Eight-Year-Old Alisha Cusano Wins First Ever Hello Kitty Toy Design Competition
CYPRESS, Calif., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- As Hello Kitty celebrates her birthday, Sanrio Inc. and Bandai America Inc. celebrate the announcement of eight-year-old Alisha Cusano from Derby, Connecticut as winner of the nationwide Hello Kitty Dream World Toy Design Contest. '7th Heaven' television actress Mackenzie Rosman selected Alisha from among the contest finalists. Alisha won a weekend trip to New York to unveil her winning drawing at the Sanrio Flagship store in New York City and to celebrate Hello Kitty's birthday with Hello Kitty and Mackenzie Rosman.
November 1st was not only Hello Kitty’s birthday, it was the day the grand prize was awarded in the Hello Kitty Dream World Toy Design Contest. Hello Kitty Dream World is the exciting new toy line created by Sanrio licensee Bandai. The contest was a nationwide event in which kids ages 4 to 12 drew their own Hello Kitty Dream World. Finalists were selected in three age categories. Entries were judged based on creativity of the “Dream World” theme.
The Grand Prize Winner was 8-year-old Alisha Cusano from Derby, Connecticut. Presenting her prize was actress Mackezie Rosman from the television show Seventh Heaven. In the show Mackenzie plays the role of Ruthie, a true hello Kitty fan with lots of Hello Kitty things in her room.
The morning of November 1st, Mackenzie, Alisha and Hello Kitty were featured on New York’s WB11 Morning News. That afternoon at 4pm they appeared at the Sanrio Times Square store. The store rocked as Mackenzie posed for photos with the lucky early arrivals and signed lots of photos for everybody else. New Jersey-based rapper Charli Baltimore came with her husband and two kids. She, too, posed for numerous photos and signed autographs.