UPPER WEST SIDE — They may be too young to have been dazzled by the "Shaq Attack" on the basketball court, but this Sunday kids will get a taste of Shaquille O'Neal's acting skills, made infamous in the 1994 film Kazaam, as he takes the stage with a team of giant talking vegetables.
Just last year Shaq came to the city to promote the new Triple Double Oreo in a shootout with Venus Williams, and now he's back to promote healthy eating as part of a puppet show at the Lincoln Square Century 21 to benefit the Food Bank for New York City.
The Super Sprowtz team of Colby Carrot, Erica Eggplant, Brian Broccoli and Suzy Sweetpea, among others, will lead the puppet show, which begins at 11 a.m. in the store's children's department. The show is free, and hundreds of parents and kids are expected.
Erica Eggplant is Shaq's favorite, according to Carol Schneider, a representative from the Food Bank, which will receive all proceeds from sales of Super Sprowtz products and part of any children's department sales.
Shaq will be bouncing around with the giant vegetables and performing in the puppet show himself, Schneider said.
"He’s reasonably unpredictable," she said. "He’s not going to be shooting any baskets as far as I know."
The whole event supports the mission to make healthy eating look fun and easy to kids, Schneider said, and it supports the Food Bank, which has its own nutrition outreach program.
Russian Tea Room Executive Chef Marc Taxiera will demonstrate how to make healthy recipes, and free vegetables will be provided by Fairway.
Super Sprowtz was launched in 2011, and the characters appear on New York's public television channel, in books and in doll form, and perform live shows.
