September 10 - National TV Dinner Day

 

Happy National TV Dinner Day! Today is observed annually on September 10. 

In 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons changed the prepackaged meal business forever. Introducing the TV Dinner revolutionized frozen food. 

It was in that same year that the Swanson TV dinner company apparently had two hundred and sixty tons of frozen turkey leftover after Thanksgiving.  

From this, they packaged them into trays with peas and potatoes, which evolved into the TV dinners America knows and loves today. 

In 1962, Swanson stopped using the name TV Dinner. However, in the United States, the term remains synonymous with any prepackaged dinner purchased frozen from a store and heated at home. 

The first Swanson TV Dinner consisted of a Thanksgiving meal of turkey, cornbread dressing, peas, and sweet potatoes. 

Originally, Swansons made the tray of aluminum. They separated each food item into individual compartments as well.  

At home, the cook heated the dinner in the oven. The cooking time was usually twenty-five minutes. Today, nearly all frozen food trays can be cooked in the microwave or a conventional oven. 

 

When is National Frozen Food Day? 

When Swanson’s first sold TV dinners, they priced them at ninety-eight cents. 

In the first year, production estimates reached five thousand dinners. To their surprise, Swanson far exceeded that amount. In the first year, they sold more than ten million of them! 

TV Dinner Facts 

• • 1960 – Swanson added desserts to a new four-compartment tray. 

  • 1964 – Night Hawk name originated from the Night Hawk steak houses that operated in Austin, Texas, from 1939 through 1994. The original diners were open all night, catering to the late-night crowd. The restaurants produced the first frozen Night Hawk TV dinner in 1964. 
• • 1969 – The first TV breakfasts were marketed. Great Starts Breakfasts and breakfast sandwiches followed later. 
• • 1973 – Swanson markets the first Hungry-Man dinners. The meals included larger portions of its regular dinner products. 
• • 1986 – Microwave-oven safe trays debut on the market.  
• • 1986 – The Smithsonian Institute inducted the original Swanson TV Dinner tray into the Museum of American History. 

Much has changed since the original TV Dinner. They also remain a popular choice for a fast and convenient meal, fun to eat in front of the TV! 

HOW TO OBSERVE 

Get out a TV dinner, pop it in the microwave or oven, and enjoy! 

Use #NationalTVDinnerDay to post on social media. 

HISTORY 

While National Day Calendar® was unable to identify the origins of this food holiday, they continue to research the source. 

#NationalTVDinnerDay 

@Swanson 

@HungryMan

@Smithsonian 

@nichecinema 

September 10 - 45th Toronto International Film Festival Begins

Today, the 45th Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) officially begins! TIFF is a charitable cultural organization with a mission to transform the way people see the world, through film. 

 
TIFF is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over four hundred and eighty thousand people annually.  

 
Since its founding on October 18, 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. TIFF's mission is "to transform the way people see the world through film." 

 
In 2007, Time noted that TIFF had "grown from its place as the most influential fall film festival to the most influential film festival, period". This is partially the result of the festival's ability and reputation for generating "Oscar buzz". 

 
In 2016, three hundred and ninety-seven films from eighty-three countries were screened at twenty-eight screens in downtown Toronto venues. This welcomed an estimated four hundred and eighty thousand attendees, over five thousand of whom were industry professionals.  

 
TIFF starts the Thursday night after Labor Day (the first Monday in September in Canada) and lasts for eleven days. 

 
Since its founding in October 1976, TIFF is now one of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind in the world. 

In 1998, Variety magazine acknowledged that TIFF "is second only to Cannes in terms of high-profile pics, stars, and market activity". 

 
TIFF was founded as the Festival of Festivals, with the aim of screening movies from other film festivals, and has since become one of the world's largest annual showcases of film, attended by both industry professionals and the public. 

In 1995, it was renamed the Toronto International Film Festival. 

 
The festival was founded in 1976 at the Windsor Arms Hotel by Scottish-born Canadian filmmaker, film producer and theater producer Bill Marshall, Canadian film producer Henk Van der Kolk and Murray "Dusty" Cohl. 

 
TIFF is a not-for-profit cultural organization with a mission to transform the way people see the world through film.  

 
TIFF is also dedicated to presenting the best of international and Canadian cinema and creating transformational experiences for film lovers and creators of all ages and backgrounds. 

 
The festival's People's Choice Award—which is based on audience balloting—has emerged as an indicator of success during awards season, especially at the Academy Awards. 
 
To see the full schedule of films premiering, visit the link below: 

https://tiff.net/films?schedule 
 
Best of luck to the winners! 

 
#TIFF2020 

#coronavirussucks 

@TIFF 

@TIFF_NET 

@TIFF_Industry 

@time

@Variety 

@nichecinema