PRESS RELEASE — Friday, February 26, 2010
For Information Call Anne Peterson at 208-373-7368
           or Bob Evancho at 373-7369

FESTIVAL 2010 Opens Saturday, March 6, On IdahoPTV; 16-Day Event Features Idaho and National Shows; Music, Outdoors, Travel, Food and More in Schedule

— Annual On-Air Fundraiser Is March 6-21

Idaho Public Television throws the spotlight on Idaho scenery, a sports interview, historical heritage, musical extravaganzas, culinary skills and self-improvement during FESTIVAL 2010.

The 16-days of special programming, March 6-21, appears nightly and throughout the day on weekends on Idaho Channel (sub-channel 1), with additional special programming on HD and Learn/Create channels (sub-channels 2 and 3).

Introducing the event is a Friday night (March 5) opener — ROUNDER RECORDS 40th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT at 10:00 p.m. MT/PT. Rounder artists who perform on the special include Alison Krause & Union Station and Bela Fleck.

One IdahoPTV special production premieres during FESTIVAL 2010 and another — CAPITOL OF LIGHT — is expanded to encompass more of the Idaho Statehouse’s heritage. WOODEN BOATS, WONDROUS LAKES: AN OUTDOOR IDAHO SPECIAL premieres March 11 at 8:00 p.m. MT/PT. Producer John Crancer follows the wake of classic wooden boats and the people who have taken them to heart on Payette, Pend Oreille, Priest and Coeur d’Alene lakes. In East Idaho, Crancer also meets with a builder of wooden drift boats, and features a classic boat on the Snake River at Idaho Falls.

DIALOGUE takes a different tack and interviews Chris Petersen, football head coach at Boise State University, Thursday, March 18, at 8:30 p.m. MT/PT.    

FESTIVAL 2009 opens Saturday morning (March 6) at 8:00/7:00 a.m. MT/PT with AMERICA’S HOME COOKING: EASY RECIPES FOR THRIFTY COOKING. More information on all FESTIVAL 2010 programs is available on the IdahoPTV Web site at idahoptv.org/schedules.

“During FESTIVAL we feature a number of specials as well as episodes from some of our regular series. These, along with IdahoPTV’s own productions, provide a sampling of the kinds of programming we air throughout the year,” says Kim Philipps, IdahoPTV director of marketing.

Philipps says FESTIVAL 2010 also brings an exciting range of music to Idahoans. In a collection of archival footage, the late Luciano Pavarotti sings duets with a variety of rock, pop and jazz artists. The Beatles appear again on The Ed Sullivan Show. There are new Andre Rieu and Chris Botti specials, plus a variety of doo wop, swing, folk and rock ’n’ roll offerings.

Three specials come with the opportunity to obtain tickets to live performances in Boise this spring — RAIN: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATTLES; CELTIC WOMAN: SONGS FROM THE HEART; and RED GREEN TEST DRIVE. They are airing: RAIN 1, Sunday, March 7, at 3:30/2:30 p.m. MT/PT; RAIN 2, Monday, March 15, at 7:00 p.m. MT/PT; CELTIC WOMEN, Thursday, March 18, at 9:00 p.m. MT/PT; RED GREEN, Saturday, March 20, at 9:30 p.m. MT/PT.

FESTIVAL 2009’s other offerings include a shows that travels to 17 historic and scenic tourist steam railroads with the show’s producer in the studio during breaks. There also is a coast-to-coast tour of Canada, and National Geographic magazine’s choices for 10 best photos of the year.

Check idahoptv.org for Festival information and how to pledge support.

Philipps points out that the annual March fundraiser and a December weekend event help secure a major part of IdahoPTV’s operating budget.

“Idaho Public Television depends on private contributions, which make up 63 percent of our operating budget. FESTIVAL is our single largest fund-raising event of the year. It’s critical that this campaign succeeds,” Philipps says. “The money we raise during FESTIVAL helps pay for program acquisition and Idaho productions that viewers enjoy throughout the year.”

IdahoPTV is Idaho’s only statewide broadcast medium and offers national and Idaho-produced programming, plus a variety of specials relating to interests and issues important to the state’s citizens. The system also provides 60 hours each week of programs for toddlers, pre-school children and primary-grade students on the Idaho channel, plus more children’s programming on the HD channel. There also is an overnight schedule with educational programming for students, teachers and adults with 12 hours daily of educational programming on Learn/Create channel. IdahoPTV’s five digital transmitters in Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Boise, Twin Falls and Pocatello provide 24-hour service with a high definition sub-channel and three standard definition sub-channels.