FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS: Rhonda Maronn, OPB Brooke Burdick, Rick Steves 503.977.7780 425.608.4233 [email protected] [email protected]
RICK STEVES’ EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS A feast for the eyes, from one of public television’s top pledge drive hosts!
PORTLAND, Ore., September 27, 2006 – After producing more than 100 travel shows, Rick Steves and his television crew finally celebrate Christmas in Europe. The result – a picturesque celebration in RICK STEVES’ EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS a co-production of Back Door Productions and Oregon Public Broadcasting. This colorful montage of the holiday’s rich history of traditions explores the sights and sounds of celebrations from Bath, Paris, Oslo, Burgundy and the traditions of Nürnberg, Salzburg and Tuscany in a European snapshot of Christmas.
A consistent top performer in pledge drives through the years, Steves’ latest contribution, RICK STEVES’ EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS is sure to grab the attention of the wanderlust traveler and entice support for your public television station with a magnificent companion book, DVD and CD.
From England to Norway, Burgundy to Bavaria, and Rome to the top of the Swiss Alps, RICK STEVES’ EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS gets you down on the carpet with wide-eyed children, up in the loft with the finest choirs, and into the kitchen with grandma and all her secrets. Experience traditional European Christmas like never before: from flaming puddings and minced pies in jolly old England to angelic girls’ choirs donning flickering crowns of candles in Olso.
Christmas in Europe is a rich and fascinating mix of Christian and pre-Christian traditions; yule logs and mistletoe, shepherd’s bonfires and fondue, monastic chants and a Christmas yodel. Celebrate Christmas through the eyes of a delighted child, an awe-struck pilgrim, and a loving parent. Tuscan peasants, trendy Norwegians, Victorian English, dirndl-clad Tyrolians, all contribute to this heart-warming pledge experience called RICK STEVES’ EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS.
Each scene is filled with inspiring sounds of traditional European holiday music – unfamiliar to most American ears – performed by families and choirs in their homes, chapels and cathedrals. In England, spirits soar as choral groups sing like angels and ebullient conductors perform centuries-old carols in acoustically perfect churches. In the little village of Swainswick, tiny tinseled singers belt out a joyful song of a donkey that took Mary to Bethlehem. Up north in Norway, the ethereal voices of the Norwegian Girls Choir celebrate the return of the sun and little Santa Lucias brighten the season with their namesake’s traditional tune.
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RICK STEVES’ EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS is filled with fun history. You’ll uncover curious holiday facts like why Cromwell outlawed Christmas and how Charles Dickens caused it to boom again, why English turkeys wore boots in December, and that there are no plums in plum pudding, nor mince in mince pies. You’ll discover how to please Norway’s pesky Julenisse (hint: leave a bowl of porridge in the barn on Christmas Eve) and that Tyrolians are still singing Silent Night in the village of its birth.
RICK STEVES’ EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS is the best and closest thing to celebrating Christmas in Europe…with Rick Steves as your guide.
Over the past 15 years, Rick has hosted nearly 100 travel shows for public television (most still airing in rebroadcasts), and numerous pledge specials. Rick's relationship with public television began with his first series, Travels In Europe With Rick Steves. Since then, he has become one of public television's top pledge drive hosts, raising millions of dollars annually for stations across the U.S. His current Rick Steves' Europe TV series has grown to 70 half-hour shows carried by over 300 public television stations, reaching 95 percent of U.S. markets. Rick writes and co-produces his television programs through his company, Back Door Productions.
The RICK STEVES’ EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS film crew consists of Steves, co-producer Simon Griffith, and editor Steve Cammarano. The show is produced by Back Door Productions based at Steves' corporate headquarters, Europe Through The Back Door Inc., in Edmonds, WA. Oregon Public Broadcasting presents the program, and it is distributed through PBS Fundraising Programming.
Funding for RICK STEVES’ EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS was provided by PBS Viewers and PBS. ###
About Europe Through the Back Door (ETBD) The mission at Europe Through the Back Door is to inspire, inform and equip Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable and culturally broadening. ETBD values travel as a powerful way to better understand and contribute to the world in which we live. ETBD strives to keep its travel style, world outlook and business practices consistent with these values. To learn more about ETBD and Rick Steves' books, bus tours, and television projects, visit www.ricksteves.com.
About Rick Steves Rick Steves is the author of 30 best-selling European travel guidebooks and the host of the public television series, Rick Steves’ Europe. His recently launched radio program, Travel with Rick Steves is on public radio stations across the country.
About Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) OPB is a major provider of programs for the PBS national primetime schedule and America Public Television (APT), producing a variety of freestanding documentary specials and series.
OPB has produced major Web sites for PBS.org as well as enhanced TV prototypes, books, companion radio documentaries and extensive promotion and outreach campaigns for PBS primetime programs. OPB has also licensed its programs to 29 countries around the world.
For RICK STEVES’ EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS promotional photos and more information, visit pressroom.opb.org.