenty of exciting events!

Last month also saw characters promoting of a number of licensed collaborations including,

• Tatty Teddy at Card Factory stores across the UK to celebrate the launch of their exclusive Me to You range.
• Peppa Pig and George at the Emma Bridgewater Factory for a pottery painting party to promote their 'Celebrating 20 Years' range.
• Bugs Bunny at the Women's Six Nation's England vs. Ireland match at Twickenham Stadium to help launch England Rugby's brand-new Looney Tunes merchandise range.

With two May bank holiday’s ahead of us, check out where you can see your favourite characters this month, (*events can be subject to change)…

4^th May: PAW Patrol’s Marshall and Rubble Meet & Greet – 4 Kingdoms Farm Park, Thatcham

4^th May: Bluey and Bingo Meet & Greet – Pettitts Animal Adventure Park, Norwich

4^th May: CoComelon’s JJ Meet & Greet – Woburn Safari Park, Milton Keynes

4^th & 5^th May: Paddington™ Narration – Embsay Station, Yorkshire

5^th May: PAW Patrol’s Chase and Skye Meet & Greet – 4 Kingdoms Farm Park, Thatcham

5^th May: CoComelon’s JJ and Cody Meet & Greet – Gracechurch Shopping Centre, Sutton Coldfield

5^th May: Hey Duggee Meet & Greet – Woburn Safari Park, Milton Keynes

5^th & 6^th May: Bluey and Bingo Meet & Greet – Rand Farm Park, Lincoln

6^th May: Peppa Pig Meet & Greet – Woburn Safari Park, Milton Keynes

6^th May: PAW Patrol’s Chase and Marshall Meet & Greet – Whistlestop Valley, West Yorkshire

6^th May: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Wheelgate Park, Newark

11^th May: Gabby and Peppa Pig Meet & Greet – Smyths Store Opening, Cardiff

11^th & 12^th May: Hey Duggee Meet & Greet – Gulliver’s Theme Park, Warrington

11^th & 12^th May: CoComelon’s JJ Meet & Greet – Gullivers Theme Park, Rother Valley

11^th & 12^th May: PAW Patrol’s Chase Narration – Welshpool Steam Railway Station

11^th & 12^th May: Bluey and Bingo Meet & Greet – Landmark Forest Adventure Park, Carrbridge

12^th May: Peppa Pig and George Meet & Greet – Colchester Zoo, Essex

18^th May: Hey Duggee Activation – Old MacDonald’s Farm, Brentwood

18^th May: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Gwili Railway, Carmarthen

18^th & 19^th May: Bluey and Bingo Narration – Yorkshire Wildlife Park

19^th May: Shaun the Sheep and Timmy Meet & Greet – Hogshaw Farm & Wildlife Park, Buckingham

24^th - 26^th May:  Peppa Pig (24^th May), Hey Duggee (25^th May) and Bluey (26^th May) Meet & Greet – In It Together Festival, Port Talbot

25^th May: Gruffalo and Stick Man Meet & Greet – Vancouver Quarter, Kings Lynn

25^th May: Peppa Pig and George Narration – Edinburgh Zoo

25^th May: PAW Patrol’s Chase and Skye Meet & Greet – Pettitt’s Animal Adventure Park, Norwich

25^th May: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Didcot Railway Centre, Oxfordshire

25^th & 26^th May: Bluey Meet & Greet – West Midlands Safari Park, Bewdley

26^th May: PAW Patrol’s Chase Meet & Greet – Stonehenge Works Railway, Leighton Buzzard

26^th May: Peppa Pig Meet & Greet – Woburn Safari Park, Milton Keynes

27^th May: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Brooklands Museum, Weybridge

27^th May: Bluey Meet & Greet – North Weald Station, Essex

27^th May: Peter Rabbit™ Meet & Greet – Woburn Safari Park, Milton Keynes

27^th May: Sonic the Hedgehog™ Meet & Greet – West Midlands Safari Park, Bewdley

28^th May: Bluey Meet & Greet – Manor Walks Shopping Centre, Cramlington

28^th May: Hey Duggee Meet & Greet – West Midlands Safari Park, Bewdley

29^th May: Bluey and Bingo Narration – Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm, Sailsbury

29^th May: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s Leo and Raph Meet & Greet – West Midlands Safari Park, Bewdley

29^th & 30^th May: Hey Duggee Activation – Manor Wildlife Park, Tenby

30^th May: Bluey Meet & Greet – Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth

30^th May: Gruffalo Meet & Greet – West Midlands Safari Park, Bewdley

30^th May: Bing and Flop Meet & Greet – Seal Bay Holiday Park, Selsey

31^st May: CoComelon’s JJ Meet & Greet – West Midlands Safari Park, Bewdley

Last month, a number of characters attended events in celebration of World Book Day including the Gruffalo at John Lewis Oxford Street & Liverpool, Zog at John Lewis Cambridge and Paddington™ at Broadstreet Mall in Reading.  This was followed by our first ever attendance at the London Book Fair where the Gruffalo, Elmer and Mula walked the aisles posing for photos with visitors.

Hello Kitty attended the launch of the new themed Hello Kitty Café at Primark Birmingham & Manchester, which ties in with their new clothing & accessories range, while Peppa Pig appeared at several Trotters stores to highlight the launch of their Trotters X Peppa Pig collection.  Plus Po has been spotted around the country promoting his new movie, Kung Fu Panda 4.

And there’s more lined up for the Easter holidays, so here’s a sneak peek of where you can see your favourite characters this April, (*events can be subject to change)…

1^st April: Gruffalo Meet & Greet – National Botanic Garden of Wales

1^st April: PJ Masks’ Catboy & Owlette Meet & Greet – The Square Shopping Centre, Dublin

1^st April: Bluey and Bingo Narration, Sonic the Hedgehog™ & Peter Rabbit™ Meet & Greet – Margam Country Park, Port Talbot

1^st April: Shaun the Sheep Meet & Greet – Tatton Park, Knutsford

2^nd April: Peter Rabbit™ Meet & Greet – Brunel Shopping Centre, Swindon

2^nd April: Peppa Pig Meet & Greet – Hamleys, Regent Street

3^rd April: Bluey and Bingo Meet & Greet – The Lanes Shopping Centre, Carlisle

3^rd April: Sonic the Hedgehog™ Meet & Greet – Wheelgate Park, Newark

4^th April: Hey Duggee Meet & Greet – Twinlakes, Melton Mowbray

4^th April: Bluey and Bingo Activation – Peak Wildlife Park, Leek

6^th April: PAW Patrol’s Marshall Meet & Greet – Daniel of Windsor Department Store, Windsor

6^th April: Peter Rabbit™ Meet & Greet – Putney Exchange Shopping Centre, Putney

6^th April: Bluey Meet & Greet – White Post Farm, Nottingham

6^th & 7^th April: Gruffalo Meet & Greet – Sterling Mills Outlet, Scotland

7^th April: Peppa Pig & George Pig Meet & Greet – North Weald Station, Essex

7^th April: PAW Patrol’s Chase & Skye Meet & Greet – Woburn Safari Park, Milton Keynes

7^th April: Peter Rabbit™ Meet & Greet – Peak Rail, Matlock

7^th April: CoComelon’s JJ Meet & Greet – Pettitt’s Animal Adventure Park, Norfolk

10^th April: Peter Rabbit™ Narration – The Friary Shopping Centre, Guildford

11^th April: PAW Patrol’s Chase Meet & Greet – Midsummer Place, Milton Keynes

13^th April: Bluey Meet & Greet – Tanfield Railway, Gateshead

13^th April: Hello Kitty Meet & Greet – Primark, Edinburgh

14^th April: Hello Kitty Meet & Greet – Primark, Braehead

14^th April: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Pettitt’s Animal Adventure Park, Norfolk

20^th April: PAW Patrol’s Marshall Meet & Greet and Trail – Banham Zoo, Norwich

20^th & 21^st April: Hey Duggee Meet & Greet – Gulliver’s Land Theme Park, Milton Keynes

20^{th &} 21^st April: Bluey and Bingo Meet & Greet – Gulliver’s Theme Park, Rother Valley

21^st April: PAW Patrol’s Marshall Meet & Greet and Trail – Africa Alive, Lowesoft

27^th April: Bluey & Bingo Activation – Old MacDonald’s Farm, Brentwood

27^th April: Paddington™ – Woburn Safari Park, Milton Keynes

28^th April: Bluey Meet & Greet – Gwili Railway, Carmarthen

27^th & 28^thApril: Po (Kung Fu Panda) – Yorkshire Wildlife Park

As well as National Pizza Day, February saw the launch of the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem movie on Paramount Plus UK.  So to celebrate they teamed up with Pizza Hut and Deliveroo to have Leo, Mike, Donnie & Raph deliver pizza to some household names including Tony Bellew, Adam Thomas and the Capital Breakfast Studio.

February also saw Westfield London invite children’s favourites Bluey and Hey Duggee to their White City and Stratford centres for 3 days of meet & greet fun in honour of National Storytelling Week, the Gruffalo visited Landmark Forest Adventure Park in Scotland and Spinnaker Tower welcomed Paddington™ during the half-term holidays.

We have plenty of events lined up for March, so check out our list below to find out where you can see your favourite characters this month, (*events can be subject to change)…

2^nd & 3^rd March: Gruffalo Meet & Greet – John Lewis, Oxford Street

9^th March: Zog Meet & Greet – John Lewis, Cambridge

9^th March: Gruffalo Meet & Greet – The Chimes Shopping Centre, Uxbridge

9^th March: Paddington Meet & Greet – Broadstreet Mall, Reading

9^th & 10^th March: Po (Kung Fu Panda) Meet & Greet – Market Street, Manchester

9^th & 10^th March: PAW Patrol’s Rubble and Skye Meet & Greet – Longleat, Wiltshire

16^th March: PAW Patrol’s Chase Meet & Greet – Barleylands Farm Park, Billericay

16^th & 17^th March: Bluey and Bingo Meet & Greet – Whistlestop Valley, West Yorkshire

16^th & 17^th March: Po (Kung Fu Panda) Meet & Greet – The Bullring, Birmingham

17^th March: PAW Patrol’s Skye Meet & Greet – Barleylands Farm Park, Billericay

17^th March: CoComelon’s JJ and Cody Meet & Greet – Thornton Hall Country Park

17^th March: Peppa Pig Meet & Greet – Smyths Toys, Croydon

21^st – 23^rd March: CoComelon’s JJ Meet & Greet – Smyths Toys, Chesterfield

22^nd March: Peppa Pig Meet & Greet – Smyths Toys, Chesterfield

23^rd March: PAW Patrol’s Chase Meet & Greet – Smyths Toys, Chesterfield

23^rd & 24^th March: Peter Rabbit™ Meet & Greet – Selfridges, London

23^rd & 24^th March: Po (Kung Fu Panda) Meet & Greet – Westfield, White City

23^rd & 24^th March: Bluey and Bingo Meet & Greet – Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park

24^th March: Gruffalo Meet & Greet – Ascot Racecourse

24^th March: CoComelon’s JJ Meet & Greet – Smyths Toys, Chesterfield

25^th March: Peppa Pig Meet & Greet – Trotters, London

27^th - 28^th March: Peter Rabbit™ Meet & Greet – Selfridges, London

28^th – 31^st March: Bluey Meet & Greet – Kew Gardens, Richmond upon Thames

29^th March: Peppa Pig Meet & Greet – Woburn Safari Park, Milton Keynes

29^th & 30^th March: Peter Rabbit™ Narration & Activity Trail – Embsay Station, Yorkshire

30^th March: Hey Duggee Meet & Greet – Victoria Place Shopping Centre, Woking

30^th & 31^st March: Bing Meet & Greet – Greenwood Forest Park, Bangor

31^st March: Peter Rabbit™ Meet & Greet – East Lancashire Railway, Bury

Talking about the support they provided to Rainbow Productions, their relationship manager at Allica Bank, Martin Parker, said, “Allica Bank is thrilled to partner with such an exciting, growing business like Rainbow Productions. Simon and his team have vast experience, which they combine with immense creative talent, and have a clear vision for the firm that made them the perfect business for Allica to support. It is also wonderful to work with a business that exists to make people smile!

“Allica Bank is committed to serving established businesses like Rainbow, who are such a core part of our local communities. As their relationship manager, I am looking forward to working closely with them to see how else we can help them grow. Maybe we’ll even see an Allica Bank mascot enter the scene!”