Degrassi is a Canadian teen drama franchise that premiered in 1979. Originally created by Linda Schuyler & Kit Hood, Degrassi is a international iconic brand known for telling stories about young people in an honest and authentic way. Over the past 35+ years, Degrassi has been around in various incarnations including The Kids of Degrassi St. (1979 - 1986), Degrassi Junior High (1987 - 1989), Degrassi High (1989 - 1991), Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001 - 2010), Degrassi (2010 - 2015), and Degrassi: Next Class (2016-2017). Despite changes in culture and technology over the past 35 years, this little Canadian teen drama has continued to touch the hearts of thousands of kids (and adults!) around the world. In the words of Executive Producer Linda Schuyler:
Degrassi is fearless in its storytelling. If young people are discussing an issue in the schoolyard, at the mall or on the Net, then is it a subject matter fit for Degrassi.
Jessica Tyler, Sam Earle, and Melinda Shankar were in Montreal today for Free The Children’s event We Day.
For those of you who don’t know, We Day is an event designed to inspire and celebrate youth to give back and work for global change.
The cast of Degrassi was there to share their experiences volunteering during their recent trip to Haiti. The Degrassi cast has been involved with We Day from the beginning. They also appeared at the Toronto event last fall (which I was lucky enough to attend), as well as many other We Day’s from years past.
For more information on We Day and how you can get involved with Free The Children, visit WeDay.com! Also, don’t forget to ‘like’ We Day on Facebook. Every ‘like’ donates $1 to Free The Children!
Melinda Shankar, Annie Clark, and Jessica Tyler have graced the cover of Faze Magazine this month! The Degrassi girls are interviewed in the Canadian teen magazine, and they also model some gorgeous dresses. Don’t they look fantastic?
Hey all! Degrassi Dish aka Bianca here reporting exclusively for Degrassi Online on the FABULOUS “Party With Degrassi” event at Montclair, New Jersey. Being a person who is NO stranger to TeenNick (or The-N for you old-schoolers), I knew right off the bat that an event like this was going to blow my expectations out of the water and it truly did just that.
I was lucky enough to snag a few VIP passes through my job who deals directly with Nickelodeon and TeenNick. This meant no crowds, no lines, and an exclusive meet and greet with the cast before the screen and Q&A. When we arrived we were directed to our parking spot right outside of the theater. We came close to hitting a few fangirls (SORRY!) as the line was right along the sidewalk where we parked. Inside the theater was DECKED out to the NINES. They had various booths where you could create your own Degrassi-ified t-shirts, spin a wheel to win prizes, and a digital green screen to take pictures. They had free popcorn, pretzels, candy and even “mocktails” named after your favorite Degrassi character – I tried the “Eclare on the Rocks”myself.
After taking the entire theater in and it was time to wait on line to meet the cast. We were second in line behind another VIP via Nickelodeon and in front of the Radio Winners who were needless to say enthusiastic! That’s where I met Shanene who is Mindy’s new best friend. We were taken backstage and THERE they WERE, sitting in a row ready to do some meeting and greeting. After I had a mini-heart attack it was my turn to meet them and let me tell you they were some of the SWEETEST most down to EARTH people you have ever met. Usually I’m a complete wreck when meeting celebrities, and yes I’ll admit I was nervous, but when you’re greeted with such kindness that type of nervousness just goes away and normal conversation goes on. Luckily since I was one of the first to meet them I had a bit of extra time to chat. Told them how much I love the show and how much their work is so appreciated. The best part was that I had time to explain to them who I was and the twitter I run as well as Erin’s new site re-launch of Degrassi-Online.com. What blew my mind was that they knew who I was and what Degrassi Talks was.
After meeting them we were taken to our seats where we waited for the show to start. Before the screening they brought out the cast for a little intro and then the show began. Opinions about the show.. let’s just say we’ll save that for a Degrassi Talks. After they brought back the cast out for Q&A. I will leave the video to explain how THAT went down. Just a few highlights: Blart, Lord of the Rings, Jahmil dancing, Munro “take off your pants”, and Mindy’s 20th birthday cake!
It was a great day and very reminiscent of the Ultimate Degrassi Party back in 2006 (holy moley 2006?!??!). We were just glad we could have been apart of it and very thankful for TeenNick for hosting such a well organized and free event for the fans. Goes to show how passionate the US fans are and that we are out there in VERY large numbers. I can’t WAIT to do it again.
Check out my 2 part video of the entire Q&A portion as well as all the pictures I took in the gallery!
This past week, the cast of Degrassi has been travelling across the United States for the various Party with Degrassi events. Yesterday, they were in New Jersey, and our own Bianca from Degrassi Talks was in attendance. Look for her pictures & report coming soon!
As well, our favourite Degrassi vloggers – Degrassi Experience – were there to chat with the cast. They have posted this interview with Melinda Shankar so far, but we’ve heard that there is more on the way! Check out their YouTube Channel for the latest videos.
Some of the Degrassi Cast members will be doing a Q & A Session at 1PM from the Celebrity Interview Stage tomorrow (Sunday June 19th) at Celebrate Bloor!
Sam Earle (KC), Melinda Shankar (Alli), Jessica Tyler (Jenna) and Luke Bilyk (Drew) will be there to answer any of your questions! It says on the website that the Q&A will be 15 minutes. Many musical acts are also set to perform, such as Shawn Desman and Keisha Chante. Proceeds from the event are going to Artists for Peace and Justice!
Bloor-Yorkville celebrates the completion of the Bloor Street Transformation Project in “Red Carpet Style” with a grand opening celebration!
Come experience ‘The New Bloor’ in full bloom!
From Church Street to Avenue Road, Bloor Street will be closed to vehicles, in order to roll out one kilometer of red carpet, as a welcome to you and all of our special guests. The day’s festivities will feature the Yorkville Exotic Car Show, Tasting Pavilions, a Concert Stage, celebrity appearances at the Celebrity Interview Stage, In-store Retail Promotions and an Official Opening Ceremony!
Are you planning on going to Celebrate Bloor? Let us know in the comments!
Munro and Melinda were making the media rounds today, promoting the 2011 Walk for Kids Help Phone. They primarily focus on explaining what Kids Help Phone is, how you can get involved, and why this is a great partnership with Degrassi. We have been following Munro and Melinda’s media appearances all day, and we are expecting more interviews to surface soon. Here is what we have so far:
We will are also expecting Munro and Melinda to appear on Etalk, CTV.ca, and more. We will update this post as these interviews become available! For more information, visit Walkforkidshelpphone.ca!
Melinda Shankar and Munro Chambers were on Much Music’s New Music Live show this afternoon. They spoke primarily about their support for Kids Help Phone, but they also mentioned the Degrassi season 10 finale “Drop The World.” Check out the interview in the video above. Also – Munro and Melinda are expected to appear on Canada AM this Monday. You can watch them live at 7:40am (ish) on CTV.
We recently told you that Munro and Melinda are part of this year’s Walk for Kids Help Phone campaign. They filmed a PSA, which you can view right here. Last night, Etalk went behind the scenes of the PSA and talked to Melinda and Munro about the cause. Check it out! If you want more information about Kids Help Phone, visit their website.
When you’re a Degrassi cast member, you have to be good at public service announcements. That is especially true for Munro, Charlotte, and Melinda who have all participated in various PSAs recently.
Munro and Charlotte each did a PSA for Free the Children’s “Five Days for Freedom” campaign. They each tell a personal story from someone who has been helped by Free the Children. Other celebrities involved in the campaign include Jacob Hoggard from Hedley and Jessi Cruickshank from MTV Canada. To learn more about the Five Days for Freedom campaign, check out their website. You can view Charlotte’s PSA on YouTube right here and Munro’s over here.
Munro also joined Melinda in a PSA for Kids Help Phone. The PSA encourages Canadians to get involved in the 2011 Walk for Kids Help Phone. Kids Help Phone provides free counselling services for any kid across Canada. Whether it be suicide, depression, uncertainty, eating disorders, etc. Kids Help Phone really makes a difference in the lives of children and teenagers. Visit their website for more information on how you can get involved. Check out Munro and Melinda’s PSA right here!
TeenNick is showing a bit of love for Aislinn & Melinda yesterday.
They posted 2 new video interviews with each of them. Both of which are geoblocked for those of us outside of the US. But all of you Americans can check out the interviews on TeenNick’s website. Click here for Aislinn’s interview, and here for Melinda’s interview. Also check out the two brand new pictures of Aislinn & Melinda that they posted along with the interviews.
We were taken backstage and THERE they WERE, sitting in a row ready to do some meeting and greeting. After I had a mini-heart attack it was my turn to meet them and let me tell you they were some of the SWEETEST most down to EARTH people you have ever met. Usually I’m a complete wreck when meeting celebrities, and yes I’ll admit I was nervous, but when you’re greeted with such kindness that type of nervousness just goes away and normal conversation goes on. Luckily since I was one of the first to meet them I had a bit of extra time to chat. Told them how much I love the show and how much their work is so appreciated. The best part was that I had time to explain to them who I was and the twitter I run as well as Erin’s new site re-launch of Degrassi-Online.com. What blew my mind was that they knew who I was and what Degrassi Talks was.
