LOS ANGELES - September 28, 2022 - On October 1, 2022, Two Bit Circus Foundation will bring the Day of Play back to Los Angeles, at Two Bit Circus Foundation’s new home on the campus of Los Angeles City College. Since 2012, more than 2 million kids around the world have taken part in the Global Cardboard Challenge as a way to gear up for Imagination.org’s Day of Play. It all began following the overwhelming success of the short film, 'Caine's Arcade’, the story of 9-year-old Caine Monroy and his elaborate cardboard arcade. The 2022 Day of Play commemorates the decade anniversary of the flash mob, organized by filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, that came out to make Caine’s day as captured in the short film. Educators, parents, kids, all are welcomed to attend this free event. Day of Play runs from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at Two Bit Circus Foundation on the campus of LA City College, located at 855 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029. For more information, visit cardboardchallenge.com/dop/.
Day of Play is an opportunity for communities to come together in big and small ways to celebrate childhood creativity. Caine has been working to elevate his original arcade game design throughout the years and will be at the event giving a live build demonstration! The Lee Brothers (youngest presenters ever at Comic Con) will be live at the event too, demonstrating their own workflow building life-size superheroes out of cardboard.
“We can’t wait to see what can be accomplished when the community comes together at our new home for this spectacular event,” says Leah Hanes, Executive Director of Two Bit Circus Foundation. “The fact that Caine and Nirvan will be attending the event and addressing the young builders makes this a special treat. Caine has gone from a creative child to a creative Junior studying entrepreneurialism at California State University at Dominguez Hills. There is no doubt he has had an impact on the next generation of makers.”
"I can't believe it's been ten years since ‘Caine's Arcade’!” says Nirvan Mullick, Director of “Caine’s Arcade”. “That first flashmob was all about making one kid's day. The response was so overwhelming, that we were able to launch a Global Cardboard Challenge that has now reached over 2 million kids worldwide! I'm incredibly grateful to all the educators and supporters who've helped our non-profit continue to foster the creativity of kids like Caine everywhere."
Two Bit Circus Foundation, headquartered in Los Angeles, works to foster the development of the next generation of makers and raise awareness around the importance of twenty-first century skills like creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking for youth.
With classrooms becoming more standardized, essential opportunities to develop twenty-first century skills aren’t being fostered with youth as they should be. According to the US Department of Education, more than half of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new jobs that don’t yet exist. These twenty-first century skills are important to prepare youth for an extremely interconnected, fast moving global community where new industries, disciplines and technologies are rapidly changing, and where adaptability, invention and creativity will be essential for a stronger, more prosperous world tomorrow.
“I can’t wait for this celebration of ten years of ‘Caine’s Arcade’! I hope the games I build will continue to inspire other kids to imagine, create and share!” says Caine Monroy, of Caine’s Arcade.
The Global Cardboard Challenge has engaged more than 2 million children since 2012.
