New York, NY - The 29th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Creative Craft Event honored the technical and creative arts achievements of an otherwise unseen but invaluable community of television professionals whose collective efforts result in everything from dazzling innovations in directing to powerful ballads to perfect hair. This year's event was marked by a strong sense of teamwork, community, and devotion to craft.

This was certainly true of the evening's big winner, Sesame Street. The PBS pre-school children's series, now in its 33rd year, won a remarkable 5 Emmys, bringing in a total of 9 awards for PBS, tying it with ABC for tops for networks. The show pulled in awards for Costume Design, Music Direction, Sound Mixing, Directing in a Children's Series and Writing in a Children's Series. The show's head writer, Lou Berger, best articulated Sesame Street's formula for success when he remarked that "if we're lucky the people that we work with and the worlds we build with our imaginations become our creative homes and are really to be cherished. We realize how fragile and temporary it all can be. We have to take care of it to keep going and we can never take its existence for granted."

Another long-time member of the PBS family, Reading Rainbow, won for Outstanding Children's Series.
Tops in Soaps were All My Children and As the World Turns, each garnering 4 Emmys, for a grand total that would certainly increase a week later at the televised award show. All My Children won for Costume Design, Music Direction, Technical Direction and the Emmy's newest category, Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Drama Series, with honors going to Judy Blye Wilson, who thanked the Academy "for finally inviting us to the party."

As the World Turns was recognized for Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design, Lighting Direction, Hairstyling and Makeup.

Celebrating a decade on-the-air, Martha Stewart, also on hand as a presenter, won for Service Show Host for her syndicated program Martha Stewart Living. "We have a really great group of people who work in Westport, Connecticut," she said, "for without them I wouldn't be standing here tonight."

The Rosie O'Donnell Show, with just a handful of episodes remaining until the series comes to a close, won 2 Emmy Awards. The show, in its sixth year, picked up honors for Directing and Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design.

Showtime's canon of children's specials pulled in 4 awards for the cable network that is a perennial heavyweight in all such categories. My Louisiana Sky and Off Season each took home 2 awards.

Outstanding Original Song winner, Debi Cochran, who won as a 3 person composer/lyricist team for the song "Barefoot Ballet", for General Hospital, added to the evening's sentiments of longevity and community, both for those who work together to create daytime television and for those who grow up and grow old watching it. "I think daytime drama is the heart of television because it's the only place where you can grow old with the people you love."

The sense of family was also present in the production of the Creative Craft Event. National Academy staff members worked both on and off-stage. Megan Lynch and Whitney Able, both members of the Emmy office team, were on hand as Emmy models. Brent Stanton, Executive Director of Daytime, who recently released a cd of his own music entitled "The Sign of the Kiwi," led a band comprised of an array of talented musicians, including Jack Morer on guitar, Sarah Jane Cion on keyboard, Phil Palombi on bass, Jim Mola on drums and Stanton himself on flute.

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