East of the Blue Ridge is a locally-produced series featuring the people, places and culture that enrich and enhance life in Charlottesville and central Virginia. Proven to be enormously popular since its debut in 2000, all three programs in the series; Horses, Writers, Three Presidents, and The James River are distributed to public television stations nationwide by American Public Television (APT).
Award-winning Charlottesville filmmaker Paul Wagner (Windhorse, Out of Ireland) produces and directs East of the Blue Ridge and is joined by the station’s producer Paul Roberts. Original music was composed for the series by Charlottesville singer-songwriter John McCutcheon.
East of the Blue Ridge: Horses
If Virginians are passionate about horses, then Charlottesville and central Virginia are crazy about them. Historically they always have been. But unlike many places in the country where horses are on the periphery of the community, for a large number of central Virginians, horses are the center of life.
East of the Blue Ridge looks at horses and the people who care for them in the series 2000 debut Horses. Horses follows an entire year of equestrian activities in and around Charlottesville, Albemarle and the surrounding counties. The program features people who work with horses as a hobby, business, competitive sport and even part of school curriculum.
East of the Blue Ridge: Writers
More book readers live in and around Charlottesville than almost anywhere in the country. But it’s often said that local readers are outnumbered by local writers. What draws so many writers to this area? What inspiration do they find here?
Writers, the second program in the East of the Blue Ridge series, looks at the literary community in central Virginia. The program features local writers “from national celebrities to the yet-to-be-discovered” as they talk about living and writing in Charlottesville and central Virginia.
East of the Blue Ridge: Three Presidents
Thomas Jefferson. James Madison. James Monroe. They were best friends who became the third, fourth and fifth presidents of the United States, leading the country for 24 consecutive years. What other region has sent three of its neighbors to the White House?
In Three Presidents, the gardeners, archeologists, curators and historians from all three modern-day homes describe how the lives of these three men intertwined as they attempted to build a life here, and how their homes reflect who they were and the place they now hold in American history.
East of the Blue Ridge: The James River
In the fourth program of the East of the Blue Ridge series, viewers will enjoy a journey along the historic James River through the eyes of those most intimate with this famous waterway. Premiering in March, The James River, looks back at the river’s historic and sometimes troubled past, and celebrates how it is enjoyed and maintained by neighbors and visitors today.
Ride on a batteau in Scottsville and learn how James River batteaux are unique; head west to a wilderness park right in the middle of downtown Richmond; go fly-fishing; walk along a slave trail and much more.
