Let's start this blog off right by making it known... Hastings is the Official Birthplace of Kool-Aid!
Kool-Aid Man's footprints, which were originally placed at Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, are now located right outside the Visitor's Center in Hastings, 100 North Shore Drive.
Sitting in view of the footprints everyday it is amazing the number of families that pile out of their vehicles and position themselves around the prints for a family photo. I would guess that very few Hastings residents know about the footprints but they are a favorite for the visitors wanting the full "Kool-Aid" experience.
We are hoping to get a plaque that will read:
Kool-Aid man made his television debut during a Kool-Aid commercial in 1975. To celebrate 25 years of delivering smiles and fruity refreshment to thirsty children his footprints were immortalized in concrete at the world famous Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in the year 2000.
The Kraft Corporation donated the footprints to Hastings, Nebraska, the Official Birthplace of Kool-Aid, in appreciation for the city's ongoing efforts to preserve the history of the beverage invented by Edwin Perkins in 1927.
