The local legends, historical happenings, and backyard secrets of Westerly, Rhode Island, are the focus of the latest edition Our Town, an ongoing Rhode Island PBS community project. Rhode Island PBS premieres the documentary Our Town: Westerly on Thursday, December 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Earlier this year, neighbors in Westerly became storytellers and filmmakers to capture the stories they wanted to tell in Our Town: Westerly. These stories have been woven together into a visual tapestry of nostalgia, humor, enterprise, history, even a surprise or two, all representing life in Westerly through the eyes of those who know and love it. Westerly residents and friends involved in the production will be in the studio to share their experiences working on the project. Volunteers will also answer phones during this fund raising special to benefit Rhode Island PBS.
Part fund-raiser, part community builder, part historical and cultural documentary, and part “day-in-the-life” video scrapbook, Our Town: Westerly is the fifth documentary in the Our Town series. The first film, Our Town: Glocester, premiered in December 2014; Our Town: North Kingstown premiered in September 2015; Our Town: Portsmouth debuted in December 2015; and Our Town: West Warwick premiered on September 7, 2016.
The purpose of Our Town is to share the charm and character of Rhode Island towns and villages - in particular, untold or uncelebrated stories that capture the essence of life in the town. Building community by enhancing connections and relationships between Rhode Island PBS and town residents, the stories are told by resident storytellers and videographers, who choose the stories they want to tell about their town. The role of Rhode Island PBS is to offer technical advice and then stitch together the stories into a one-hour film.
For information about joining the Rhode Island PBS Our Town project, visit ripbs.org/our-town, or call Jodi Mesolella (project director) at 401-222-3636, extension 209, Nicole Muri (producer) at extension 225, or email ourtown@ripbs.org.
WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits high-definition (HD) and standard-definition (SD) content over the air on digital 36.1; on Rhode Island cable: Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; on Massachusetts cable: Comcast 819HD (check local Comcast listings for standard definition channels) and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD; on satellite: DirecTV 36, Dish Network 36. WSBE Learn transmits SD on digital 36.2, Cox 808, Verizon 478, Full Channel 89, and Comcast 294 or 312.
Our Town: Westerly is made possible in part by support from the following businesses:
