Lidia Bastianich

On Saturday, November 5, 2011, Fairway Stamford and public television host and renowned chef Lidia Bastianich will celebrate food and community in an event to support WNET New York Public Media, the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21, New York’s public television stations and operator of NJTV.

Fairway Market will donate ten percent of sales on Friday, November 4th, and Saturday, November 5th, from its Fairway Wines & Spirits shop in Stamford to WNET as part of Fairway’s corporate sponsorship of the inaugural season of Vine Talk, a series about wine airing nationally on public television.

Lidia’s new series, based on the book of the same title, Lidia’s Italy in America, airs Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on THIRTEEN and Mondays at 8 p.m. (ET) on WLIW21 (check local listings).

Enter to win a prize pack, including Lidia’s new book, Lidia’s Italy in America, a gift card from Fairway, and a THIRTEEN/WLIW21 tote bag!

Watch a preview of Lidia’s Italy in America:

Lidia will kick-off the festivities at 11 a.m. with the signing of her series companion cookbook, Lidia’s Italy in America (Knopf) and her popular children’s book, Nonna Tell Me a Story: Lidia’s Christmas Kitchen (Running Press Kids).  Filled with adventures and irresistible recipes, both books are  journeys into the heart of authentic Italian cooking.  Wine tasting will follow the book signing at the adjacent store, Fairway Wines & Spirits.

At the event on Saturday, November 5th, Fairway Stamford will feature a free spectacular sampling of LIDIA’S pasta and sauces and Fairway food specials for the fall. Guests are also invited to a tasting of Bastianich’s wines at the Fairway Wines & Spirits shop in Stamford.  (There will be wine tastings on both Friday, November 4th*, and Saturday, November 5th.)

EVENT SCHEDULE:
Fairway with Lidia Bastianich for WNET
Saturday, November 5, 2011
11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Fairway Stamford (699 Canal Street, Stamford, CT 06902)
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Book signing: 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Fairway Wines & Spirits (689 Canal Street, Stamford, CT 06902)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Wine tasting: 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.*

Saturday, November 5, 2011
Wine tasting and bottle signing:  12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

*Lidia Bastianich will not be at Friday’s wine tasting.

Sample a recipe from Lidia’s Italy in America: Read More …

The Bryant Park Corporation has announced the fourth annual Bryant Park Fall Festival presented by Bank of America, which will be held from September 16-23 in Bryant Park. WNET again joins the Festival as a media partner.

The Festival will feature evening performances by Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, China Institute in America, Ballet Hispanico, the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Jazzmobile, Elisa Monte Dance, Jennifer Muller/The Works, RIOULT, and daytime programs from City Winery, operamission, the Rubin Museum of Art, PuppetMobile, and Vital Theatre Company.

Families can look forward to a new addition to the Festival line-up: pre-performance interactive programs presented by Kids Club Thirteen on September 20, 22, and 23, along with lunchtime presentations on 9/17 and 18 (see schedule below for details).  The performing arts come to life with workshops, hands-on activities, favorites from PBS kids shows, and more.

Fans of THIRTEEN on Facebook are able to enter to win VIP treatment on all eight nights of the Festival. Benefits include: priority reserved table seating for two (in front of general seating), light snacks from ‘wichcraft, two drink tickets compliments of City Winery and more.

Check out the full event schedule:

Friday, September 16

12:30 pm: City Winery

Red Poetry: wine and poetry collide in City Winery’s latest limited edition wines.  Grape-inspired poetry gets a rhythmic beat with live music and readings by the Bowery Poetry Club.

6 p.m.: Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber

Greg Tate, Vernon Reid, Melvin Van Peebles, and Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber rock the James Brown, Bowie, Van Peebles, Miles, and Sugar Songbooks. Presented by the Black Rock Coalition.

Saturday, September 17

1:00 pm: Kids Club Thirteen presents the PuppetMobile

Master puppeteers tell the story of Bessie the Cow’s dream to join the circus.  Don’t miss the pre-show workshop at noon.

6:00 pm: China Institute in America

The Shanghai Restoration Project and Le Zhang.  Classical Chinese music meets jazz, hip hop, and electronica.

Sunday, September 18

1:00 pm:  Kids Club Thirteen presents Vital Theatre Company

Sing along to a medley of favorites from Pinkalicious, The Musical and Uncle Pirate.  Celebrate all things pink and meet Pinkalicious herself.

6:00 pm: Ballet Hispanico

Theatrical and passionate works from the nation’s premier Latino dance company.

Monday, September 19

12:30 pm:  operamission

Figaro al fresco: a comic cliffhanger.  Acts I & II of Mozart’s opera Le Nozze di Figaro in a fresh and vibrant new staging.

6:00 pm: Jennifer Muller/The Works

Electrifying and virtuosic movement by the world-renowned contemporary dance company.

Tuesday, September 20

5:00 pm: Kids Club Thirteen Pre-Performance Workshop

6:00 pm: The Metropolitan Opera’s  Lindemann Young Artist Development Program Opera’s rising stars perform a selection of favorite arias, songs, and duets.

Wednesday, September 21

12:30 pm: Rubin Museum of Art

Famed opera and theater director Peter Sellars and the dramatization of the irreverent and profound Vimalakirti Sutra.

6:00 pm: Jazzmobile

Seasoned drummer and vibrant band leader Winard Harper leads a superb septet in a non-stop set of Jazz and African rhythms.

Thursday, September 22

5:00 pm: Kids Club Thirteen Pre-Performance Workshop

6:00 pm: Elisa Monte Dance

Ferociously exciting modern dance company – a performing tour-de-force.

Friday, September 23

5:00 pm: Kids Club Thirteen Pre-Performance Workshop

6:00 pm: RIOULT

Musically astute, visually arresting, kinetically thrilling modern dance.

**Additional support for the Bryant Park Fall Festival is provided by the Durst Organization Inc. and HBO, and by media partners WNET New York Public Media, WNYC, and amNEWYORK.

This year, WNET has racked up 11 Primetime Emmy nominations, in addition to receiving two of the five nominations in the Outstanding Nature Programming category from the News & Documentary Emmys.

Congratulations and good luck to all of our nominees!

2011 Primetime Emmy Nominations:

Outstanding Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming

American Masters • Troubadours: Carole King / James Taylor & The Rise Of The Singer-Songwriter • PBS • A Starcon LLC production in association with Thirteen’s American Masters for WNET.org

-Nicola Marsh, Director of Photography

-Arlene Nelson, Director of Photography

Outstanding Directing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Special

Sondheim! The Birthday Concert (Great Performances) • PBS • Ellen M. Krass Productions and Thirteen in association with WNET.org

-Lonny Price, Directed by

Outstanding Directing For Nonfiction Programming

American Masters • A Letter To Elia/Reflecting On Kazan • PBS • A Production of Sikelia Productions with Far Hills Pictures in association with Thirteen’s American Masters for WNET.org

-Martin Scorsese, Directed by

-Kent Jones, Directed by

Outstanding Picture Editing For Nonfiction Programming

American Masters • LENNONYC • PBS • Co-production of Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right Productions, Dakota Group, Ltd and Thirteen’s American Masters in association with WNET.org for PBS

-Ed Barteski, Editor

-Deborah Peretz, Editor

Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score)

American Masters • John Muir In The New World • PBS • Global Village Media and Thirteen’s American Masters in association with WNET.org

-Garth Neustadter, Music by

Outstanding Music Direction

Harry Connick Jr., In Concert On Broadway (Great Performances) • PBS • Produced by Cinemusica and FogoLabs Corp for Conn-X Productions, Inc. in association with Thirteen for WNET.org

-Harry Connick Jr., Music Director

Hitman Returns: David Foster and Friends (Great Performances) • PBS • A Production of Warner Bros. Records and Thirteen for WNET

-David Foster, Music Director

Outstanding Nonfiction Series

American Masters • PBS • Co-production of Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right Productions, Dakota Group, Ltd and Thirteen’s American Masters in association with WNET.org for PBS

-Susan Lacy, Executive Producer

-Stanley Buchthal, Executive Producer

-Michael Cohl, Executive Producer

-Prudence Glass, Series Producer

-Julie Sacks, Supervising Producer

-Michael Epstein, Producer

-Jessica Levin, Producer

Outstanding Sound Editing For Nonfiction Programming (Single Or Multi-Camera)

American Masters • Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides • PBS • Produced by Thirteen’s American Masters for WNET

-Deborah Wallach, Sound Editor

Outstanding Sound Mixing For Nonfiction Programming

American Masters • LENNONYC • PBS • Co-production of Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right Productions, Dakota Group, Ltd and Thirteen’s American Masters in association with WNET.org for PBS

-Ed Campbell, Re-Recording Mixer

Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special

-Don Pasquale (Great Performances At The Met) • PBS • A Metropolitan Opera production in association with PBS and WNET.org

-Emmett Loughran, Technical Director

-Miguel Armstrong, Camera

-Joseph DeBonis, Camera

-Manny Gutierrez, Camera

-Shaun Harkins, Camera

-John Kosmaczewski, Camera

-Bob Long, Camera

-Jay Millard, Camera

-Alain Onesto, Camera

-David Smith, Camera

-Larry Solomon, Camera

-Ron Washburn, Camera

-Mark Whitman, Camera

-Anthony DeFonzo, Video Control

-Matty Randazzo, Video Control

-Paul Ranieri, Video Control

News & Documentary Emmys:

Outstanding Nature Programming

Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air

Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom

Earlier today, it was announced that three THIRTEEN productions were honored by the 70th Annual George Foster Peabody Awards: Great Performances’ Macbeth (starring Sir Patrick Stewart), and two American Masters programs, LennoNYC and A Letter to Elia (by Martin Scorcese).

The Peabody Awards are the most prestigious of all broadcasting awards,  recognizing outstanding achievements in electronic media, including radio, television and cable. The ceremony for this year’s winners will take place on May 23rd.

Congratulations to all of our award recipients!

Watch videos from the winning programs here:
Read More …

More than 10,000 educators from across the country gathered on March 18-19 for the 6th annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning at the Hilton New York in New York City.

The conference brought together experts from a wide range of fields, including the Arts, Global Awareness, Health & Wellness, Instructional Technology, Social Studies, Special Education, and Whole School Issues.

Among this year’s notable speakers were NBC’s Brian Williams, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of Education, Joanne Weiss; Mayor Cory Booker, and WNET’s own Jon Meacham (Need to Know).

Check out our photo highlights from the event:

Look to the Sky!  The Empire State Building will honor WNET on Friday, March 18, 2011 by shining its world-famous tower lights yellow, blue and red to celebrate the 6th annual Celebration of Teaching & Learning.

This premier professional development conference brings together over 10,000 educators from all 50 states, D.C., and across the globe with experts, advocates, practitioners and academics to help shape the future of schools.  It is also the marquee event of New York City’s annual “New York Celebrates Teaching & Learning Week,” as proclaimed by Mayor Bloomberg for March 16-19, 2011.

Since the debut of his national, nightly talk show in 2004, Tavis Smiley has engaged and enlightened audiences with programs featuring politicians, entertainers, athletes, authors, and newsmakers ranging from Sidney Poitier and Carol Burnett to Bill Moyers and President Barack Obama. And now, in 2011, as he embarks on his 20th anniversary in broadcasting, he will continue his award-winning program through a new co-production partnership with WNET.ORG.

THIRTEEN spoke with Smiley to celebrate this exciting new partnership.
Read More …

Susan Lacy, Series Creator of American Masters, will join Simon Applebaum, host of Tomorrow Will Be Televised, on BlogTalk Radio today at 3 p.m. to discuss the 25th anniversary season of American Masters.

The interview will take place  live from 3-3:30 p.m. and on replay after 6 p.m. The podcast will also be available for download beginning this weekend.

Listed to the interview below, or check it out here.

Yesterday evening, WNET participated in the Eleventh Annual Winter’s Eve at Lincoln Square, New York City’s largest holiday festival.

WABC-TV anchor Sade Baderinwa and special guests John Pizzarelli, Eileen Ivers, and Chia’s Dance Party kicked off the festivities with the annual tree lighting. The evening also featured street performances, food tastings, in-store activities, and shopping from Columbus Circle to 68th Street.

WNET opened the doors of its new Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center for guests, offering studio tours and meet and greets with Digit, from THIRTEEN’s hit kids show, Cyberchase.

Check out photos from the event here:

By Daniel T. Allen

On November 17th, 2010, the Korean-American Friends of Thirteen hosted a celebration to support the recently launched Friends of Thirteen Pacella Fund for Community Engagement. The lively event took place at Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center and included authentic Korean cuisine and a live musical performance from Na Sun, a Chinese-born violinist with the New York Philharmonic.
Read More …