GAF's NHL partnership delivers the ultimate Christmas experience

Published: July 29, 2024

GAF's NHL partnership delivers the ultimate Christmas experience

By Movieguide® Contributor

Great American Media teams up with the NHL's New York Islanders for a family-friendly Christmas event.

“The first-ever Great American Family Christmas Festival is scheduled to take place November 20, 2024, through January 5, 2025, at UBS Arena… the Islanders' home base located just outside of New York City in Elmont,” Kidscreen reported. “GAM will screen the world premiere of its film A CINDERELLA CHRISTMAS BALL. in the stadium, plus ice skating, celebrity meet-and-greets and an evening tree lighting ceremony.”

“My team and I have spent the last decade creating a Christmas celebration that draws people from near and far and offers fans the opportunity to meet the stars of our films and immerse themselves in a once-in-a-lifetime holiday experience,” said Bill Abbott, CEO of GAM.

He believes the partnership with the Islanders, GAM and Candace Cameron Bure's CandyRock entertainment will make the festival “the most important holiday event in the country, not only this year but for many seasons to come.”

Jon Ledecky, co-owner of the New York Islanders, added, “We are thrilled to partner with Great American Media to bring the Great American Family Christmas Festival to Northwell Park at UBS Arena. This is a fantastic opportunity to create a magical holiday tradition for Islanders fans and all families throughout the greater New York area. The festival will be a wonderful addition to our existing entertainment offerings and will further solidify UBS Arena as a year-round destination for fun and excitement.”

“We all look forward to the holidays because we get to be with our families and create new memories. And that's what this holiday is all about,” Bure said. “We're excited to give families a new opportunity to experience joy, play together and celebrate this season.”

Great American Media is gearing up for its Great American Christmas lineup, which will include AURORA CHRISTMAS starring Jill Wagner and Jesse Hutch. Movieguide® previously reported:

Lauren Holly and Bruce Boxleitner star alongside Jesse Hutch and Jill Wagner in Great American Family's upcoming Christmas film AURORA CHRISTMAS.

Per Deadline“The film follows Erin (Wagner), who is spending Christmas with her father Doug (Boxleitner) in the family's former hometown of Aurora. The mission is part business and part an important item on Erin's bucket list: to see the Aurora Borealis light up the northern sky. Real estate agent Lori (Holly) and family friend and local tour guide Trevor (Hutch) create a Christmas thoroughly inspired by faith, love and hope, so much so that Christmas bells that have hung in a patch of woods for decades ring an unbroken song, a harbinger of miracles to come.”

Wagner shared her enthusiasm for the film on social media.

She wrote“God has blessed my life again by allowing me to work alongside these actors. I admire them and am so honored to share my next Christmas film with them.”

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