Payton

American Girl’s Luciana Vega: Our doll giveaway contest winner!

May 26, 2018 by Melodye Shore

It was so much fun to introduce American Girl’s Doll of the Year 2018, and to spotlight my guest blogger, Payton Rowley. She did an amazing job, don’t you think?

Here’s a couple of highlights…

When Payton filled JoyJars® for the Jesse Reese Foundation, she took Luciana with her.

They also toured the Air and Space Exhibits at the California Science Center. An aspiring astronaut of Chilean-American descent, “Lucy” dreams of being the first person to set foot on Mars.

(Click here to see the original post and read the contest entries.)

We have lots of entries, and wow, your comments really touched our hearts. Thank goodness it’s a drawing and not an essay contest—it would’ve been impossible to pick one entry over another! So now, without further ado: Payton and her brother Logan created this video to announce the winning entry!

Here’s what our winner wrote about Luciana Vega:

She’s a beautiful doll that both of my daughters would love. I’m glad to see a girl that’s into space and science which my oldest daughter loves. She loves her story has read the book already and would love the have the doll! It’s wonderful to see a doll that can inspire young girls to go into the space and science industry. This why I love American girl! My daughter is into space right now had her own star chart, this past week she was telling me about worm holes. Fingers crossed that we can get a chance to welcome her into our home!

Congratulations Erin Wyllie! Please send your mailing address to me, so I can pass it along to American Girl. They’ll ship your Luciana doll to you directly, so be sure you put out the welcome mat for her!

SaveSave

American Girl’s Luciana Vega, and a doll giveaway contest

May 20, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Yes, I know. This weekend’s really all about The Royal Wedding. A fairy tale, for sure! Did you watch it in real time, like I did? Without a doubt, my Nana of Nottingham would’ve enjoyed all the pageantry and hoopla. And how much did we love that Prince Harry and Meghan Markel intertwined their unique stories into one–symbolic nods to the past, with subtle nudges toward the future.

We’re wishing the very best to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, of course. We wouldn’t dream of intruding on their fairy tale. But if you’ve reached your quota of tea and petit fours, I’m thinking we might chat about something else. Just for a little while, and then we can reprise it together. You see, I’m eager for you to meet two lovelies from this side of the Pond: American Girl’s Luciana Vega, and my new friend, Payton (who is, coincidentally, celebrating her 9^thbirthday today).

Luciana (“Lucy”) skyrocketed to fame only just recently, as American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year. Like her American Girl counterparts, she arrived on the scene with an interesting backstory. In brief: She’s an aspiring astronaut of Chilean-American descent who dreams of being the first person to set foot on Mars. When she wins a scholarship to Space Camp, she makes lots of friends. She’s a little shaky in the self-confidence department, but as she explores the unknown, her self-confidence grows. Isn’t that always the way?

Lucy likes to push the boundaries of fashion, as you can see. Straight out of the box, she’s wearing a galaxy-print dress, holographic boots, and an edgy purple streak in her hair. Not included, but still covet worthy, our space traveler owns an entire wardrobe of STEM-inspired outfits and accessories, including a flight suit for intergalactic travel. Sweet, smart, creative, curious… Lucy’s destined to make her mark on this world (and perhaps other galaxies), same as our birthday girl.

Lucky me, I was invited by AG to introduce this newest superstar to you. But when I was hobbled by a foot injury, I decided to loan my Cinderella slippers to Payton. She’s been my blogging assistant for this project, escorting Lucy around town and then reporting back.

Images say far more than words sometimes….so let’s do a recap of their adventures.

On warm afternoons, they enjoyed lounging by the pool with AG’s boy character doll, Logan. (Payton’s grandmother made Lucy’s swimsuit.)

They also filled JoyJars® for the Jesse Reese Foundation. Over the course of a “Year of Joy,” kids diagnosed with cancer (and their family members) receive these treasure troves. It’s a labor of love, the gift of joy–an ongoing tribute to Jessie Reese, who created the Never Ever Give Up (aka: NEGU®) campaign while she was battlng brain cancer. Volunteers like Payton help keep Jessie’s wish alive.

True to form for two science buffs, they visited the California Science Center. Natch, the Air and Space Exhibits were the star attraction!

No word on whether Payton learned to moon walk, but she returned with lots of fun stories to share.

Maybe Payton will become a space explorer, who knows? Maybe one day, inspired by Luciana Vega, she’ll be the first woman to walk on Mars.

To help encourage that futuristic way of thinking, American Girl created an entire galaxy of Luciana-themed adventures. They, in turn, were inspired by NASA’s missions to outer space. Scholastic’s in on the action, now. You’re invited, too! Space simulations, quizzes, photo challenges, Space Camp, book excerpts, STEM projects and more…you’ll find everything on the American Girl game app and website. Oh, the places we’ll go, when we let loose our imaginations!

And now…drum roll please!–here’s the scoop on our Luciana Vega doll giveaway contest.

One lucky person will win a Luciana Vega doll, provided by Mattel/American Girl. To qualify, you must answer at least one of these questions: 1) What do you like about Luciana Vega? or 2) What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever learned about space travel?

Type your entry into a comment box, below. Be sure your sign-in includes your name and email address, so I’ll know how to reach you. All entries must be submitted by midnight on Wednesday, May 23th, 2018 (Pacific). I’ll post the winning entry on Friday, May 25. Good lucky, everyone!

SaveSave