(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – PBS television stations across the country are now looking at a program initiated by the University of Central Missouri’s public television station, KMOS-TV, as an example of how to cooperate with the nationally known Create Channel.
KMOS-TV hosted the first Create Expo on Saturday in Columbia. The expo took about one year to plan and was designed to reflect the content broadcast on PBS’ Create Channel, which airs on 6.2 on KMOS-TV, according to a news release.
About 1,000 people attended the six-hour event at the Parkade Center, a former Columbia Mall. It included guest speakers such as Vicki Payne, host of Create’s popular “For Your Home” program, and about 40 different vendors, which provided opportunities in home, food, travel, cooking and arts categories, according to a news release.
“Many of the folks who came out this past weekend shared the same story. They were not just watching television, they were really focusing their attention on Create,” said Phil Hoffman, director of broadcasting services at UCM, in a written statement.
He said Columbia was selected as the location for the event because it is the designated metropolitan area served by KMOS-TV, which is the main source of PBS programming for that region. Hoffman said that after the expo, the president of the Create Channel requested video of the event so that the network could share it with its national board “as a model of creativity and innovation” to be considered by different PBS stations that carry Create. The Create Channel is owned by American Public Television and is nationally known for its lifestyle and how-to programs.
“We are literally the first station that has ever done this type of event with Create,” Hoffman said.
He said staff member Sandy Kelley developed the idea. Many student volunteers also filled two vans as they traveled to Columbia to assist with the event.