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ETV Wraps Up 50th Anniversary with a Celebration at
Its Columbia Studios on Saturday, Sept. 25 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

For Immediate Release
September 14, 2010

Columbia, SC…The Cat in the Hat and Clifford the Big Red Dog are just two of the big-time celebrities coming to Columbia on Saturday, Sept. 25 for a party that's been a half-century in the making.

They will be joining other PBS Kids characters, including WordGirl, Super Why!, Peep and of course the ETV Kids mascot, Smart Cat, to help ETV wrap up the year-long celebration of its first 50 years.

Together, the six will be meeting and greeting with their young fans, who will have the opportunity to shake paws, take pictures and collect swag during the family festival, which begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and will be held at ETV's Columbia studios, located at 1041 George Rogers Blvd.

Of course, ETV and ETV Radio celebrities will also be on-hand for the celebration, including:

• Mark Quinn, host of "The Big Picture"
• P. A. Bennett, host of "Connections"
• "Team Making It Grow!" including Rowland Alston, Amanda McNulty, and Tony Melton
• Katie Mixon, host of "Riverbanks Roundup," a co-production of ETV and ITV
• Dr. Walter Edgar, host of ETV Radio's "Walter Edgar's Journal" and ETV's "Take on the South"

Children and their parents will also get a chance to learn what it takes to create some of their favorite local shows by going behind-the-scenes and seeing how a television station works. Tours will include everything from the studios and cameras to the editing suites and even Master Control, the nerve center that broadcasts each and every show into viewer's homes.

"We want folks to have a great time exploring the studios and meeting our celebrities, but we also hope they will walk away knowing that we are so much more than just Elmo and Big Bird," said David Crouch, president of ETV. "We are committed to helping improve the education of every student, and providing training and professional development not only to teachers but also to law enforcement officers and even hospital staff around the state."

Showing that it is more than just the television and radio stations that are well-known to the public, ETV will also display a side of itself that many people may not know about: its deep involvement in the education of all South Carolinians.

Staff from ETV's Education department will be showing off ETV's many educational products, some available only in schools, such as StreamlineSC and OnePlaceSC, as well as those that are available to everyone, including its educational Web portal, Knowitall.org.

Representatives from Instructional Television (ITV), a division of the Department of Education, will explain how they work hand-in-hand with ETV's production staff to create additional original content that is made available directly to schools, including French, Spanish and German language classes, "The ETV Stock Market Program," "Detective Bonz and the SC History Mystery," and many, many more.

The Columbia Fire Department and Richland County Sheriff's Department will also be present to provide tips on how to stay safe, while the State Museum, the Richland County Public Library and other community partners will add to the celebration, sharing additional resources that will inspire a life-long love of learning.

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.

(l to r) Super Why!, WordGirl, Clifford, Smart Cat, The Cat in the Hat, and Peep will be meeting and greeting with young fans at ETV's 50th Anniversary Celebration.