Film

Grilling and Greening

new Community TV shows highlight meat, gardening

Barbara Arnold |

PICTURE ON PICTURE. Two new, locally produced programs recently premiered on Chippewa Valley Community Television, Eau Claire’s public access channel: Wisconsin BBQ (top), and Keeping It Green (bottom).
PICTURE ON PICTURE. Two new, locally produced programs recently premiered
on Chippewa Valley Community Television, Eau Claire’s public access channel:
Wisconsin BBQ (above), and Keeping It Green (below).

Fans of Chippewa Valley Community Television (CTV for short) attended its first-ever off-site Premiere Party for the season’s new shows at The Plus in downtown Eau Claire on Wednesday, July 9. Featured were the premiere episodes of Wisconsin BBQ and Keeping It Green. Episode 3 of The Sue Orfield Show, which premiered in May, ran in the background as the party wound down.

Wisconsin BBQ

The colorful characters behind this show are host Jim Maier, and pit cooks “Biggie” (Miles Casey) and “Bull” (Mark Bull), who own Biggie and Bull Barbecue, and compete in national BBQ events. The menu for each show uses as many Chippewa Valley and Wisconsin products as possible while the chefs share Wisconsin-style grilling and barbecuing tips. The first episode focused on a Carson Park tailgate party with a truly educational “Know Your Sausage” segment: the brat, Italian, Polish, chorizo, and hot dog, followed by some different takes on the ever-popular hamburger and potato. When in doubt, pile on the cheese, along with select spices. Future episodes include barbecuing at the lake, a football tailgate, as well as a possible kids segment featuring Biggie’s daughter Emily and her to-die-for meatloaf and potato cupcakes.

Keeping it Green

Billed for green and not-so-green thumbs in the Chippewa Valley, each episode of this new show features “earth mother” Erin LaFaive (horticulture educator for UW Extension in Eau Claire) and a guest (either a Master Gardener or expert gardener). This pilot episode was shot at the south side Eau Claire home of Nancy Skelley, a lifelong gardener and onetime co-owner of The Potting Shed with her husband, Lee.  Erin and Nancy rapidly “showed and telled” several topics in a short 30 minutes on Nancy’s deck, back yard, and front yard: soil testing, when to fertilize, box (tomatoes) and ceramic pot (herb) gardens for small spaces, bark issues with a Norway maple, weed prevention and mulch, and more. Episode 2 will feature a tour of the Community Garden on Forest Street with founder Andrew Werthmann. CTV is seeking sponsors for this program, so if you are interested, contact the station at (715) 839-5067 or cvctv@cvctv.org.  

The Sue Orfield Show

When we first told you about the Sue Orfield Show back in May, CTV had just launched an online fundraising campaign through IndieGoGo. The campaign was a success, hitting 101 percent of its $9,000 goal, says Donna Berry, CTV’s development and outreach director. “That’s about half the production costs for a season,” she explains, adding that CTV is now seeking sponsors for seasons one and two. The Sue Orfield Show features local saxophonist Orfield with local guest musicians. It is recorded in front of a live studio audience. Sue joins the musicians for several numbers and then interviews the band at the end of their set. “There are so many great musicians in the Chippewa Valley, we want to bring them to a wider audience,” says Dick Purves, the show’s executive producer.

Catch the Shows

You can enjoy these shows online, on cable TV, or on radio. CTV now has a responsive website so you can watch from your mobile device in addition to your computer without having to resize the screen.

Wisconsin BBQ and Keeping it Green:
Streamed online here
Charter Cable (Channels 993 and 994) and Radio (101.9 FM):
    Saturday: BBQ at 11:30am, Keeping It Green at 12pm
    Sunday: BBQ at 3 pm, Keeping It Green at 3:30pm

The Sue Orfield Show:
Streamed online here, live Saturdays at 8pm with replays on Channel 993 at 8pm Thursday
On-Demand video here
Charter Cable (Channels 993 and 994) and Radio (101.9 FM):
    Saturday: 8pm
    Thursday (repeat): 8pm (993 only)