Flagship Cinemas Derry 12
10 Ashleigh Drive
Derry, NH
Movie Hotline: 603-437-8800

Summer 2009 Schedule*

• 6/30-7/02:  Space Chimps
• 7/07-7/09: Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
• 7/14-7/16: Alvin & The Chipmunks
• 7/21-7/23: IGOR
• 7/28-7/30: The Longshots
• 8/04-8/06: Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa
• 8/11-8/13: Kung Fu Panda
• 8/18-8/20: The Tale of Despereaux

*All titles and showtimes subject to change. Seating is limited.  For more information or for camp scheduling please call Flagship Cinemas Derry 12 at 603-437-4130.

There are two participating theaters in New Hampshire:

Hookset 8
100 Technology Dr.
Hookset, NH
603-6216-7177

Fox Run Stadium 15
45 Gosling Rd.
Newington, NH
603-431-6116

This summer’s schedule starts today and includes:

• 6/30-7/01 – Space Chimps (G)
• 7/07-7/08 – Horton Hears A Who (G), Inkheart (PG)
• 7/14-7/15 – Wallace And Gromit (G), Igor (PG)
• 7/21-7/22 – Charlotte’s Web (G), Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
• 7/28-7/29 – Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (G), Star Wars: Clone Wars (PG)
• 8/04-8/05 – Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G), Kung Fu Panda (PG)
• 8/11-8/12 – The Tale Of Despereaux (G), Journey To The Center Of The Earth (PG)
• 8/18-8/19 – Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G), Bee Movie (PG)
• 8/25-8/26 – March Of The Penguins (G), Evan Almighty (PG) (Fox Run Only)

Tickets are available on the day of the show and seating is first-come, first-served so you may want to get there early. Visit Regal Entertainment Group for more information.

Ok, enough 80’s references. Today Vans bills itself as the “original skate shoe manufacturer since 1966″ and designs products for and supports action sports including skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing and BMX.  And while the company appears to have offered custom shoes at retail locations from the beginning, now anybody can order them via the Vans website.

We jumped at the opportunity to look at the shoes because:

1. I was curious to see what my 3-year-old would create
2. Creating custom anything on the web appeals to the geek in me
3. My daughter goes through shoes faster than anyone I’ve ever seen

We started our shoes by selecting one of three styles at shop.vans.com/custom:

• Era -  $60
• Slip-On – $45-60
• Old Skool – $70

All are available in sizes for men, women and boys, but only the Slip-On is available in youth and toddler sizes, so that’s the one we chose.

After selecting a style, you start your design with a solid black or white shoe or one of a variety of pre-existing designs. Once you’ve selected your starting point, you can mix and match options for the following:

• Top, Side and heel(48 solids/patterns each)
• Vamp binding (20 colors)
• Foxing (black or white)
• Foxing stripe (20 colors)
• Elastic gore (black or white)
• Collar lining (black or white)

Don’t worry if those names don’t mean anything to you. The image of the shoe updates as you hold your mouse over each option so you can easily see how your choices will look before selecting them. You can also view your shoe from the side, top and back. Finally, you can change your choices at any time, even after you’ve added your custom shoes to the cart. This last bit is a particularly nice feature if you (or your child) change your mind just before ordering.

My daughter and I had a blast playing with the shoe designer. We spent a lot of time mixing the patterns to create some very, umm, “original” footwear. But the folks at Vans wanted us to check not only the shoe designer but also the shoes, so we settled down to design something my daughter would actually wear. Her favorite color is pink, so her first creation was a solid pink shoe. It may have been a “custom” pink shoe, but it was still just a pink shoe.  After playing around a bit we swapped out some of the pink for some purple and added a star pattern and we were set.

And that’s where we hit our only snag: Our new shoes were listed as “available in 5-7 weeks.” This seemed to be the case for all the shoes we tried to create.  In today’s “get it now” world, 5-7 weeks seems like an eternity. In a toddler’s world, it could mean a completely different shoe size. I’m not sure if this is the normal time for custom Vans, or if it’s because this is a new service, but it’s definitely something to be aware of if you’re ordering your custom shoes as a gift.

After taking a gamble on ordering a full size larger we gave the shoe one last look and submitted the order.

Overall the process was simple and we had a great time playing with the shoe designer. I would have liked the ability to upload images or pictures to print on the shoes, but there are still lots of options to mix and match. The custom shoes are more expensive than the retail Vans ($45 vs. $27 for the toddler Slip-Ons), but I could see these being a great gift not only for kids who already like Vans, but also those who want to express their creativity. Plus, there’s no Spicoli. But then again, you have to bring your own pizza.

We’ll be reviewing the shoes themselves once they arrive, so stay tuned.