Recognizing that if the economy doesn't perk up by June, this summer is going to be the absolute pits, California's Department of Tourism is taking action. In a joint effort with the public beaches from Coronado Beach to Carlsbad and Newport to Morrow Bay, 250 of California's stretches of public sand and surf are revisiting the days when life was more fun.

Beach Blanket Bingo Days is an answer to the doldrums. The hope is that if people are having fun, their buoyant moods will get them to buy. Vendors who set up their wares along beach boardwalks are counting on it.

Says department spokesperson Bitsy Carmichael, "The Beach Blanket Bingo theme was a no brainer for us. We couldn't think of another time in U.S. movie history when heading to the beach meant putting your cares away. Watching just a few minutes of Annette and Frankie was a real pick me up. Beach Blanket Bingo Days are a way to relive that time. We've developed a series of events to recapture the mood. A day at the beach will put a smile on your face."

Each beach will offer its own brand of Beach Blanket Bingo fun such as Annette and Frankie look-a-like contests and dance offs, but at 2:00 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, anyone can play Beach Blanket Bingo. Pick up a bingo card from designated life guard station, spread out your beach towel and join in on a beach-wide bingo game and a chance to win a host of prizes. The grand prize for each game is a Beach Blanket Bingo picnic basket filled with items like an Annette and Frankie beach ball, flip flops, beach towel, sun visor, Frisbee and the movie DVD.

"We're also going to be selling Commemorative Beach Blanket Bingo Beach towels as a fundraiser for beach clean-ups. With California's current budget in disarray, there aren't enough beach cleaning personnel and all the trash puts a real damper on a good time," says Carmichael. "The beach towels are an affordable $10 and a way to take the beach mood home with you."

To prove her point, Bitsy Carmichael clicked on the remote to show the kind of fun the department is hoping to generate come summer. [see movie trailer]

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