Fans Celebrate Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING -- ABeautifulMind created this lovely graphic especially for this week. May your heart sing with thanks!

Clay Appearances Coast to Coast

Fans Celebrate Thanksgiving

With Clay Aiken making four left and right coast appearances in six days, this week feels like an exciting mix of Thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled into one.

Three of Clay's four appearances are of the nationally-televised variety. Even without media, in this digital age of instantaneous sound and image paraphernalia, visual and audio reports are mere minutes away.

The week began Friday with Clay's co-hosting debut as Kelly Ripa's sidekick on Live with Regis and Kelly, followed by Saturday night's illumination of the UNICEF Christmas Snowflake on the corner of 57th Street and 5th Avenue in New York City.

Viewers of Live have been writing reviews all weekend about Friday's episode at TV.com. Friday's show currently has a rating of 9.9/10, and the forum discussion on the same site contains many favorable comments about Clay's subbing for Regis.

Next on fan calendars are Clay's presentation duties at the American Music Awards Show in Los Angeles Tuesday and Wednesday's much-anticipated airing of his hour with Tyra Banks.

Ambassador Illuminates Snowflake

Introduced as "passionate, dedicated, and unwavering in his belief that every child deserves a childhood," Clay, a UNICEF Special Ambassador since 2004, helped kick off the season of giving at Saturday evening's snowflake ceremony.

"UNICEF has saved more children's lives around the world than any other humanitarian organization," he said. "We can never forget that the holiday season is a season of giving and there's probably no better way to change the world and promote peace than to improve the lives of children, so please keep UNICEF in your minds this holiday season."

Cheered by an audience of fans and interested onlookers, Clay helped flip the lever to light the 28-foot, 3,300-pound chandelier that boasts a total of 16,000 Bacharat crystals. He also encouraged the audience to support the humanitarian organization by sending UNICEF greeting cards this season. These can be viewed at at UNICEF and Pier 1 Imports.

PHOTO INTERMISSION: This clickable intermission features graphics and photos by several talented CA fans, including Clayquebec1 with photo by Irishbookgal (1); Butterflyshine, photos, (2, 4); Starhorse_Dad, photo, (3); and Ambassador of Love (5).

Harris Teeter Bypasses Clay Cyberspace

My grocery shopping routine is usually a major run -- and pretty good cardio workout --through a large Harris Teeter once or twice monthly with fill-in stops at a neighborhood market as needed. You can imagine the thunderbolt I received when, on the final leg of Saturday errands, I nonchalantly turned into a totally empty grocery store parking lot.

Of course, everyone in the Friendly shopping area is well aware that for months a new store has been under construction on nearby property; but how in the world did I miss the grand opening 10 WHOLE DAYS earlier? Perhaps the fact that I don't subscribe to the newspaper or -- more likely -- that most of my online time is spent keeping up with my favorite singer -- hmmmm!

Since this incident is a byproduct of my CA fan life, I want to introduce you to this extraordinary new establishment. In a daze, I entered through central, sliding doors, immediately abandoning plans for a quick jaunt down favorite, accustomed aisles. Everything about the place is cutting edge, new, and totally different, beginning with lighter, manageable shopping carts.

When I returned home, I backtracked online to read about the 11/8 store opening at the News-Record site:

GREENSBORO — Let's make one thing clear from the get-go: This is not a grocery store. Call it a temple. A museum. A labyrinth. But don't pretend it's just the corner market.

Colossal Store Changes

We are talking 72,000 square feet of retail, nearly 300 employees, at least eight chefs, 12 aisles (I could have sworn there were 20!), 24 checkouts, the company's largest seafood case anywhere, a wine gallery boasting 600 varieties and some impressive real estate, and a food bar with six soups, Asian food, hot meals, fresh pasta, as well as typical and atypical salad ingredients.

I was so busy locating items on my shopping list that I didn't even broach the huge prepared/deli foods section where chefs cook a meal or a main dish while you wait. There are menus and recipes for programs like "your wellness," the grocer's guide to healthier eating, among others.

Just out of curiosity, next visit I plan to peruse the kingdom of the eight chefs, as well as try to get a handle on the store's terrain. That and buying the Cornish game hens I totally forgot this past weekend!

'Clay Loving Some Chocolate' with Tyra

Tyra: 'A Favorite Interview'

Tyra + Clay = Chemistry

In addition to a promo for Wednesday, the Tyra Banks Show is featuring an online hour-minute-second "Countdown to Clay." Definitely a new Claymate in the house!

Fans can write reviews about the "Clay-Tyra" episode at TV.com HERE.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Week, Clay Nation!

Caro

RELATED TAGS: Clay Aiken, Live with Regis & Kelly, UNICEF, UNICEF Snowflake, American Music Awards, Tyra Banks Show, Harris Teeter, Thanksgiving