Bristol, Va./Tenn. (August 5, 2020) – The Birthplace of Country Music (BCM) has announced Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun Time musical variety show has been syndicated to two new PBS markets this summer – East Tennessee PBS and UNC-TV – North Carolina Channel. With this latest expansion, the program now has the potential of reaching nearly 18 million viewers across a coverage area that includes parts of three states in the Southeast.
“We are thrilled to see Farm and Fun Time expand and reach new audiences,” said Birthplace of Country Music Executive Director Leah Ross. “Since the launch of this program five years ago, we had a distant goal of syndicating it. To see that dream become a reality is truly remarkable.”
Farm and Fun Time joined the programming lineup at Blue Ridge PBS in Roanoke, Virginia back in April. With the addition of East Tennessee PBS and UNC-TV in North Carolina, BCM aims to take the program even further. The show will air at the following times:
Blue Ridge PBS
Saturdays at 7:00PM
Click here to learn more about Blue Ridge PBS
UNC-TV – North Carolina Channel
Saturdays at 9:00PM
Click here to learn more about UNC-TV
Show will air on the North Carolina Channel on UNC-TV
East Tennessee PBS
Sundays at 3:30PM
Click here to learn more about East Tennessee PBS
Additionally, BCM officials have plans to work with PBS to expand into more markets in the coming months.
“So much love and hard work has gone into creating Farm and Fun Time,” added WBCM Radio Bristol Producer Kris Truelsen.”It feels great to see people respond so positively to what our team has built. We expect more growth and setting our sights on national syndication.”
Performed live once a month from the intimate Performance Theater at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Historic Downtown Bristol, Farm and Fun Time is a throwback to the golden days of radio and combines homespun humor, heartwarming stories, and great live musical guests into one delightfully entertaining program. Truelsen acts as host for the program while his band Bill and the Belles perform jovial music interludes and sponsor jingles with a vintage vibe.
The show is a refresh of the classic WCYB Radio Farm and Fun Time program from the 1940s and 1950s. The show gave acts like The Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, and Jim & Jesse McReynolds a career boost back in the day and offered agriculturists in the region a daily report on news affecting crops. That tradition lives on in the current program: Radio Bristol staff produces video vignettes that spotlight regional farmers and their methods of sustainability in modern times for today’s audiences, and special guests share an heirloom recipe focused on favorite dishes served on their Southern tables and the stories that add local flavor to each dish.
Encore episodes of Farm and Fun Time are provided to PBS affiliates from the program’s archive and are edited for broadcast television. Fans of the show who live in the coverage area of an affiliate station should check their local listings for air times. If Farm and Fun Time is not offered by your local PBS provider, Radio Bristol encourages you to call your local station and request that the show be added to their lineup.
Farm and Fun Time will air on East Tennessee PBS in the East Tennessee and Northeast Tennessee area at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoons and on UNC-TV in North Carolina at 9:00 p.m. EST on Saturday evenings. For more information about Farm and Fun Time or other programming on Radio Bristol, visit ListenRadioBristol.org. Archived Radio Bristol shows, including Farm and Fun Time, can be accessed through the website and the station’s free mobile app. Listeners are encouraged to download the latest version of the app to take advantage of better connectivity and other updates.