It's The Kick Off To Bert's Big Adventure 2026!

Summary

The Bert Show – “It's The Kick Off To Bert's Big Adventure 2026!”

Date: February 19, 2026
Cast: Bert, Kristen, Stacy, Lala, (mentions of Tommy, Abby, Cassie, Jackson, and others)

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Episode Overview

This episode celebrates the kickoff of Bert's Big Adventure 2026, The Bert Show’s annual trip to Disney World for children with chronic or terminal illnesses and their families. The crew shares behind-the-scenes moments, heartwarming stories, and introductions to staff members and new participants. The main focus is setting the stage for this year's magical journey, discussing the importance of community, forming bonds, and cherishing small group interactions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bert’s Big Adventure: The Heart of the Show

• Bert’s Big Adventure is an annual tradition where the cast takes children with chronic or terminal illnesses—and their families—for a VIP experience at Disney World (03:00).
• The event is about love, connection, making memories, and treating the families with care, attention, and, as always, tons of souvenirs.

2. Pre-Trip Nerves & Empathy

• The cast relates to the nerves and sleepless excitement of trip participants, expressing new empathy for families who wake up early for the event.
  • Quote (Bert, 02:30): “Now I have way more empathy for all the kids and Bert's Big Adventure families that get up this early in the morning and join us. … That alarm was early and loud.”
  • Kristen admits she barely slept, mirroring anticipated excitement and nerves of the kids (03:25).

3. Welcome Party & Orientation Night

• Families gather the night before at the Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel for a grand welcome with a literal red carpet, costumed characters (Star Wars, princesses), and enthusiastic volunteers (05:48).
• Special attention is given to children’s needs (e.g., wheelchair users), ensuring everyone feels safe and celebrated.
  • Quote (Kristen, 06:12): “We literally roll out the red carpet... the Star wars characters, princesses galore lining the red carpet. … We’ve learned over the years to ask the kids prior to walking down the red carpet if they like loud noises.”

4. Memorable Moments

• A highlight is Kendall’s little brother’s fascination with “Mr. Meter,” the Gas South mascot—a quirky favorite among the Disney and Star Wars icons (07:51):
  • Quote (Kristen, 08:01): “I have never seen a child so obsessed with the gas meter before. This might be already one of my favorite moments of Bert's Big Adventure.”

5. Community & Support

• The event is supported by sponsors (Zaxby’s, Gas South, Q997, Musico at Balloon) and is deeply embraced by the broader radio family:
  • Q997 is lauded as “the heart” of Bert’s Big Adventure (08:31).
  • Decorations, food, and fun (a bouncy house in a ballroom!) set the tone for a magical weekend (09:00).

6. Bringing in the ‘Rookies’

• The segment introduces Lala (manager of corporate partnerships) and Stacy (Gas South board member, and “Mr. Meter” fan) as new insiders:
  • Stacy looks forward to forming her own bonds with the kids (“happy chaos,” 09:55).
  • Lala expresses appreciation for the intentionality and personal touch of the trip, feeling honored to help build the community (11:14).
  • Quote (Lala, 11:14): “I’m overwhelmed with the amount of thought, care, and intentionality that has gone into this, and I'm honored and excited to be a part of it.”

7. The Value of Small Group Connection

• The show prefers to keep the trip small (11-12 families) to allow for deeper relationships and personalized experiences (11:34).
  • Quote (Kristen, 11:34): “By keeping it to, like, 12 kids, 11, 12 families, we could give them that individual love and really focus on their wants and their needs... making that bond and that connection. ... It’s a more tight knit family.”

8. Traditions & Looking Forward

• A longstanding tradition is for a past family to share their experience with this year’s group, helping set expectations and inspire confidence.
  • Mention of last year’s VIP Andy Grammer concert as a core memory (13:10).

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• First-Day Chaos (Bert, 02:30): “It was the first play of the game and it was a pick six.”
• Nervous Energy and Early Mornings (Bert, 02:30): “I was having a tough time sleeping last night. … I kept getting up like every half an hour thinking I was going to miss the alarm.”
• Souvenir Queen (Kristen, 04:22): “Who's the best at buying souvenirs?... I get the award every year. However, the treasurer of the board might not be happy about that.”
• Mascot Crush (Kristen, 07:51): "Kendall's little brother was obsessed with Mr. Meter. Would not let go of Mr. Meter's hand."
• On Family Bonds (Kristen, 11:34): “It’s not even about catering to them, but really making that bond and that connection.”
• Laugh About Unwanted Affection (Kristen, 10:51): “My favorite is when a child despises Bert.”
• Show’s Heart (Kristen, 08:31): “Every radio station needs a heart. And Q997's heart is Bert’s Big Adventure.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bert’s Early Morning Empathy & Chaos: 02:30–04:00
• What Is Bert’s Big Adventure / Overview: 03:56–05:26
• Welcome Party & Red Carpet: 05:48–07:07
• Kendall’s Little Brother & Mr. Meter: 07:34–08:12
• Sponsors & Room Decor: 08:24–09:15
• Introducing the Rookies (Lala & Stacy): 09:15–11:14
• Why The Trip Stays Small: 11:34–12:16
• Traditions & Family Letters: 12:55–13:12

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Tone & Takeaway

The episode is warm, funny, and heartfelt—an authentic glimpse into the preparation, excitement, and genuine care that makes Bert's Big Adventure special. Full of banter and affection, the cast showcases their tight-knit bond, their love for the kids and families, and their excitement for another year of making magic and memories together.

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Transcript

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[Kristen]

The Birch show we have stagers. Okay.

[Burt]

We were just telling Jackson last night. Just want to let you know. Yeah, don't be stressed, dude, because Jackson is playing the part of Tommy this year. Don't be stressed about this first segment because 50% of the time something goes wrong for sure on this. And it did.

[Kristen]

It did. And actually it was your fault.

[Burt]

It was my fault this year.

[Kristen]

So that should make Amber's back in the Q997 studio. So that should make her feel better. So we're good, man.

[Burt]

So that's how we're starting you.

[Kristen]

You needed to get the first turnover of the ball game, and you did. So thank you, sir.

[Burt]

It was the first play of the game and it was a pick six. Okay, it's Birch Big Adventure 2026. For those of you that promised me in my DMs, don't worry about it. It'll be like. It's like riding a bike. You guys were wrong. I will tell you this right now, that now I have way more empathy for all the kids and Burt's Big Adventure families that get up this early in the morning and join us. And this is not part of their regular schedule. And we'd come in here every single year and we'd be like, oh, it's the big deal. It's just one morning. So I've done this for too many years. 25 in Atlanta and got up at 3:30 or 4:00 clock in the morning. Really not a problem if you're doing it regularly. But now that I haven't been doing it for a couple of months, that alarm was early and loud. Yes.

[Kristen]

How many, how many times do you hit snooze?

[Burt]

Well, I. I was having a tough time sleeping last night. It was one of those nights that I kept getting up like every half an hour thinking I was going to miss the alarm.

[Kristen]

I did the same thing.

[Burt]

So I was staring at the ceiling before the alarm even started.

[Kristen]

Yeah, this. This is the earliest I've gotten up since the last show we did together.

[Burt]

So now we have a lot more empathy for the kids that are here. Some of them were down here before we were.

[Kristen]

Yeah, I know that made me. But you know what? They also know they're going to Disney today.

[Burt]

Yeah. Right.

[Kristen]

So there's a little bit of excitement in the air.

[Burt]

And a lot of them probably weren't sleeping the same way I wasn't sleeping last night. So for those of you that might be new around here and don't know what Burt's Big Adventure is all about, buckle in.

[Kristen]

Yes.

[Burt]

Because this is a heck of a couple of days we got going on here. Burt's Big Adventure is the trip that we take down to Disney World every year with some really special kids that have had it kind of tough. Right. So what we do is we take the kids and we take everybody in the family and we go VIP down to Disney World all the way. And we shower these guys with love and connection and souvenirs. A whole bunch of souvenirs.

[Kristen]

Who's the best at buying souvenirs?

[Burt]

For sure. No matter what, it's you.

[Kristen]

I get them. I get the award every year. However, the. The treasurer of the board might not be happy about that.

[Burt]

So it all starts sort of yesterday and last night when everybody is gathered for the very first time. And that's when. Although I wasn't at orientation this year because I was traveling for my retirement trip, orientation for us when we meet beforehand is kind of like everybody's eyes are like deers in a headlight or a head.

[Kristen]

Yeah, there's a headlight.

[Burt]

There's a headlight.

[Kristen]

You're there.

[Burt]

I'm still new at this again.

[Kristen]

You're good. Have another sip of coffee.

[Burt]

It's going to take more than that. And so it's really just like a whole bunch of instructions and everybody's really not sure what to expect. So there's really not a lot of chemistry.

[Kristen]

Just in most cases, there's some hesitation coming in.

[Burt]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

And we're. We're. I don't want to. We're not an intimidating group, but my God, we got a lot of energy.

[Burt]

We do.

[Kristen]

And when you come into a room and you have everybody, that's like, we. I. You know, we just. We don't come in soft. We come in hard every single time.

[Burt]

And you're also. We've got a group of people here. Some have been on planes before, some have been on vacations before. Some have never been on a plane before. Some haven't had their own vacation together, so they're not even exactly sure what to expect. So there's a lot of detail. So orientation is one thing. That was a couple of weeks ago. Last night is when it really starts to come together and you can really feel the connection in the family.

[Kristen]

Yeah. So we're here at the Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel. We're actually in the ballroom right now. But the reason why we have, like the welcome party the night before, when you have a child with special needs, any, you know, anything. Right. And we have quite a few kiddos that are. Need wheelchairs this year. It takes a lot to get out of the house and to get somewhere. So the idea that we would send them from their homes here at this time of the morning, Absolutely no way. So we bring everybody here the night before and we. We literally roll out the red carpet. So we have a. We have a red carpet. We have. There were so many characters here last night. The Star wars characters, princesses galore lining the red carpet. All of our volunteers who are so incredible signs for the families. Cheering. We've learned over the years to ask the kids prior to walking down the red carpet if they like loud noises.

[Burt]

Right. And they all said yes.

[Will from IQ Bar]

They did.

[Burt]

Pretty much like, let's go. Bring it on.

[Kristen]

Well, we got a lot of boys this year.

[Burt]

Yeah.

[Kristen]

It's going to be. It's going to be a rowdy group. I already feel it.

[Burt]

It's going to be rougher.

[Kristen]

Yeah.

[Burt]

The one thing I did like about last night is because there are so many boys, there was way less dancing. I was a fan of that.

[Kristen]

Yeah. Warrior. So. Yeah. So all the families we gather, Zaxby's catered our dinner last night. Fred, thank you so much. Every single year, we can count on them to come in the. The one of the cutest things, like, because we're already clocking core memories, right. For the 2026 trip. So Kendall's family had arrived. And again, I want you to know, there's stormtroopers, there's Darth Vader, there's Cinderella, there's Moana. Like, there are. It's a star studded red carpet. Okay. And Kendall's little brother saw the meter from Gas South.

[Burt]

That was so funny.

[Kristen]

He.

[Burt]

It's. You have to explain sort of what the mascot meter looks like.

[Kristen]

So it's. It's. It's Gas South. So it's like a gas meter that you find on the outside of your house. It's literally the meter mascot. So that's this person that's in this entire meter, or. Excuse me, not a person. It is the Met.

[Burt]

It even says on there, Mr. Meter.

[Kristen]

Mr. Meter. And Kendall's little brother was obsessed with Mr. Meter. Would not let go of Mr. Meter's hand.

[Burt]

Yeah. South was so happy.

[Kristen]

Oh, my gosh. Carly was over the moon. And I, like, I have never seen a child so obsessed with the gas meter before. This is might be already one of my favorite moments of Burt's big adventure.

[Burt]

So that's really kind of how it all starts. It starts last night, and then this morning, we all congregate in this big old ballroom that is decorated, I mean, so well, you could just. It feels like Disney in here. And this is really where it all starts.

[Kristen]

Yeah. So we have to give a. Like, when you look at this ballroom that is so decked out and, you know, we got the Q997 tent there in the back. Messy Mikey is going to be back there messing around with the kids. And thank you again to Q9097 for letting us do this broadcast this year. They have fully embraced Burke's big adventure. So when they Found out you were retiring. They were a little bit sad. You kind of bring in some ratings. But there was no hesitation. Like, no what? Our PD Patrick has said that every radio station needs a heart. And Q9097's heart is birdswig adventure.

[Burt]

It's pretty cool.

[Kristen]

It's very cool.

[Burt]

That's pretty cool.

[Kristen]

So Q 997 is here. We have like, we have a bouncy house in a ballroom as one does. And let me just tell you, the decor and the balloons always make it so. Deshawn and Holland musico at balloon. You guys crush it every single year.

[Burt]

We thought it would be smart this year because Kristen and I are just crusty old veterans when it comes to Burke's big adventure is to bring in our rookies to kind of see what they're expecting from Burke's big adventure this year. They've sort of seen it from the outside, but not the inside. So we have Lala here as the manager of corporate partnerships for Burke's big adventure. And Stacy, she's on the board of directors with Gas South. Also, congratulations on your big win last night with Mr. Meter. That was huge.

[Stacy]

I don't think that'll be his last experience with Mr.

[Burt]

Meter.

[Stacy]

He'll see Mr. Meter again.

[Burt]

Good. So what are you guys expecting this year? Because you've experienced it sort of from the outside looking. So Stacy, what are your thoughts?

[Stacy]

Well, I'm so excited. I see through other events and behind the scenes the bonds that the whole Burt's big adventure team has made with the families. And it's so close. The kids are so genuinely affectionate to you all. And I'm expecting to make some bonds. Yeah, I want in on that.

[Burt]

For sure. It'll happen.

[Stacy]

And then probably some happy chaos.

[Burt]

You'll find yourself fighting over some kids.

[Kristen]

Oh, yeah.

[Stacy]

Okay.

[Burt]

Like you'll start to get a little bit jealous. Like, I don't like that Kristen already has been hanging out with Forest so much because that's like. It's almost like a parking spot that you park in every. It's not yours, but you just kind of feel like it is. I hung out with Forest for about three minutes and I'm like, that's my kid. And Kristen dominated time yesterday.

[Stacy]

You're not gonna win that one.

[Burt]

No, I don't think so.

[Kristen]

David. David's in on it too.

[Burt]

Yeah, right.

[Kristen]

David weasel his way in on it too.

[Will from IQ Bar]

Yeah.

[Burt]

We got a three way competition and you'll find that with a bunch of kids as the weekend progresses also.

[Kristen]

Oh, but Stacy My favorite is when a child despises Burt.

[Burt]

It happens. Georgia.

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

Georgia.

[Burt]

It took her 10 years to warm up to me, but she finally did. But she literally, as soon as she would see me, would start screaming, no.

[Kristen]

Yes. No, Bert.

[Burt]

But my name's on the shirt. You have to love me.

[Kristen]

She did not care.

[Burt]

She did not care at all. All right, Lala, how about you?

[Lala]

I think more the same. It's the connections in the community that I'm just so looking forward to being a part of the behind the scenes. I'm overwhelmed with the amount of thought, care, and intentionality that has gone into this, and I'm honored and excited to be a part of it in building this community and having a ton of fun.

[Kristen]

That that is guaranteed. And I love what you said about the intentionality because Bird has purposely kept this trip smaller so he could. You could have grown this over the years. And there were some sponsors who were like, yeah, no, sorry, but this is. This is too small for us. We want something bigger to contribute to, but we realized by keeping it to, like, 12, 12 kids, 11, 12 families that we could give them that individual love and really focus on their wants and their needs and make sure that we can. It's not even about catering to them, but really making that bond and that connection. And I think that's so key with keeping smaller. So it's a more tight knit family

[Burt]

and we get to do a lot of really cool VIP things that if it was a bigger trip, they wouldn't be able to provide for everybody. And the last thing that we wanted from day number one is really, okay, here we are at Disney World. Go enjoy it. We'll see you on Monday. That's not what we wanted at all. So our staff hangs with all of the kids all weekend long. Most of us, most of them go on roller coasters with the kids.

[Kristen]

I'm already seeing, like, bonds form between the families, like, because, you know, siblings and then the Burt's Big Adventure kids. And you can tell, like, staff talking be like, oh, yeah, we're going to be hanging out in the park all day together because our families are, like, super tight now.

[Burt]

Yep. All right, so give us a couple of seconds here and we'll. I mean, we've officially started the thing.

[Kristen]

We did it.

[Burt]

But each and every year we have some traditions on Burt Speak Adventure, and we have one family that sort of reads a letter or gives an experience of what it was like for them last year. And if you remember, last year, we had a private VIP concert.

[Kristen]

We did with Mr. Andy Grammer.

[Burt]

Right. That's the family that we are bringing on next to tell you guys what to expect this year on BIR Big Adventure 2026, the Birch Show.