Tuba Contest Launched to Mark Grand Opening

    VANCOUVER, March 25 /CNW/ - A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. today
announced the launch of "The A&W Great Root Bear® Tuba Contest," one of many
events and activities to be held April 7 to 13, 2008 in celebration of the
opening of A&W's first freestanding restaurant built in Ottawa in more than
35 years.
    A&W has returned to the street in Ottawa at the corner of Merivale and
Hunt Club, offering customers their famed burgers, fresh onion rings and
frosted mugs of ice cold A&W Root Beer®. The restaurant has a warm retro
décor, with photos of A&W's drive-in days covering the walls. To celebrate the
grand opening, tuba players in Canada's capital are invited to share their
musical skills by competing in the A&W Great Root Bear Tuba Contest by playing
the "Badum Badum" theme song of the A&W Great Root Bear. Tuba players
interested in showcasing their musical talent will be given sheet music by A&W
and are eligible to enter the following four categories:-   Best Overall Performance - in three age groups:
        -  Best Youth (up to 13 years)
        -  Best Teen (14 to 18 years)
        -  Best Adult (19 +)
    -   Most Memorable Version of the "Badum Badum" SongTo enter, visit any Ottawa A&W Restaurant to fill out a form, or request
an entry form by calling 1-866-614-1483 or emailing tuba@aw.ca. All
contestants will be invited to play in a qualifying round and finalists from
each category will be chosen to compete for that category's grand prize. Four
grand prizes are available to be won, with total prizes of $2,000 to be
awarded. The contest application deadline is Sunday, April 6, at 9 pm EDT, and
winners will be announced at the end of the final round, which will be held on
Saturday, April 12, at 2 pm at the A&W Restaurant on Merivale.
    The public will also have a chance to vote online for their favourite
tuba player. Contest participants are invited to make a video of themselves
playing the "Badum Badum" song on a tuba and upload that video to YouTube.
Participants can then search "A&W Tuba Contest" on the events page of Facebook
to post their videos, view their competition, invite their friends and write
comments on the event wall. The deadline to view your favourite performance is
9 pm EDT on Friday, April 11. Participants who post videos will be eligible to
win in a fifth category, Best Video Performance - as measured by the number of
hits on YouTube. To see the videos and vote for your favourite tuba
performance, log onto Facebook (http://www.facebook.com), go to the events
page and search for "A&W Tuba Contest."
    To say thank you to Ottawa families for their support and to share the
celebratory spirit, A&W will donate $1 from every Teen Burger® sold on
April 12 and 13 to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, supporting
research and facilities to help Ontario's youngest citizens.
    A&W also owns and operates nine shopping centre restaurants in the Ottawa
area. In 2007, the company opened six franchised freestanding restaurants in
Ontario, adding to the more than 50 A&W freestanding restaurants built in
Ontario over the past six years. A&W looks forward to another year of growth
in 2008.

    A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. is 100% Canadian-owned and is one of the
strongest brand names in the Canadian foodservice industry. A&W is the
nation's second largest hamburger restaurant company, by number of locations,
with more than 680 locations coast-to-coast. A&W restaurants feature famous
trade-marked menu items such as The Burger Family®, Chubby Chicken®, and
A&W Root Beer. For more information on A&W, please visit www.aw.ca.