Smurfs get their own day, June 25

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CULVER CITY, Calif., June 13 (UPI) -- Hollywood's Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation say they are coordinating events around the world as part of Global Smurfs Day this month.

Among the festivities scheduled for June 25 will be an attempt to set a Guinness World Records mark for the largest gathering of people dressed as the fictional little blue beings known as Smurfs within a 24-hour period.

Other activities include a Smurfs Experience in London and a family event at New York's South Street Seaport.

Smurfs creator Peyo's family will be on hand to join in the fun in their home country of Belgium, while the famed whitewashed walls of the Spanish village of Juzcar are to be painted blue for the occasion.

In addition, Smurf figurines will inhabit Paris's Trocadero Terrace in front of the Eiffel Tower; the main square in Reykjavik, Iceland; Colombia's El Dorado International Airport; and high-traffic areas in Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland.

The announcement regarding Global Smurfs Day was made Monday by Marc Weinstock, president of worldwide marketing for Sony Pictures.

Columbia Pictures' and Sony Pictures Animation's movie "The Smurfs" is to be released in theaters in the United States July 29.

"There are few characters as iconic as the Smurfs -- for more than 50 years, they have been icons of popular culture, appealing across generations," Weinstock said in a statement. "Peyo's creation endures, and that's why Global Smurfs Day is a fitting way to celebrate his birthday."

Peyo was born June 25, 1928. He died of a heart attack in 1992.