In addition to the house, guests can tour the accompanying museum dedicated to the film. It is located directly across the street from A Christmas Story House at 1103 Rowley Ave. and is where tickets to the house can be purchased and where all tours begin. The museum features more than 100 behind-the-scenes photos and items donated by actors from the movie.

The museum features items donated by actors in the movie. Ian Petrella, who portrayed younger brother Randy, has provided his “I-can’t-put-my-arms-down” snowsuit, toy zeppelin and rat from Miss Shields’ drawer. The museum also includes a gift shop where items such as leg lamps, T-shirts, painting, pictures, action figures, Ovaltine, Lifebuoy Soap, secret decoder pins and eventually pink bunny suits are available for purchase.

Once it opens on Nov. 25, the house’s hours will be Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. After Jan. 16, 2007, the house will be open Thursdays through Sunday. Admission to A Christmas Story House is $5 for adults and $3 for children. Group discounts are available. The price of admission includes a guided tour of the house and yard and admittance into the accompanying museum.

For more information on Foster Contracting, please visit the official Web site at www.fostercontracting.homestead.com, or call 216-631-2551.

A Christmas Story House is located just five minutes from downtown Cleveland at 3159 W. 11^th Street in the Tremont neighborhood. For more information or for directions, visit www.AChristmasStoryHouse.com or call 216-298-4919.

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   CONTACT:

                                                                                                            Emily Vincent

                                                                                                            Landau Public Relations

                                                                                                            216-912-2848

                                                                                                            evincent@landaupr.com

END YOUR TRIP TO A CHRISTMAS STORY HOUSE JUST LIKE THE FILM

C&Y Chinese Restaurant partners with A Christmas Story House

for special discount offers and holiday-themed party rentals

CLEVELAND – Nov. 2, 2006 – To help celebrate the grand opening of A Christmas Story House, the home used in the 1983 film “A Christmas Story” that has been renovated to its original movie appearance, C&Y Chinese Restaurant has been named the official restaurant of the house. The restaurant offers a special discount as well as a holiday party opportunity for fans of this holiday classic film. Visitors to A Christmas Story House who bring their ticket stub to C&Y Chinese Restaurant will receive 20 percent off their bill, while those who bring their C&Y Chinese Restaurant receipt to A Christmas Story House will receive half off the price of admission to the house and museum.

In addition to the discounts, C&Y Chinese Restaurant and A Christmas Story House have partnered with Lolly the Trolley for a special Holiday Party Package for groups of 30 or more. The party package includes transportation via Lolly the Trolley to the house and museum for the tour, and then it’s off to C&Y Chinese Restaurant to enjoy a meal, just like the Parker family following the tragic Bumpus’ hounds incident. For those truly die hard fans, C&Y Chinese Restaurant does offer Roasted Pei King Duck a.k.a. “Chinese Turkey,” the family’s infamous holiday meal from the film’s finale.

Trolley Tours is also offering evening tours to A Christmas Story House for groups and individuals without the restaurant stop. For reservations or additional information, contact Lolly the Trolley at info@lollytrolley.com or 216-771-4484 or 800-848-0173.

C&Y Chinese Restaurant is located at 2222 St. Clair Ave. Bearing a striking resemblance to the restaurant from the film, the restaurant offers a wide range of Chinese cuisine with a full bar and banquet room. For restaurant reservations, call 216-566-1188.

Once it opens on Nov. 25, A Christmas Story House will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. After Jan. 16, 2007, the house will be open Thursdays through Sunday. Admission to A Christmas Story House is $5 for adults and $3 for children. Group discounts are available. The price of admission includes a guided tour of the house and yard and admittance into the accompanying museum.

A Christmas Story House is located just five minutes from downtown Cleveland at 3159 W. 11^th Street in the Tremont neighborhood. For more information or for directions, visit www.AChristmasStoryHouse.com or call 216-298-4919.

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                        CONTACT:

                                                                                                            Emily Vincent

                                                                                                            Landau Public Relations

                                                                                                            216-912-2848

                                                                                                            evincent@landaupr.com

HO-HO-HO! HOUSE FROM “A CHRISTMAS STORY” MOVIE OPENS IN CLEVELAND

The home featured in the 1983 holiday film welcomes visitors

to relive moments from the nostalgic classic

CLEVELAND – Oct. 30, 2006 – Since the 1983 release of the hilarious holiday classic “A Christmas Story,” fans have driven past or stopped to see the house that was home to Ralphie Parker and his 1940s family. Some snap a quick picture of the Parker house. Others walk down the driveway to the backyard to see the shed and where Ralphie nearly “shot his eye out” with his treasured Red Ryder BB gun.

Starting Nov. 25, 2006, fans of the film will be able to tour the inside and outside of A Christmas Story House when it opens Thanksgiving weekend as the latest pop culture destination and tourist attraction in Cleveland. Located at 3159 W. 11^th Street in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, the house pays tribute to the film and its fictional residents – The Old Man, Mrs. Parker, Ralphie and younger brother Randy.

“The house’s grand opening coincides with Cleveland’s annual Winterfest celebration, kicking off the holiday season,” said Brian Jones, owner of A Christmas Story House. “I can’t think of a more appropriate time of the year to open the house and get into the holiday spirit. Actors from the movie including Ian Petrella (Randy), Scott Schwartz (Flick), Tedde Moore (Miss Shields), Zack Ward (Scut Farkus), Yano Anaya (Grover Dill), Patty Johnson (Head Elf) and Drew Hocevar (Male Elf) will reunite and help us officially open A Christmas Story House to fans of this popular family Christmas film.”

Visitors to A Christmas Story House will feel that they have just stepped into the 1940s, taking a nostalgic trip through the Parker home. Though most of the interior shots seen in the movie were done in a studio in Canada, the house has been renovated to look like it did in the movie. The beacon that will draw “A Christmas Story” fans to the house is the infamous leg lamp displayed prominently in the front living room window (after all, it’s a major award of which The Old Man is very proud). Several pieces of furniture were donated by fans of the movie who wanted to help with the restoration of A Christmas Story House.

In addition to the house, guests can tour the accompanying museum dedicated to the film. It is located directly across the street from A Christmas Story House at 1103 Rowley Ave. and is where tickets to the house can be purchased and where all tours begin. The museum features more than 100 behind-the-scenes photos and items donated by actors from the movie. For instance, Ian Petrella who portrayed Randy has donated his “I can’t put my arms down” snowsuit, toy zeppelin and rat from Miss Shields’ drawer to be on display. The museum also includes a gift shop where items such as leg lamps, T-shirts, painting, pictures, action figures, Ovaltine, Lifebuoy Soap, secret decoder pins and pink bunny suits are available for purchase.

Jones, 30, of San Diego, purchased the home – sight unseen – in an eBay auction without ever having been to Cleveland or Ohio. A former Navy intelligence officer, Jones is a huge fan of “A Christmas Story” and sells leg lamps (just like the one in the movie) for a living through his online site www.RedRiderLegLamps.com. Since 2003, he has sold more than 6,500 leg lamps to movie fans across the country and throughout the world.

He learned that the original house from “A Christmas Story” was for sale from his wife, Beverly, who was serving on the USS Bonhomme Richard, a U.S. amphibious assault ship, heading to the Middle East. Beverly’s captain had one of Jones’ leg lamps and told Beverly about the online auction. A few days later, Beverly e-mailed her husband about the house, and less than 24 hours later, he informed her that he purchased the house. “She wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry,” Jones said.

Jones purchased the 111-year-old house for $150,000 on Feb. 1, 2005, and estimates he will spend an additional $200,000 for the restoration work that started January 2006 with most of the money coming from sales of his leg lamp business. He also purchased the house across the street to serve as the museum for $129,000.

Since the filming of the movie 23 years ago, the house has been renovated several times by various homeowners. When Jones came to Cleveland to see the house for the first time, he saw that vinyl siding had been installed over the original yellow paint with green trim. The house also was re-roofed and had new windows installed. The house also was turned into a duplex, and much work would need to be done to change it back into a single-family home and update all of the electrical wiring and plumbing.

“I thought that the house from ‘A Christmas Story’ would be a cool place to visit,” Jones said. “When I saw it with the gray siding and the updates that had been made to it over the years, I didn’t want the house to fade away and become unrecognizable. I wanted to bring it back to its original movie appearance. Borrowing from another movie that has thousands of visitors to its movie site, I thought that if I build it, they [“A Christmas Story” fans] will come.”

To help Jones with this venture is Cleveland-native Steven Siedlecki who worked previously at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland. Siedlecki serves as curator and director of A Christmas Story House and has overseen the renovation work. Siedlecki is a big fan of the movie, too, and has driven past the house numerous times since childhood, visiting relatives in that neighborhood. Once he learned that Jones was going to restore the house and create a museum, Siedlecki knew he had to be a part of it.

Beginning Nov. 25, A Christmas Story House is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. After Jan. 16, 2007, the house will be open Thursdays through Sundays only. Admission to A Christmas Story House is $5 for adults and $3 for children. Group discounts are available. The price of admission includes a guided tour of the house and yard and admittance into the museum.

A Christmas Story House is located just five minutes from downtown Cleveland at 3159 W. 11^th Street in the Tremont neighborhood. For more information or for directions, visit www.AChristmasStoryHouse.com or call 216-298-4919.

# # #

Coincidentally, the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel is the same hotel that cast and crew members stayed in during filming in 1983. At that point, the establishment was called Stouffer’s Inn on the Square; however its location, directly across from the Higbee’s department store that was featured in the film, is special to the history of the film in this area and is one of the reasons that it has been named the official hotel of A Christmas Story House.

“We are thrilled to be the official hotel of A Christmas Story House,” said John Zangas, director of sales and marketing of the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. “The film has a special place in the history of Cleveland and our building, and we are very happy to bring these offers to fans of the film.”

The grand opening Extravaganza Package will cost $169 plus tax, and the Weekend Package will cost $155 plus tax. Those interested in either package should contact the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel at 216-696-5600 or toll-free at 1-800-468-3571 or visit www.renaissancecleveland.com and click on the “Hotel Specials and Packages” link.

Once it opens on Nov. 25, A Christmas Story House will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. After Jan. 16, 2007, the house will be open Thursdays through Sunday. Admission to A Christmas Story House is $5 for adults and $3 for children. Group discounts are available. The price of admission includes a guided tour of the house and yard and admittance into the accompanying museum.

A Christmas Story House is located just five minutes from downtown Cleveland at 3159 W. 11^th Street in the Tremont neighborhood. For more information or for directions, visit www.AChristmasStoryHouse.com or call 216-298-4919.

# # #

Brian Jones
Owner
A Christmas Story House

The path that has led Brian Jones from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis to “that little house on Cleveland Street” is a result of his love for his favorite movie, “A Christmas Story.” This Thanksgiving, the ongoing relationship between Jones and his favorite film will take on a whole new meaning with the opening of A Christmas Story House.

A Christmas Story House takes visitors on a nostalgic journey to the sights and scenes of the classic Christmas film. In addition to A Christmas Story House, visitors can explore the museum where items from the movie are on display, more than 100 behind-the-scenes photos are featured and movie-related memorabilia can be purchased.  

A San Diego native, Jones had always dreamed of becoming a naval aviator like his father. After graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in aerospace engineering, he went on to flight school. Once he arrived, however, he learned that he did not have the sight requirements to achieve his dream and become a pilot.

Obviously downtrodden by the sobering news, Jones parents decided they had just the thing to cheer him up. A couple of weeks after the unfortunate news, Jones received a large wooden crate marked “FRAGILE.” When he opened it, he found the infamous leg lamp from “A Christmas Story” inside. His parents made him a leg lamp (the “major award” from the film) to help deal with the disappointment of not becoming a navy pilot.

The film was a family favorite, and Jones’ parents had such a good recollection of the lamp that they actually recreated one. While it was a difficult and time-consuming task, it also was a humorous project for the Jones’. After sending it to their son, they told him of the significant interest that the lamp received and the fact that many people requested one for themselves.

After he left the Navy to pursue a new career, Jones was forced to make a decision about what he would do next. Struggling with the possibility of having to move to the East Coast for a corporate job, Jones remembered the comment from his parents about how popular the leg lamp had been. Jones set out to figure out a way to turn this interest into a realistic business. On April 9, 2003, RedRiderLegLamps.com – a largely online venture that sells replica leg lamps – was launched.

In the second year of RedRiderLeglamps.com, Jones’ wife e-mailed him while on deployment in the Middle East. Her captain had alerted her to the fact that the house used in “A Christmas Story” was up for sale on eBay. She thought she would just send a funny e-mail about how he should buy it. For Jones it wasn’t funny – it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

In a move that any fan could appreciate, Jones told the seller that if he took the house off the market that he would pay $150,000 for it. As quick as a tongue will stick to a metal pole in the winter, the deal was done. Within 24 hours the house was his, and Jones flew to Cleveland for the first time ever to sign the papers.

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                        CONTACT:

                                                                                                            Emily Vincent

                                                                                                            Landau Public Relations

                                                                                                            216-912-2848

                                                                                                            evincent@landaupr.com

A CHRISTMAS STORY HOUSE RESTORATION PROJECT SEEKS DONATIONS

Fans of the film are invited to lend their support by providing items for movie site house

CLEVELAND – July 5, 2006 – Brian Jones and Steve Siedlecki are restoring the home used in the 1983 classic film “A Christmas Story,” and they would like your help. As Jones, owner of A Christmas Story House and RedRiderLegLamps.com, and Siedlecki, the curator and director of A Christmas Story House, restore the home to its original movie appearance, they are looking for donations of items that can be used to accentuate the interior of the house and add to the nostalgic feel of a family dwelling from the 1940s.

In an effort to ensure the authentic feel of the home, Jones and Siedlecki will be scouring garage sales, flea markets and off-beat stores, but their hope is to include many articles that are donated by movie fans and residents of the Cleveland area to recreate the look and feel of Ralphie Parker’s home.

“Our goal is to really represent the home of the 1940s as well as replicating the house we remember from the film, ‘A Christmas Story,’” Jones said. “The producers of the movie chose this area specifically, and we want to be sure to represent the Midwest in the 1940s to give everyone who visits an idea of what made this place such a perfect fit for the film.”

Jones and Siedlecki have already been able to arrange donations from local groups and companies such as the Cleveland division of ICI Paints, which has been working closely with the team to coordinate the right shades for the interior and exterior of the home, and Draco Landscape in Olmsted Falls, which will be donating all of the landscaping.

Those interested in donating items for the house can contact Siedlecki at 216-298-4919 or via e-mail at steve@AChristmasStoryHouse.com. If you have questions on what types of items would be most appropriate, check out the house’s official Web site at www.AChristmasStoryHouse.com where you can view photos of furniture and other pieces used in the movie.

Nov. 25 marks the grand opening of A Christmas Story House, helping to kick off the holiday season. A Christmas Story House will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. After Jan. 16, 2007, the house will be open Thursdays through Sunday. Admission to A Christmas Story House is $5 for adults and $3 for children. Group discounts are available. The price of admission includes a guided tour of the house and yard and admittance into the accompanying museum.

A Christmas Story House is located just five minutes from downtown Cleveland at 3159 W. 11^th Street in the Tremont neighborhood. For more information or for directions, visit www.AChristmasStoryHouse.com .

# # #

October 20, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Actors From 1983 Classic A Christmas Story Reunite in Cleveland to Raise Funds for Restoration of House Showcased in the Film

            For the first time in 22 years actors from the holiday cult classic, A Christmas Story, will reunite to help raise funds for restoring the Cleveland house where much of the movie was filmed. In addition to appearances by cast members who played the kid characters, Randy, Flick, and Scut Farkus (plus their teacher, Miss Shield) — the Higbee department store Christmas window featured in the movie will be recreated.

            The nostalgic reunion will take place over Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 25, 26 and 27) in a series of events that also includes tours of the house, a downtown parade and tree lighting ceremony and several stage performances of A Christmas Story at the Cleveland Play House. Additionally, a return of the film to the big screen at Cleveland’s Tower City Cinemas, plus a display of movie memorabilia at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, are also scheduled.

            The house that served as the movie’s centerpiece was purchased recently on ebay by Brian Jones of San Diego, a devout fan and former Navy lieutenant who went into business making and selling exact replicas of the leg lamp that graced the home’s front window in the movie.  

Jones has sold nearly 4,000 of the sleek lighted limbs through his company RedRiderLegLamps.com, using the profits to begin restoring the house to its original appearance with the goal of converting it into a non-profit museum dedicated solely to the movie.

His efforts have extended to creating a web site for the house, (www.achristmasstoryhouse.com), while bringing together some of the movie’s pivotal characters for the upcoming events in Cleveland, which are detailed on the web site. Accommodation packages at the Renaissance Hotel, located next to the Higbee building, are also available through the web site. ***