The fourth annual Winterfest membership drive will be held Nov. 24 through Dec. 13 on RSU Public Television, featuring several evenings live in the studio with community volunteers and a wide variety of special programming including more than a dozen concerts and three local documentaries, produced by the station which is licensed to Rogers State University.
“The funds raised from ‘Winterfest’ will help to create local programs and acquire new programming for our members to stay in tune with current issues and information and enhancing their family’s quality of life,” said Dan Schiedel, general manager of RSU Public Television.
Membership pledge events will be presented live in the RSU Public Television studios during nine evenings, beginning on Monday, Nov. 30. Several well-known community leaders and local figures from business, government and sports will participate in the live studio pledge drive. In addition, several RSU students, faculty and staff members will donate their time and talent to the drive, Schiedel said.
Those making pledges during the membership drive will be eligible to receive thank you gifts including DVDs, CDs, tumblers, books and more.
During Winterfest, RSU Public Television will present three local full-length documentary films it has produced in the last year, including “Rogers State University: The First 100 Years,” the story of RSU and its predecessor institutions; “Voices of Bartlesville,” the story of a community that began with a trading post on the Caney River, famously boomed when oil was discovered in the area and grew into a business, cultural and educational hub of northeast Oklahoma; and “Coleman Theatre Beautiful,” the story of the historic theatre in Miami, Okla., and its recent return to glory and hub of community activity and pride.
The membership drive also will feature a variety of special programming with appeal to broad audiences, including more than a dozen recent and vintage concerts with performers as widely varied as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bruce Springsteen, the Oak Ridge Boys, Statler Brothers, Jim Brickman and others.
Special programming also includes the Woodturning Workshop, produced locally by RSU Public Television, featuring a special program on Tuesday, Nov. 24.
The wide variety of featured Winterfest programming also includes the Best of Red Skelton, Frost/Nixon: the Original Watergate Interviews and other viewer favorites.
Special holiday programming also will be presented, and other programs will focus on business, current events, sports and lifestyles, Schiedel said.
RSU Public Television is licensed to Rogers State University and is the only public television station to be operated by a university in Oklahoma. The station, based on the RSU campus in Claremore, reaches more than a million people within a 75-mile radius of the campus. RSU Public Television broadcasts on UHF Channel 35, Tulsa and Claremore cable channel 19 and cable and satellite systems across Oklahoma.
For more information on RSU Public Television, or to make a pledge during the membership drive, call 1-800-823-7210 or visit rsu.tv.