2010 ELAN Awards

01/26/10

For Immediate Release

SAN DIEGO, CA & VANCOUVER, BC January 26, 2010 - ELAN Awards Founder and CEO Holly Carinci and Gamers With Disabilities expert Dr. Michelle Hinn have just returned from a reconnaissance of the site for the 2010 ELAN Awards scheduled to take place from Saturday, July 17th thru Monday, July 19th in sunny San Diego. Their reports are in and they far exceed expectations.

"It's been exciting, moving this show to the United States," (all previous 3 ELANS have been held in Canada) says Carinci, "but it's a big step. As it turns out, I had nothing to be concerned about. The sites, venues and production components are phenomenal ... they just blew us away! I can't wait for this show to take place because the video game industry is going to absolutely love it!"

The first stop on the recon tour was a stop in L.A. and a trip down the red carpet at the Golden Globes. (Hinn literally took a "trip" on the famous red carpet and broke her ankle but didn't know it until returning home 5 days later!) While there the pair got a chance to experience for themselves the type of awards show they are shooting for on behalf of the video game industry.

"While the Golden Globes are not exactly the awards show we want to produce due to the uniqueness of the video game culture, it's the closest in existence today. Being able to actually attend the Globes' parties and then go from there directly to our own main venue, the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego ... well, let's just say that both Michelle and I were very pleased with the selection of our site."

The Manchester Grand Hyatt is the 2010 ELAN Awards' Official Hotelier and will be the location for several of the parties taking place during the 3-day celebration including the Welcome Pool Party, the Champagne Reception and the Dinner Awards Ceremony itself.

During their site inspections Carinci met with and accepted PSAV Presentation Services' proposal to handle the production elements of the awards ceremony. "The staging and design of the room that Doug Evans of PSAV presented were more-than I hoped for before we arrived," says Carinci. "There will be times when all of us will feel as though we are actually in the middle of a video game."

Dr. Hinn's and Carinci's awareness of the video game industry's quality of life means that the only speeches that will be made during the 3 days of the ELANS will be ones made while accepting an award. And while the evenings are filled with adult-only parties the days have purposely been kept clear for their guests to actually have a chance to enjoy an industry event as a family. "When selecting the new host city for the ELAN Awards, what our attendees and their families could enjoy in-and-around our event was a top priority" says Carinci. For this reason we asked Jenna Bisesi, National Sales Director from the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau to show us what her city has to offer our guests, either single or with families and I can tell you this much ... I'm ready to move to San Diego!"

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Submissions are open until April 16, 2010.

The Application to Judge can be downloaded and filled out electronically from the 2010 ELANS welcome page www.theelans.com.

Watch for ticket sales and special hotel room rates to be announced soon.