To mark its March 14 debut, Canada’s Family Channel is taking The Latest Buzz, co-produced with Decode Entertainment, to Cineplex theaters across the Great White North this month for a series of parties/screenings of the new show.

The free ‘Latest Buzz Bashes’ will give kids a day-long look inside the ultra-glamorous world of the magazine industry and activities to match the beats covered by the series’ characters.

While Cineplex Entertainment is Family Channel parent Astral Media’s partner on the initiative, individual event partners are also getting in on the party, including retailers West49 and LaSenza Girl and Xbox. Prizes include Hannah Montana prize packs, West 49 and LaSenza Girl gift certificates and the ultimate grand prize, a signed Jonas Brothers Gibson guitar. The event will wrap up with a screening of the show.

Kids will also get to walk the red carpet and have a chance to get their pictures on the cover of The Latest Buzz magazine at the event. Family Channel will even have a camera set up at the theaters to record shout-outs for broadcast on air and one of the series’ characters will also play Xbox 360 on the big screen with video gamers.

Region-specific headline acts are also planned to make each Latest Buzz Bash unique: Ottawa gets a learn-to-skate clinic hosted by West 49; Oakville and Toronto have Life With Derek stars Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat, as well as the West 49 learn-to-skate clinics. In Vancouver, Canadian national snowboarding team member Crispin Lipscomb hosts an extreme Q & A session; in Edmonton, Canadian alt-rock band Social Code delivers an acoustic performance; and Winnipeg has a giveaway for a VIP Cineplex Entertainment card. Kids will have to line up and get free wristbands in order to attend the bashes.

The show, which is about five 14-year-old students hired to help save Teen BUZZ magazine, premieres on Friday, March 14 at 6:30 pm ET/PT. But the net will give a Spring Break sneak-peek, airing the first four eps in that time slot from Monday to Thursday, March 10 to 13 and 17 to 20.

From Media in Canada