Our Town: Gallipolis Premiere Screening to be Rescheduled… WOUB is following recommendations from the state and Ohio University

ATHENS, OH – Following recommendations from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio University President Duane Nellis regarding the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), WOUB Public Media will be rescheduling the premiere screening of Our Town: Gallipolis originally scheduled for March 22 at Gallia Academy High School. Additional details will be announced in the future.

The Our Town: Gallipolis documentary film is an hour-long look at the history of the Gallia County community. It examines many unique aspects and people of Gallipolis including: the 1913 flood, the infamous Silver Bridge collapse, and Gallipolis’ connection to the sinking of the Titanic. The film also explores some of Gallipolis’ more notable residents like Bob Evans and Grandma Gatewood.

“We are saddened to have to cancel this premiere screening because we know it’s important to the community in Gallipolis,” said WOUB General Manager Mark Brewer. “But, Governor DeWine is recommending that organizers of any events involving a large gathering of individuals in close proximity be canceled or postponed, and it was the responsible decision to cancel the March event and look to reschedule.”

WOUB will also be rescheduling the television premiere of the program, which was scheduled for March 23 at 8 p.m.

“We want the people in Gallipolis to be the first to see it at a premiere screening event,” said Brewer. “We are working with Gallia Academy High School to find a date to reschedule the in-person screening, and once that date is set, we will schedule the documentary to air on WOUB TV shortly after.”

The Gallipolis film is the seventh historical documentary in WOUB’s Our Town series. The series is produced and directed by 13-time Emmy-Award winner and a southeastern Ohio native Evan Shaw.

“Gallipolis has a unique and fascinating history, from its founding with the French 500 through present day,” said Shaw. “We’ve put together a wonderful documentary on Gallipolis which will inspire community pride, and this premiere will be worth the wait.”

“We appreciate everyone’s understanding, as this is a unique situation,” said Brewer.

About Our Town

Our Town is a historical documentary series produced by WOUB Public Media and the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact which aims to tell the unique creation stories of communities in the Appalachian region. Through the telling of this history, Our Town is building the collective story of the Appalachian region and developing an incredible sense of place and purpose to inspire residents to continue building on the past to create a stronger future. 

About WOUB Public Media

As a member station of both NPR and PBS, WOUB Public Media is a trusted source of news, local content and educational resources that have proven to be worthy of the time, effort and support of our users. WOUB, an experiential-learning unit of the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University, is a non-profit, community-supported multimedia organization which provides online and broadcast services, along with non-broadcast educational services and student professional development. WOUB serves 55 counties throughout southeastern Ohio, northern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky with its broadcast signals. WOUB Radio’s FM Network has transmitters in Athens, Chillicothe, Ironton, Zanesville and Cambridge, while WOUB AM serves the immediate Athens area. WOUB TV is made up of six television channels (WOUB HD, WOUB Classic, WOUB World, WOUB Create, WOUB Ohio and WOUB Kids) which are broadcast from two transmitters.

Through its support of public service, teaching, research and administrative missions, along with its high-quality local content and programming, WOUB enriches, enhances and expands the lives and horizons of the people in the communities it serves, as well as Ohio University faculty, staff and students.