SAY HELLO TO KITTY IN THE MALL

THE CARTOON CHARACTER IS COMING TO THE TRAFFORD CENTRE – SO PREPARE FOR A MERCHANDISE OVERLOAD

SHE is the big headed Japanese cat with the big heart – and now Yuko Shimizu, adorable anthropomorphic character Hello Kitty, is in Manchester to prove it.

For two days, from August 15-16, she’ll be resident at the intu Trafford Centre, setting up her Kindness Garden on Peel Avenue and asking visitors to her pop up camp site to take to Twitter and tell the world about the #OneKindThing they’ve done that day.

A firm cartoon favourite since her inception in the 1970s, and now a global brand, Kitty (surname White, fact fans) is also celebrating a pretty big moment of her own – turning 40.

First showcased to the world at home in Japan in 1975, then launched in America a year later, Kitty has become a ubiquitous face on greetings cards, stationary and soft toy sections.

She’s a firm favourite with children and adults, and this visit is all about fans of all ages and welcoming them in to her photo booth, VIP tipi, vintage beauty caravan and craft area, or have some Hello Kitty nail art painted by renowned celebrity nail artist Sophy Robinson.

There’s a catch, Kitty fans: access to the garden is free, but it’ll take a heavenly deed to get past the gates.

“Little visitors are encouraged to pay for the kind gesture by doing a good deed for the day for a friend or stranger,” say the organisers.

“Access to the garden can also be granted by wearing Hello Kitty themed outfits with a bow or tweeting #OneKindThing.”

Saturday August 15 is the special moment to head down as Kitty is number one judge of the best bow tie competition at 2pm.

All jaunty entries have to have been made in her craft garden, and the winner could secure four tickets for her forthcoming show Hello Kitty LIVE – Fashion & Friends, at the Palace Theatre in Manchester on October 18 (11am, 2.30pm, £20.90-£27.90, @_hellokittylive).

Set in Kitty’s home town of London, the show follows her on a big adventure as she strives to achieve her dreams.

Pals My Melody, Bad Badtzu-Maru, Dear Daniel, Purin and Mimmy are on hand to help, and they’ll do it to a soundtrack written by some of the biggest pop music writers around, including Charli XCX, Bruno Mars, James Blunt and Clean Bandit.

intu Trafford Centre / intu.co.uk/traffordcentre / 0161 749 1717 / August 15-16 / Free / @ traffordcentre

Hello Kitty will be at the Trafford Centre