Happy Mario Day! 

By Kylie Franklin

Happy Mario Day! Mario day is a celebration of Super Mario Bros. which annually falls on March 10^th. The initials spell out “Mario” as Mar10, which has caused fans to credit the day to Mario. Nintendo celebrates Mario day with in-game events, selective Nintendo store meet and greets with Mario, and deals with specific Super-Mario games. Nintendo will be doing promos and celebrating throughout the month, offering special deals and prizes to participants. 

This year Nintendo will be celebrating Super-Mario Bros. 40^th anniversary, having been released back in 1985. The game would establish Nintendo as a prominent competitor in the video game industry. Super Mario Bros. would go on to launch 24 more Super Mario games. Mario would become one of the most famous video characters of all time, becoming one of the highest grossing video game franchises. The game would make not only make an imprint on the video industry through sales, but worldwide it would make its mark as one of the most culturally significant video game franchises. The Super Mario franchise grew into different forms of media, with Mario being outside the game and apart from tv series, manga, magazines, movies, and countless merchandise. 

According to Nintendo, the specific Mario day events include a relaunch of “Nintendo Classics With Nintendo Switch Online” where Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Mario Clash, and Mario’s Tennis will be available to any active Nintendo Switch Online (Expansion Pack) players. There will also be a sweepstakes event for the chance to win a trip to Super Nintendo World from March 10^th to March 30^th. There will also be an event in the Mario Kart World game where Nintendo Switch Online players can participate in the “Mario Kart World My Nintendo Open Series” and get the chance to redeem 310 platinum points.  

Mario Day will be celebrated locally at the Newfane Public Library from 3pm to 5pm with video games and themed crafts on March 10^th.  There will also be a Mario themed Adult & Me cooking class on March 17^th during 5:30pm. On March 10^th GameStop will be offering a $5 store credit to customers that come in dressed up as Mario. A GameStop store in New York City is attempting to break the world record for the largest gathering of people dressed up as Mario. 

The Mario Day celebration is also being used by Nintendo to promote their upcoming new movie The Super Mario Galaxy Movie which is set in the Super Mario Galaxy universe. Characters from the game that are expected to make an appearance in the movie are Rosalina, Bowser Junior, and one of the franchise’s most popular characters: Yoshi. The movie is set to come out on April 1^st of this year. There will also be a release of a new Dippin’ Dots flavor released on Mario Day in dedication for the new upcoming movie. While the flavor is called “Mystery flavor”, the name of the new ice cream is “Galaxy Pop” and will be available at selected theaters.