Every banana has its day in the sun.
The National Mascot Hall of Fame, the country’s only online and physical museum and interactive educational experience dedicated to honoring the contributions of sports mascots, has unveiled a special display featuring Bobby Banana, the celebrated 7-foot ambassador of Dole Food Company created in 1992 to promote healthy living around the world.
Christened in the museum’s Department of Mascot Studies Gallery and continuing through Sept. 30, 2024, “Bobby Banana: Dole’s Healthy-Living Icon for a Hungry World”chronicles the inception and growth of the exuberant, sneakers-wearing Cavendish banana responsible for inspiring generations of kids and families toward nutritious food choices and active lifestyles.
The National Mascot Hall of Fame is located in Whiting, Ind., 21 miles south of Chicago, and also maintains a virtual museum honoring the 33 mascots it has inducted to date.
The three-month Bobby Banana display was timed by the museum to coincide with Dole’s 125th Banana-Versary, a year-long celebration of the global produce leader’s 125 years in the banana business encompassing online, social, promotional, in-store and other activities through 2024.
“While the focus of the National Mascot Hall of Fame has traditionally been on college and professional sports mascots, we can’t help but admire the work of corporate icons like Dole’s Bobby Banana who have helped electrify and inspire progress toward a better, healthier and more equitable world,” said Karen Anaszewicz, the museum’s executive director. “Once we heard about this year’s Dole Banana-Versary, we knew the time was ripe to tell the Bobby Banana story.”
According to Anaszewicz, Bobby Banana becomes the first globally known corporate mascot to be displayed in the five-year history of the National Mascot Hall of Fame.
“After years of requests, we have decided to start officially inducting corporate mascots into the museum in 2025 as part of our expanded commitment to telling the full mascot story,” she said. “More details on this exciting evolution for the National Mascot Hall of Fame will be announced soon – so stay tuned!”
Bil Goldfield, Dole’s director of corporate communications, helped develop the exhibit, which includes a series of illuminated display panels offering information about Bobby Banana, Dole Food Company and the Banana-Versary.
“We’ve had many dialogues with the National Mascot Hall of Fame over the years, so to finally see the display christened and welcoming guests is a major thrill – for me, Bobby and everyone at Dole,” he said. “This day instantly becomes a highlight of our Banana-Versary.”
The National Mascot Hall of Fame is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is $8-10. For visitor information, go to https://mascothalloffame.com/visit/.
For information about Dole’s 125th Banana-Versary, go to the celebration page.
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