By Matt Mauney
Universal Orlando Resort will be featured as part of the 2015 Nickelodeon HALO Awards for the first time in the history of the community service recognition special.
The show and organization honors teenagers that are making a difference in their communities. The HALO Awards, which is an acronym for “Helping And Leading Others,” airs Sunday at 7 p.m. across Nickelodeon, TeenNick, Nicktoons, TV Land, CMT, Nick.com and the Nick App.
“There’s no feat too big or too small when you think about actually helping your community,” said host, creator and executive producerNick Cannon. “All of these amazing honorees that we have with us right now come from different walks of life and actually have their own mission and their own passion and that’s the beauty of HALO.”
Four teens are being honored this year, including Miami’s Joshua Williams. The 14-year old started his foundation, Joshua’s Heart, when he was just 4-years-old.
His foundation has over 6,000 youth volunteers and has given out over 1.1 million pounds of food.
A portion of the 2015 Nickelodeon HALO Awards filmed at Universal Orlando Resort Nov. 7, including appearances by Nick Cannon and a performance by alternative rock band Walk The Moon. The show will air Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. across Nickelodeon, TeenNick, Nicktoons, TV Land, CMT, Nick.com and the Nick App.
“I was just skateboarding in the park and all of a sudden this drone came down and surprised me,” he said.
The Universal Orlando segment of the show was recorded on Nov. 7 and featured a performance from alternative rock band Walk the Moon.
“One of the greatest things that has come from this amazing couple of years for us is that we found we have a really incredible fan base with young kids and families,” lead singer Nicholas Petricca said. “Having a positive message and having a positive impact is important to us, in addition to just playing music for fun.”
The 2015 HALO Awards will also feature performances by Fifth Harmony, DNCE with lead singer Joe Jonas, Flo Rida and Tori Kelly.Justin Bieber will be presented the first-ever HALO Hall of Fame Award for his work with Make-A-Wish foundation. Those segments were recorded in New York.
In addition to the surprise concert by Walk the Moon, the four honorees had time to enjoy Universal Orlando Resort.
It was Williams’ first visit.
“We rode some roller coasters, met Optimus Prime and saw a parade,” he said. “It was a really good time.”
Source: Orlando Sentinel
