WPT Be more Tuned In Videocast -- Mark Pender...

For our inaugural Be more Tuned In Videocast, we went behind the scenes at the Kohl Center to speak with Mark Pender, trumpeter and vocalist from Late Night With Conan O'Brien's Max Weinberg Seven. Pender recently made his second appearance as a featured artist at the University of Wisconsin Spring Varsity Band Show.

In the insightful interview, Pender spoke about his career working with performers like Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Little Steven Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and others; working on Late Night; and performing with Michael Leckrone and the UW Band.

Enjoy the two parts of the interview below and make sure to watch his performance from There's a Place for Us: The 34th Annual UW Varsity Spring Band Show at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 3 on Wisconsin Public Television.

Be more Tuned In Videocast -- Mark Pender: Part One


Be more Tuned In Videocast -- Mark Pender: Part Two

Calling All Quilters: Your Quilt Could Be a Winner...

A message from public television's Nancy Zieman

This fall, Sept. 11 through 13, WPT and Nancy Zieman Productions will present the fourth-annual Quilt Expo in the Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis.

I encourage all quilters to take part in one of the most exciting elements of this premier quilting forum -- the 10-category juried and judged quilt contest.

Last year's contest was the highlight of the event with more than 260 spectacular quilts competing, and on exhibit for attendees to peruse and admire. Many non-quilters also visited to marvel and take in the varied beauty of these splendid works of personal expression. It was truly magnificent and inspiring.

All of the 2007 award-winning contest quilts may be viewed on the Web at wiquiltexpo.com.

The contest awards first-, second- and third-place cash prizes in each of the 10 categories. The first-place winner in each category receives $500, second-place $300 and third-place $200, plus one Best of Show winner is awarded $1,500. Each winner also receives a ribbon. In addition, quilt contest exhibit viewers may vote for their favorite quilt in the exhibit to win a special $500 Viewers' Choice award.

Quilt Expo also offers the chance for kids up to 15 years of age to win prizes for their quilts in the youth contest. Nancy's Notions sponsors the Kids' Quilt Challenge and awards $200, $100 and $50 gift certificates for the three top quilts.

Visit the Web site to download entry forms for both contests.

Other Quilt Expo highlights include educational lectures by quilting experts, Sit & Sew, and hands-on workshops where attendees can learn and practice a new skill, stage presentations with innovative tips and techniques, and a vendor mall, brimming all that's new in the quilting industry.

Please join me to learn, laugh and draw inspiration.

-Nancy Zieman

A WPT guilty pleasure...

A new Wisconsin State Journal article explores the guilty pleasures of prominent Madison and Wisconsin personalities. Patty Loew, host of WPT's In Wisconsin, was one of those queried...

"For me, it's marshmallow Peeps, but only if they're stale. Every Easter, my parents would hide baskets for my brother and me. He and I would open up the box of Peeps and put them in a window sill to 'season.' There was an art to it. You couldn't let them get too stale, as in rock hard. There's a point when a properly seasoned Peep loses its softness and gets really chewy ... almost 'pull-your-teeth-out' taffylike.

"To me, a proper Peep requires the same attention to detail as an aged cheese, a fine wine or a single malt scotch. Stale Peeps have become a Loew family tradition. Even today when my brother and I get together for Easter, we'll bring each other Peeps. The full measure of our love is evidenced by the energy we invest in the weeks leading up to Easter and the 'ta-DA' moment when we present the gift and announce ... 'and they're stale!' "

In Wisconsin can be seen on WPT at 7 p.m. every Thursday.