#TosynTravels An Evening with Disney!

I am feeling a bit like a mum who has kids and never wants to say which one is her favourite. But if you threatened to take away all Disney music i would have to say the Disney experience was one of the best at the #OnlyTheBest content showcase in Mauritius.

Basically, Disney Africa welcomed 90 journalists from across Africa to their first ever showcase to media from the continent, at this year’s Multichoice Africa Content Showcase Extravaganza. It started on Thursday 3 September when we received a Disney Movie ticket which gained us entry to the special outdoor screening, set under the stars on the lawns of the idyllic Outrigger Beach Resort in Mauritius.

First we got our own Disney picnic basket and blankets, full of delicious treats and filling food, then we made our way to the seating area, replete with comfortable chairs and loungers. Once the Disney fans were settled, the vast outdoor screen lit up and the evening’s festivities were well under way.

A welcome speech by Deirdre King, Head of Marketing for The Walt Disney Company Africa, preceded the screening of two animated shorts. The first, the Academy Award-nominated Get a Horse, featured Disney favourites like Mickey, Minnie, Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow, in a laugh-a-minute romp across the countryside. The second animated short, Disney•Pixar’s Partly Cloudy, beautifully tells the tale of where delivery storks get their infant cargo. The main feature was Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time.

Disney showcased Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, as it perfectly showcased their theme for the Showcase – Globally Connected, Locally Relevant – as key sequences in the film were shot on the African continent in 2014. What is even more exciting is that sequences of the next Marvel super hero filmCaptain America 3: Civil War, will also be shot in Africa!

Other local initiatives across the continent include:
o    The dubbing of the hit Disney Junior series Doc McStuffins, in Swahili for East Africa.
o    Desperate Housewives Africa
o    Collaborations on two Fashion Halo Projects in conjunction with SA Fashion Week:
o    Local cameo roles like Jeremy Mansfield in Toy Story 3 and Unathi Msengana in Doc McStuffins 

Also newsworthy;  I ♥ Violetta; the first ever South African Disney Channel local production, with 3 local presenters and two Disney-produced projects (The film Queen of Katwe, starring Academy Award-winner Lupita Nyong’o and ABC television series Of Kings and Prophets).

And if you have nieces like me or younger ones, then Disney has something for you wiht Disney Junior which airs on DStv channel 309 and GOtv Plus channel 60.

Highlights across the Disney Junior channel include animated television series, Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins. Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto and Daisy all join Mickey in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,and animated series such as Gummi Bears, Chip ‘n Dale, Ducktales with classic Disney movies Aladdin, Cinderella and more.

Vuzu AMP turns 1 and celebrates with 'Power' and more!

My current favourite channel, Vuzu Amp, threw an anniversary party like no other in Mauritius at the #OnlyTheBest Content Showcase.

First they had Dj Spinall and Dj Neptune playing the freshest and the most memorable jams, then they had Sauti Sol, Diamond and Patoranking performing. It was, 'lit'.

More 'lit' was the fact that DSv’s premier youth brand will be turning up the heat on content across Africa. The channel has recently acquired a number of leading crime, action and comedy series to keep viewers entertained, securing major deals with leading studios like:  HBO, Starz, NBC, Disney and ABC. 

'Power', a crime drama with 50 Cent and Naturi Naughton kicks off October 31st while 'Survivor’s Remorse' is now on. Survivor’s Remorse follows Cam Calloway, a basketball wonder in his early 20s who is suddenly thrust into the limelight after signing a multi-million dollar contract with a professional basketball team in Atlanta. Cam, and an unforgettable group of characters, wrestle with the rewards and pitfalls of newfound stardom, love, and loyalty. 

'How to Get Away With Murder' will finally return in January, and the continuation of NBC's successful serial drama series, ''Heroes', titled, Heroes Reborn', will kick off on the 29th of September.

For more information, please visit www.dstv.com.

Get your aprons out! Food Network programme highlights! Whoop

Like cooking? Always trying something new in the kitchen? Why not check out some of these exciting shows to learn, laugh and cook up a storm!

Food Network delivers a fresh approach to food programming and celebrates everything that is bold, fun and entertaining about the genre. It is not your typical ‘how to’ cooking channel. Food Network continues to be one of the fastest growing lifestyle and entertainment brands, packed with award-winning cooking, celebrity chefs and competition shows.

DStv Premium and Compact Plus subscribers can access the Food Network offering on DStv Channel 175. The websitewww.foodnetwork.co.za is the 24/7 companion to the TV Channel where you can find daily TV listings, view chef biographies, recipes and more. From September to December 2015, here’s what’s on the channel lineup:

Dinner at Tiffani’s

Premieres: Friday 11^th September at 20:00

Tiffani Thiessen invites her celebrity friends over for good company, great stories and delicious food. With guests like Jason Priestley, Seth Green, her White Collar co-stars and more, it's a wonderful blend of dinner, drinks and fun. Come for the party, stay for the food.

The Kitchen s3

Premieres: Tuesday 15^th September at 09:00

Spend a fun and food-filled morning in The Kitchen with hosts Sunny Anderson, Katie Lee, Jeff Mauro, Marcela Valladolid and Geoffrey Zakarian. These five talented food experts will bring fun conversation and delicious recipes into your kitchen every week. From simple supper ideas to the latest food trends, to the "Cookbook Club," we'll cover all things fun in food. Pull up a stool at the counter and join us in The Kitchen. Everybody knows every great party ends up in The Kitchen

Man Finds Food

Premieres: Tuesday 20th October at 21:00

 Adam Richman travels across America to find the hidden gems of the fast food scene. His search takes him to Boston, where an elusive lobster eatery operates out of a residential house garage. Los Angeles sees Adam hit a bar named The Escondite – a variation of a Spanish word meaning ‘hidden’ – to find an off-menu breakfast sandwich called Godzilla Destroys Skidrokio. Adam heads straight to the kitchen to learn the secret of the amazing dish, which includes a grilled six-ounce New York strip steak, grilled onions, two eggs over easy, a fried hash brown patty, a warm layer of vegetarian breakfast gravy, and even more! In Hawaii, Adam finds a classic dish so outré that it was once illegal, and he stops off at a New York steakhouse where the special inside-out veal chop Valdostana is only served five times a night.

Siba’s Table s2

Premieres: Friday 16^th October at 20:00

 Siba Mtongana shares the rich fusion culture of modern South African food. She gives the traditional recipes she grew up with a totally modern twist, while an injecting them with international flavours

Grandma’s Secret Cookbook s3

Premieres: Tuesday 1^st December at 16:30

Blow the dust off your old cookbooks and join Mo Rocca in the kitchen, as he dons his apron alongside some golden oldies, who reminisce and reveal some treasured recipes from generations gone by

Holidays are becoming Happee thanks to Turner and DSTV!

Pop Up channels are becoming quite a thing on DSTV and now, MultiChoice Africa and Turner Broadcasting will make African television history with a first African pop-up children’s channel! The channel called ‘Hoolee’ will  be up from December 1st 2015 to January 31st 2016 on DStv Premium.

“Imagine laughing, sharing surprising adventures and celebrating the summer holidays with your children every day. This is what the pop-up channel has in store for the whole family” says MultiChoice Africa CEO, Tim Jacobs.

(I can imagine, after Turner Time at the #OnlyTheBest content showcase which basically turned us into kids again).

Of course, Turner already has two children's channels on DSTV- Boomerang and Cartoon Network, but now subscribers will enjoy Hoolee with it's ground breaking eight week long programming, built around a selection of the very best shows from Turner and Warner Brothers productions, as well as premieres of the latest and the best.

With a large volume of 100 hours programs, the new channel will offer carefully chosen movies and animated shows. So that, DSTV viewers will enjoy all the festivities of the holidays with bright, refreshing, surprising and joyful content.

For more information, please visit www.dstv.com.

#TosynTravels Day 3 of Mauritius... O look at them toned legs!

By Day 3 of being at the Outrigger Resort for the Multichoice Africa content showcase, I had noticed something odd- I had muscles.

Okay let me clarify. Of course I have muscles, we all do. But I could actually feel them. Specifically my legs. And that's because we were doing a lot of walking, running, clapping, standing and more, on a beach.

Not going to complain though, toned abs, arms and legs are every girl's dream.

Of all the roundtables so far, the Zee World was one that had me smiling a bit sheepishly. I mean, for someone who overdosed on 'Ghazab', 'Sholay, 'Maad' and more, sitting in a room with a panel that could bring that and more to my room (via the tv silly) made me happy. I almost burst into song.

In attendance were the CEO of Zee Africa and Indian Ocean Islands (Harish Gyal), the Business Head CAT2 Zee Africa and Indian Ocean Islands (Ratna Siriah) and Linda Oliphant, the Marketing Manager, Zee World Africa.

Do you know the cooking shows on Zee World have to be customised, especially in terms of the ingredients? Not everything available in India is available here! The movies and television shows are also customised with some of the singing cut out (noooooooy, and titles changed.

Also, the old movies will air soon starting with 'Sholay'. Heyyyyyyyyy.I spent my day being a kid again. Blame Turner!

Basically Turner had a Fun Fair Factory and Sundowners planned for us. First we got in teams, then in smaller groups, and we played games. I learnt two things- wearing a cap can be an advantage when playing games, and I can actually throw better than I give myself credit for.

The drinks were on the house and delish, the food and desserts tasted so good, and o, I made a lot of new, mute friends.

Check out some pictures from my day and get ready for the Day 4 gist. It involved an Avenger... Or five.

#TBDaily x Taking Mauritius in Pictures from #OnlyTheBest Content Showcase

#TBDaily x #OnlyTheBest There are mosquitoes in Mauritius and other cool Day 2 stories!

This post has to start with that revelation.

When you get on a plane in Naija, you assume you're leaving traffic, NEPA and yes, MOSQUITOES behind. I got bitten by two mosquitoes yesterday, or the same mosquito bit me twice. Either way, it was an interesting welcome. It could not however overshadow the main Welcome Dinner- a Night of a Thousand Stars. First off was the Walk of Fame with our names in stars...

Then there was the paparazzi screaming my name and scrambling to take my picture. A selfie here and an autograph there (ok fine I was just giving my email address out) and I was up for a great night.

Read more about that here- A Night of Stars as Multichoice launches biggest Content Showcase

Banky W and Ramsey Nouah at the Dinner

Even the food was for #OnlyTheBest

Red Carpet Beach Side 

Had to take a quick selfie with Banky W

I ended up crashing early because I knew the next day would be a long, fun one.

Theo Erasmus, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, Tim Jacobs and David Booth

Breakfast, check! Then we had a Multichoice Roundtable where people had various questions like why there's no Pay Per View, how come GoTV was not available in certain countries, why Supersport had moved to a premium bouquet in others and more. 

Read up on that here- Multichoice Roundtable tackles tough questions

Considering that I had been remarking with my friends from Kenya that we (Nigerians) don't seem to know what goes on in Kenya, it was nice to hear from Multichoice that they will look into making content from one region available in all (eg, East African Content). Amen. Amen. Amen.

We had lunch, bumped into the stars like Stonebwoy and Basketmouth, then went off for Sony TV's take on the Amazing Race.

Naija Meets Ghana! Stonebwoy

My bandanna indicated I was in Team Red; not a bad team to be in. The race involved downloading an app, answering a question, getting the clue then going off! I ran past Korede Bello at some point but I had my eye on the prize. Did i win? Find out here- Sony TV takes us on an Amazing Race!

Not the first time i have been in a Team Red!

Running but had to take a picture of Korede Bello

I did win a Mojito though!

*sigh*
This Nigerian dey carry last o. Or at least almost.

I'm back in my room resting now after a session with Supersport (Caroline moderated and she was so good!). 

Join me here tomorrow for what else I'm getting up to but get instant details via my social media- 'tosynbucknor'.