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Roanoke County family competes for trip on TODAY Show

The Downie family competed on the TODAY Show Wednesday morning

The Downie Family was on the TODAY Show.

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – The Downie family from Roanoke County was one of five finalists competing in a Nintendo-themed game to win the grand prize - a trip to Tokyo Japan to visit Universal Studio Japan’s, “Super Nintendo World” opening later this year.

They won the chance to compete on TODAY after entering a contest where the family made a music video.

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During the 8:30 a.m. half hour, Victoria and Alan Downie talked to Carson Daly about how their family enjoys playing video games together. It all started when mom, Tricia Downie, brought home a Wii. That started her oldest daughter’s passion for everything Mario and Nintendo!

“I fell in love with Nintendo’s storytelling, how they structure their games and the quirky characters. Everything’s so colorful,” said Downie, a junior at Cave Spring High School.

We introduced you to the Downie family earlier this week. You can see more of their story here.

Alan was one of five people who had a chance to win the trip. Unfortunately, he didn’t win but he will bring home a prize pack worth about $600 full of Nintendo swag.

“Whether we win or lose we are embracing the adventure and embracing another epic family opportunity to make memories together,” said Tricia Downie earlier this week. “We get to miss work. We get to miss school. We get to go up to Times Square, we get to be on the TODAY Show in Rockefeller Center which I don’t even think was on a bucket list but it’s definitely a surreal experience.”


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About the Author
Jenna Zibton headshot

You can see Jenna weekday mornings at the anchor desk on WSLS 10 Today from 5-7 a.m. She also leads our monthly Solutionaries Series, where we highlight the creative thinkers and doers working to make the world a better place.

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