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On Saturday, we covered Andover's Town Meeting. On Monday night, we will have crews out in Ludlow, Plymouth, Cavendish, & Mt. Holly. The tentative playback schedule on our gov't / educational channel is posted here (there will be additional times on our community access channel as well, which will be posted soon):
We have re-vamped our monthly program grids on our TV Schedules page, which show you, in general, what shows are on when. We aim to update these grids monthly, to reflect changes in our programming.
Check it out - we have some new shows this month, including: the weekly Innkeepers' ski races, John Specker's Traditional American music, The Wellness Series (from Springfield Medical Care Systems / Ludlow Health Clinic), the Osher Lifelong Learning Series, & more. Have a look at the grids and then check to see the daily listings for specific scheduling information on each of our channels, which are always kept updated on our TV Schedules page.
Comcast has announced that its Xfinity "X1" cable TV service has added a You Tube app. Xfinity X1 subscribers (with the new-style boxes) can access the You Tube app through "Xfinity on Demand". This means that you have access to the full library of You Tube videos. And THAT means our You Tube videos can be viewed on TV anywhere (not just in the immediate local viewing area), on Comcast. So, if you are an X1 subscriber, please check out the Okemo Valley TV You Tube channel on Xfinity on Demand, and let us know what you think!
In addition to televising programming on our community access channels in the local area and hosting thousands of local shows for viewing here on our website, we also use video-sharing sites such as You Tube and Vimeo (mostly for shorter videos). We have tended to use Vimeo more regularly, but now with this new feature on Comcast, we are making it a point to increase the use of You Tube. Here is a link to our You Tube channel - we'll be adding lots more in the coming weeks.
If you live in the area around Okemo mountain (Ludlow / Plymouth / Cavendish / Mount Holly / Andover / Reading), we are YOUR independent, non profit, non-commercial, and hyper-local media resource. By becoming a member, your support helps keep the engine going.
We've been having a lot of fun working with the after school programs in Ludlow & Mount Holly. Here is the latest creation from Mount Holly:
The Plymouth Historical Society's hard work on the production of "Irene- Ruin to Renewal" has been recognized by the northeastern chapter of the Alliance for Community Media (ACM-NE). At the ACM-NE's annual video festival and awards show in Falmouth, MA, "Irene- Ruin to Renewal" received 2nd place in the Documentary category. Betsy Tonkin, who performed the role of Executive Producer of the project, and who was the President of the historical society at the time, was presented with the award, along with our Executive Director, Patrick Cody.
We teamed up with the historical society to help produce the documentary, which encompassed more than 2 years of work. The project was spearheaded by Tonkin, who, along with a small team of volunteers from Town, spent hundreds of hours, collecting images and video footage, scheduling and recording interviews as well as the soundtrack (on which several local musicians play), and overseeing the editing process. They relied on us at Okemo Valley TV for technical support, and to supply the necessary facilities and equipment. The feature documentary, which chronicles the impact that Tropical Storm Irene had on the Town, premiered in August 2016 to approximately 400 people over a single weekend at President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site on Plymouth Notch. The screening events marked the 5th anniversary of the storm.
Betsy says: "The Alliance for Community Media award will hopefully create broader opportunities for Plymouth's story of reconnection and renewal to be shared both locally and regionally. This would not have been possible without the partnership between the Plymouth Historical Society and Okemo Valley TV in producing the professional historical documentary. Perhaps the award will inspire others to utilize community media to reach out to larger audiences."
There are a number of ways for community members and organizations to get involved with us, to create media projects of their own, however big or small. Let us know how we can help!
We were awarded a 2018 “Building Communities” grant for $25,000, from the State of Vermont. Administered through the Department of Buildings and General Services, these funds will help complete the third and final phase of renovations in Okemo Valley TV’s facility. The annual Building Communities grants are awarded to “help preserve important historic buildings and enhance community facilities”; the program is funded by the State legislature. A grant award ceremony was held last week at the State House; shown in the photo below (from left to right) are: State Rep. Annmarie Christensen (Cavendish-Weathersfield), Patrick Cody, Gov. Phil Scott, State Senator Alison Clarkson (Windsor Co.), and State Rep. Dennis Devereux (Ludlow-Mt. Holly-Shrewsbury).
Several years ago, we embarked on a project to renovate the former Ludlow Armory "tank barn", which is now part of the Ludlow Community Center complex. Thanks to the support of the Town of Ludlow, who selected us as a long-term tenant of that building, along with Black River Good Neighbor Services, we could establish a new home. That meant building an actual studio, along with the other supporting spaces, that would make the facility an accommodating and efficient work environment for community members to use, for the purposes of creating media. The first 2 phases included the initial fit-up, studio & performance space. Given the scope of the project and our limited budget, it was necessary to break it out into more manageable pieces. We are now gearing up for the final phase. The remaining work involves enclosing the remaining rooms, which include a classroom (to function as a digital media lab), as well as editing suites, a lobby, and control room. The project, estimated to cost $145,000, will also add needed energy efficiency improvements. With the addition of the grant, $60,000 has now been raised towards the final phase of the build-out. Due to the requirements of the "Building Communities" grant, we will need to begin a portion of the work by March 2019. We will start with the "Digital Learning Lab" (conference room / classroom) and the studio production control room. These 2 rooms will allow us to more effectively teach TV studio production to students and other groups while also allowing us to expand our media education services beyond TV production, with the new "Digital Learning Lab". We will be able to host and offer classes on such topics as podcasting & computer animation. Fundraising for the project will continue until the entire goal of $145,000 is met.
Please consider making a contribution to help us expand media education opportunities!
Black River High School Junior Paige Kelley (left) is doing a work-study with us this semester. She is seen her recording voice-overs for a new series of video thanking our business underwriters. In addition, she has been taking photographs, editing videos, and creating bulletin board announcements for community organizations. Last year, her experience in Mr. Bannon's Media Studies class piqued her interest in video produciton & editing. That led her to us, and she has jumped right in. She's doing great!
We also have a student from River Valley Technical Center starting with us as a "co-op".
We offer training & workshops in media production to people of all ages. Want to make videos? Have your own show? How about a podcast? The sky's the limit! The first step is to sign up for an orientation.
