When seeking inspiration for their new, Halloween-themed children’s book software application, twins Kyle and Derek Sullivan looked to their Hazel Dell roots. The Sullivan brothers, 28, worked with business partner Tony Huynh to create “It’s Witching Hour in Hazy Dell.”
“It’s a bit of an homage to our hometown neighborhood,” said Kyle. It’s set in “sort of a fantastical version of Hazel Dell.”
The twins grew up in Hazel Dell and graduated from Columbia River High School in 2000. Kyle now lives in Vancouver, B.C., and Derek lives in Seattle.
Derek did the illustrations for “It’s Witching Hour in Hazy Dell,” and Kyle wrote the story. Huynh, a Portland resident, did the programming.
The app is available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. An abbreviated version is free, but the complete story is 99 cents.
This wasn’t the first product the Sullivan twins and Huynh have released through their jointly owned app development company Tangorang Labs. They also created Word Spree, a Mad Libs-style game available for iPhone and iPod touch for 99 cents. They are releasing a free take on Word Spree soon and have submitted a Thanksgiving-themed version to Apple that they hope will be available by Nov. 25.
Local dance crew to compete on BET show
The name of local dance crew F.I.O. stands for Future Is Ours, and the future is indeed looking bright for the group.
Led by Vancouver resident Brian Toombs, F.I.O. competed in a talent competition in Portland earlier this month and qualified to proceed to the next round. F.I.O. will compete on March 2 in New York on the BET show “106 & Park” as part of its weekly Wild Out Wednesday talent show.
The winners will receive $5,000 and a trophy. F.I.O. is currently seeking corporate and private donations to fund its trip to the competition.
Toombs, 20, is a 2008 Mountain View High School graduate currently attending Portland Community College’s Cascade Campus. He also teaches hip-hop at Kara’s Dance Studio in Vancouver.
Competing on Wild Out Wednesday should mean valuable exposure for F.I.O., which features 11 dancers from the greater Vancouver-Portland area.
“It’s going to open up a lot of doors, and it’s going to inspire other people, other dance crews to keep going,” Toombs said.
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