In the spirit of sampling all that the region offers, Vermont Public Television will launch “Out & About,” a magazine-style program celebrating life in Vermont and beyond. The program will premiere Monday, Jan. 7, at 9 p.m. with the first of four weekly episodes. Rebroadcasts are scheduled for Tuesdays at 7 p.m., and it will also be posted on vpt.org.
Hosts Chris McClure of Buel’s Gore and Anya Huneke of Charlotte will introduce stories and sometimes take part in them. Both are independent producers who have done work for VPT.
Small businesses from a one-woman flying photography service to a family-owned rodeo are among those highlighted.
The first episode of “Out & About,” airing Jan. 7 at 9 p.m. and Jan. 8 at 7 p.m., features mountain biking at Pine Hill Park in Rutland; Colchester photographer and pilot Shirley Chevalier; the Manchester Music Festival’s summer camp; and a luthier at Vermont Violins. In a spot dubbed Movie in a Minute, film fan Collin Parker of Essex Jct. recommends what he says is the best movie made in Vermont.
On Jan. 14 at 9 p.m. and Jan. 15 at 7 p.m., “Out & About” features students at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Jct.; young snowboarding champs from Stowe’s Mt. Mansfield Ski and Snowboard Club; picking “fruit grown with a conscience” at Champlain Orchards in Shoreham; and an instrument from Mali that adds an exotic sound to the Vermont band Barika. Movie in a Minute recommends the best film about winter. The program is hosted from Bolton Valley ski resort.
On Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. and Jan. 22 at 7 p.m., “Out & About” stories include Gisela Veve of S. Burlington and Liisa Reimann of Burlington, who train in Montreal and are winning international fame in the sport of dragonboating; the weekly Pond Hill rodeo in Castleton, Vt.; life at Grand View Sheep Farm in Washington; the UVM Morgan Horse Farm in Weybridge; and an interview in Wolcott with poet and playwright David Budbill. Movie in a Minute picks the best political film.
On Jan. 28 at 9 p.m. and Jan. 29 at 7 p.m., stories include archaeologists from Lake Champlain Maritime Museum who use 3-D imaging to research a sunken canal boat near Charlotte; an Acworth, N.H., specialist in 16th-century flintlock muzzleloaders; East Shore Vineyard in Grand Isle, where two retirees have found a new calling; and the ancient sport of curling in Bedford, Que. Movie in a Minute recommends the best football film.
Producer Kathryn A. Scott, VPT’s chief content officer, said, “We’ll run announcements after the show inviting viewers to comment on these pilot programs, as we plan future episodes and seek funding to make ‘Out & About’ a regular series. We’re eager to hear what people think of the program.”