Making a Mural with Star Quality!

A Mountain Lake Journal episode will document the creation of the Jean Arthur mural in her hometown of Plattsburgh, New York.

Mountain Lake Journal presents Jean Arthur's Birthplace Celebrates the Star - A Spotlight Special this holiday season.  The half hour episode explores the legacy of Hollywood actress Jean Arthur, and the face of Jean Arthur as it appears on a forty-foot high wall.  

The show will highlight the making of the mural from day one when paint first went on the wall, until day 16, when artist Brendon Palmer-Angell headed home to New Orleans after successfully completing the project.  

The episode also features Spotlight producer Paul Larson's in-depth interview with John Oller, who wrote a biography of Jean Arthur. 

 

 

This special program premieres Friday, November 29 at 8pm on Mountain Lake PBS, with repeat airings on Sunday, December 1 at 5:30am and 10am, Friday, December 27 at 8pm, Saturday, December 28 at 7pm, and Sunday, December 29 at 5:30am and 10am.

Spotlight is made possible, in part, by the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, dedicated to improving the quality of life for year-round residents of the Adirondack Park. http://www.pearsallfoundation.org

You'll find complete Spotlight segments from this special broadcast online at mountainlake.org, after the program airs.

Respecting Nature, and the nature of teaching on Mountain Lake Journal

The Wildlife Refuge and Rehabilitation Center is expanding its care for the animals, and its outreach to the public.  Guest host Paul Larson will take us on a tour of the Wilmington, New York center in on Mountain Lake Journal.

Viewers will see many animals who serve as education ambassadors, and the people who care for them.

The episode also features poet Garret Keizer, discussing the year he recently spent as a high school English teacher in rural Vermont, a period documented in his book Getting Schooled.  Keizer will also read from his book of poetry The World Pushes Back.   

Finally in the program, you can take a challenging but rewarding excursion to Israel, through the art on display at the Plattsburgh State Art Museum.  See the country through the eyes of some of its most prominent and provocative artists.

The “Visions of Place” exhibit will run through December 3rd at the Plattsburgh State Art Museum on the campus of SUNY Plattsburgh. Galleries in the John Myers Building are open daily from noon to 4pm.  

Mountain Lake Journal airs tonight at 7, and Sunday at 5:30am and 10aam.

Balloon Pilot Navigates Near the Clouds Above Quebec

Every August the sky above a Canadian City plays host to about a hundred hot air balloons. The International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu is the largest festival of its kind in Canada.

For this feature report on the summer event, Paul Larson spoke with balloon pilot Martin Unsworth, whose career was inspired by his father.  Balloonist Denis Unworth had received the award for "Canadian Champion" from the Canadian Balloon Association three times, in 1995, 1997 and 2000.  Martin says ballooning has taken him all over the world.  He has piloted balloons in North America, Europe, Africa and Australia.  Videographers Will Houle and Michael C. Hansen lend their talents to the story, supplemented with footage shot by Unsworth's own cameras attached to his balloon.

You may find out more information about the yearly balloon festival at http://www.ballooncanada.com

Enjoy this episode of Mountain Lake Journal Friday at 8:00, Saturday at 7pm, and Sunday at 10am, on Mountain Lake PBS.

Celebrating 25 years of Chamber music in the Adirondacks!

Hill and Hollow Music launches its 25th season this year.  To commemorate 25 years of bringing thousands of professional musicians to the Adirondacks, Spotlight producer Paul Larson interviews the founder of the chamber music organization, Angela Brown.


Brown reminisces about the origins of Hill and Hollow Music, based in Saranac, New York, and talks about its importance to the North Country.  Together they remember some of the invited performers who showcased their talents for the cameras of Mountain Lake PBS, including violinist Soovin Kim, the Biava Quartet, the New Hollywood String Quartet, the vocal ensemble Hudson Shad, the Baltimore Consort, and the harp duo Lilac 94.


Enjoy this  special episode of Mountain Lake Journal this Thursday at 1pm on Mountain Lake PBS.

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Learn more about Hill and Hollow Music and its 25th anniversary gala at the website of the chamber music organization.
Enjoy the Spotlight piece about the harp duo Lilac 94.
See the Spotlight story about electric violinist Jonathan Aceto.
Learn about the Journey West benefit concerts here.

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Electric violin piece evokes the desert

Plattsburgh native Dr. Jonathan Aceto returns home on occasion, where he can impress his friends and former neighbors with the innovative sounds of his electric violin.

He recently performed at the invitation of Hill and Hollow Music.  The piece may shatter your ideas about how a violin performance should sound. 

Composer Priscilla McLean who often collaborates with her husband Barton McLean, created a pioneering piece for Aceto, because they all share a love for electronic music, and an interest in the deserts of the Southwestern United States.  

To bring the desert to the cooler Adirondacks can be a challenge, so the musicians employ animal sounds in sync with the electric violin, and visuals of shifting sands to enhance a striking piece they call “Desert Voices.”

For more information about Hill & Hollow Music, see the schedule of events at:  hillandhollowmusic.org
To learn more about the McLean Mix, explore this site:  https://bartprismclean.wixsite.com/mcleanmix

You may enjoy this segment on Mountain Lake Journal this week, Thursday at 1pm on Mountain Lake PBS.  It follows an interview with Angela Brown, the founder of Hill and Hollow Music.

Paul Larson produced this Spotlight piece.  It features videography by Paul Larson and Will Houle, with editing by Larson and Andrew Baker.  Mikaela Clary provided production assistance.
Spotlight is made possible, in part, by the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, dedicated to improving the quality of life for year-round residents of the Adirondack Park.
pearsallfoundation.org

Hosting an April episode of Mountain Lake Journal

Asgaard Farm in Au Sable Forks, New York, provides a beautiful backdrop for a mid-April episode pf Mountain Lake Journal.

We're looking at less obviouls choices for entertainment and recreation in the Adirondacks this week, starting with an opera the Adirondacks can call its own.  It's the fourth story in my "Spotlight" series about “Promised Land: an Adirondack Folk Opera.”   Its creators say the plot has relevance across the United States and perhaps even in other countries.  While the work is still in progress, composer Glenn McClure and artistic director Helen Demong have made sure to give key roles to singers from the Adirondacks as well as to performers from elsewhere in New York State and nearby states.  

Then Will Houle shows us why you might enjoy taking yor kids ot meet the new kids at Asgaard Farm. Every spring, people from all over venture to Asgaard for the farm’s annual Kidding Day event. Hundreds of families and visitors stop by the farm to see the baby goats, some only a few days old. Some people even find themselves a new pet. Those who work on the farm use Kidding Day to share their story with the community while promoting high-quality farm products.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those of you who enjoy outdoor recreation, April can be a tricky time of year.  It's too warm to ski anymore but it's still too cold for a day at the beach. Kevin Cooney found a sport that works perfectly this month, and every other time of the year. 

Finally in this episode, a friendly neighborhood visit.  François Clemmons, known to many as the singing neighborhood police officer from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, visited Plattsburgh, New York for a special screening of the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? Mountain Lake PBS held the screening in partnership with the Strand Center for the Arts.   

Enjoy this episode of Mountain Lake Journal tonight at 8:00, Saturday at 7pm, and Sunday at 10am, on Mountain Lake PBS.

 

 

 

Friendly "Neighborhood" Screening

Mountain Lake PBS has a friendly neighbor in Middlebury, Vermont, and what a joy it was to welcome him to our special screening of the Mister Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor this week. The Strand Center Theatre in Plattsburgh provided an elegant environment for the occasion. 

Dr. François Clemmons, known to Mister Rogers’ viewers as the singing police agent Officer Clemmons, performed on Mister Rogers Neighborhood over the course of twenty-five years. 

This week he crossed Lake Champlain to share stories about Fred Rogers that only he can tell. I invited the audience to ask him questions, and got in a few myself.

After the superb movie and the question and answer session came the moment that cast a spell on the audience, hearing Dr. Clemmons sing, and not just any song.  Clemmons, who founded the renowned Harlem Spiritual Ensemble, first performed a soulful hymn from the gospel tradition.  He followed it up with a special request I had made, “There Are Many Ways to Say I Love You,” written by Fred Rogers.  Clemmons had sung it the very last time he appeared on camera with Mister Rogers, and a clip of it had appeared in the documentary.  It was the song Clemmons sung while his feet cooled off in a wading pool next to those of Mister Rogers, in a scene that not only spread a subtle message against racism, but one that also contained Biblical overtones when Rogers dried Clemmons’ feet with the same towel he’d been using.  The audience at the event, not expecting the song, gasped and applauded once they recognized the tune.  
https://youtu.be/9sMyrcuDe_8

The talented Vihan Wickramasinghe performed wonders at the grand piano.  It was the first time the physics and music graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh had accompanied Dr. Clemmons.

I was enchanted enough to tell the audience they’d witnessed a genuine “Officer Clemmons magical moment,” one that took a scene from the movie we’d seen, and brought it musically to life for everyone in the auditorium. 

I’d like to thank the audience members who joined us, bringing with them their love of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and their enthusiasm to meet an accomplished cast member from the show.  Also, the Strand Center for the Arts deserves profound thanks from Mountain Lake PBS, for partnering with us to help make this Indie Lens Pop-Up special screening a super special event.

The ever gracious Clemmons called the afternoon program a “superior occasion,” and said “I always tell folks when I travel what a fine job that little station in upstate New York is doing. Truly, with your sensitivity and professionalism, you set the standard!”

Special thanks to our national partners, Independent Lens, ITVS, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

A Musical Day in this Neighborhood!

Get reacquainted with one of your favorite musical neighbors from Middlebury, Vermont this week, by viewing our extended interview with François Clemmons, known to many as Officer Clemmons from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Clemmons talks about his initial resistance to wearing a police uniform on the children's program, his close relationship with Fred Rogers, and his thoughts on the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?  The movie premieres on television this Saturday, February 9 at 8pm on Mountain Lake PBS and HBO.

"Spotlight" producer Paul Larson says he likens the interview to a visit with an old friend, as he'd previously interviewed Clemmons in 2004, when the singer was still an artist in residence at Middlebury College.  

Enjoy the interview here.

"One of the highlights of the day for me, besides visiting François, was seeing an original prop trolley from the show," Larson said.  "Fred Rogers had given it to him as a gift."

BONUS INTERVIEW:

Enjoy Paul Larson's first interview with Clemmons, from the program "Art Express."

"Spotlight" is made possible, in part, by the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, dedicated to improving the quality of life for year-round residents of the Adirondack Park. www.pearsallfoundation.org. "Spotlight” is also supported by the chamber music organization Hill and Hollow Music. www.hillandhollowmusic.org.

Paul Larson on the Z!

Producer Paul Larson joined radio host Amanda Dagley of Z106.3 in Plattsburgh for a chat about the upcoming airing of "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" on Mountain Lake PBS.  The Mister Rogers' Neighborhood documentary airs Saturday night at 8.  They also discussed Larson's interview with Dr. François Clemmons, who is also known as Mister Rogers' opera-singing neighborhood police officer.  The interview airs on Mountain Lake Journal Friday at 8pm and Saturday at 7pm.

Enjoy the radio chat here, courtesy of WNBZ.

Two art galleries shine the SPOTLIGHT!

At Mountain Lake PBS, we are more than television.  This month we are also art exhibits in two separate galleries.

You still have time to view the “Bound for Glory” exhibition, featuring works by Montreal artist François Escalmel.  There you’ll find the “Spotlight” segment Paul Larson produced about painter and filmmaker projected on a gallery wall, entertaining viewers with a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the artist at work, and featuring many of the paintings visitors may also view up close on the adjoining wall.

You may visit this exhibition from now through this Saturday, January 5.  It is at la Maison de la culture Frontenac, located at 2550 Ontario St E, Montreal. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 1pm until 7pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 1pm until 5pm. Admission is free.

Nearly half a continent away from Montreal, in the city of Cedar Falls, Iowa, museum guests at the University of Northern Iowa are seeing a “Spotlight” piece about the pottery and paintings of Natasha Smoke.  It is projected near the gallery entrance, and informs viewers about a clay pot in a nearby display case, one sculpted by the Mohawk artist from Fort Covington, New York.  Her work blends Native American traditions with a contemporary sensibility.

The exhibition “Cultural Impressions: Identities Molded in Clay” features many ceramic works from Iowa, as well as from places as far away as Peru, the Mediterranean and China.  The art display will remain at the UNI Museum until July 20, 2019.  

“Spotlight” is made possible, in part, by the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, dedicated to improving the quality of life for year-round residents of the Adirondack Park. http://www.pearsallfoundation.org.  “Spotlight” is also supported by the chamber music organization Hill and Hollow Music.