WONKA(R) Named Presenting Sponsor of This Year's The Bamboozle Festivals and Roadshow

WONKA(R) Named Presenting Sponsor of This Year's The Bamboozle Festivals and Roadshow

Magical Candy Maker Promises New Surprises at Festivals and Annual Roadshow

GLENDALE, Calif., March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WONKA and Live Nation announced today that the candy maker has been named the presenting sponsor of The Bamboozle, a festival and tour born five years ago that connects artists and their fans like no other.

The Bamboozle presented by WONKA is the only place to experience more than 200 of the most talked about bands in pop, punk, mainstream, emo and more, performing live on multiple stages. The Bamboozle presented by WONKA will be held at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J., on May 2 and May 3 with headliners Fall Out Boy and No Doubt, who will be performing their first show in five years. The Bamboozle Left presented by WONKA is set for The Festival Grounds at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, Calif., on April 4 and April 5 with headliners Fall Out Boy, 50 Cent and Deftones. A 22-market Bamboozle Roadshow presented by WONKA will take The Bamboozle's unparalleled party experience across the country, with club dates scheduled nationally beginning on April 5 in Tucson, Ariz., culminating on April 30 in Farmingdale, N.Y., featuring We The Kings, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Cab, Never Shout Never and Mercy Mercedes.

"The Bamboozle is a unique platform that gives WONKA access to a very desirable demographic of young music fans," said Russell Wallach, President of North American Alliances for Live Nation. "This festival and tour are perfect examples of the variety of brand building opportunities that our integrated platform makes available to corporations."

"We have a phenomenal lineup for all of our Bamboozle events this year," said Live Nation executive John D'Esposito, the event's founder. "Last year's festival in New Jersey sold more than 70,000 tickets. Currently, ticket sales for this year's festival are tracking 9% ahead of last year. We are already off to an amazing start for what we expect to be a very successful run for Bamboozle."

"The Bamboozle culture is magical, bringing the energy of the world's most exciting bands together with an incredibly vibrant group of music fans," said WONKA Marketing Manager, Vilma Livas. "It's a perfect fit with WONKA where we distinguish our brand by creating whimsical, imaginative products for candy lovers of all ages. Together with Live Nation, we are working to develop exciting, unexpected experiences at all The Bamboozle events this summer that music fans are sure be blown away by."

Worldwide Debut of the Latest Acts of Imagination from WONKA

The bands won't be the only stars of these shows. Willy Wonka has been toiling away in his factory, and he has two new surprises to unveil for the first time at The Bamboozle Left and The Bamboozle.

WONKA is revealing exclusively to Bamboozlers its one-of-a-kind imagination station: WONKAvision. Using the interactive technology of WONKAvision, anyone can be an innovator - just look in the mirror! Play a never-seen-before WONKA game; go on a photo scavenger hunt; or design a customized masterpiece! When you're finished, your work of art will be magically transferred to WONKA.com to delight millions of visitors online.

Fans have to get inside the Bamboozle gates to get the first taste of the WONKA brand's second surprise and newest treat, WONKA(R) KAZOOZLES(TM). A "delickoricious" chewy candy to feed the imagination, KAZOOZLES combines TWO long and luscious licorice ropes with fruit punch-flavored candy filling. Bamboozlers will be among the first in the world to try the two new varieties - Cherry Punch and Pink Lemonade. Everyone else will have to wait until the national launch in June.

Extra lucky Bamboozlers will become WONKA VIPs. Awesome rewards such as special seating and second-day tickets await them. A few WONKA fans will receive an elite WONKA Gold Card entitling them (and their friends) to become a WONKA insider with a special benefit: a six-month candy supply!

The Bamboozle Roadshow

The talent line-up and soundtrack for the Bamboozle Roadshow presented by WONKA will include five electrifying bands: We The Kings, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Cab, Never Shout Never and Mercy Mercedes. A special correspondent will be reporting from the road throughout the tour. There will be exclusive WONKA behind-the-scenes interviews with the bands, and videos from every stop along the way.

Follow the tour at www.twitter.com/WONKAnation. Additional updates and links are available at www.WONKA.com or www.TheBamboozle.com/roadshow/home.php. Throughout the duration of the tour, fans will have the opportunity to talk directly with the bands online.

For more information about WONKA, visit www.WONKA.com. For more information about Bamboozle Left, The Bamboozle and the Bamboozle Roadshow, all presented by WONKA, and to purchase tickets, visit www.TheBamboozle.com.

ABOUT WONKA

WONKA opened its doors in 1983. Since that time, WONKA(R) has been dedicated to the art of producing fun, innovative, high-quality confections for candy lovers of all ages. WONKA(R) candies include NERDS(R), NERDS(R) Rope, SWEETARTS(R), SHOCKERS, SPREE(R), LAFFY TAFFY(R), RUNTS(R), EVERLASTING GOBSTOPPER(R), LIK-M-AID(R) FUN DIP, PIXY STIX(R), BOTTLE CAPS(R), and the WONKA(R) Bar. WONKA is owned by Nestle USA, Inc. For more information, visit WONKA.com.

ABOUT NESTLE USA

Named one of "America's Most Admired Food Companies" in Fortune magazine for the twelfth consecutive year, Nestle USA provides quality brands and products that bring flavor to life every day. From nutritious meals with Lean Cuisine(R) to baking traditions with Nestle(R) Toll House(R), Nestle USA makes delicious, convenient, and nutritious food and beverage products that enrich the very experience of life itself. That's what "Nestle. Good Food, Good Life" is all about. Well-known Nestle brands include: Nestle(R) Toll House(R), Nestle(R) Nesquik(R), Nestle(R) Coffee-mate(R), Stouffer's(R), Lean Cuisine(R), HOT POCKETS(R) and LEAN POCKETS(R) brand sandwiches, Nescafe(R), Nescafe(R) Taster's Choice(R), NESTLE(R) Juicy Juice(R), Buitoni(R), DREYER'S(R)/EDY'S(R), Nestle(R) Crunch(R), Nestle(R) Butterfinger(R), and Wonka(R). Nestle USA, with 2008 sales of $8.8 billion is part of Nestle S.A. in Vevey, Switzerland -- the world's largest food company -- with 2008 sales of $101 billion. For product news and information, visit Nestleusa.com or NestleNewsroom.com.

ABOUT LIVE NATION

Live Nation's mission is to maximize the live concert experience. Our core business is producing, marketing and selling live concerts for artists via our global concert pipe. Live Nation is the largest producer of live concerts in the world, annually producing over 22,000 concerts for 1,600 artists in 33 countries. During 2008, the company sold over 50 million concert tickets and drove over 70 million unique visitors to LiveNation.com. Live Nation is transforming the concert business by expanding its concert platform into ticketing and building the industry's first artist-to-fan vertically integrated concert platform. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol LYV. For additional information about the company, please visit www.livenation.com/investors.

Source: Live Nation; WONKA

CONTACT: Erin McCarty, +1-206-270-4655; or Patricia Bowles,
+1-818-549-5817; or Jennifer Gery-Egan, +1-212-986-6667; or John Vlautin of
Live Nation, +1-310-867-7127

Web Site: http://www.livenation.com/

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