(Athens) -- Because of increasing illness rates in Ohio from COVID-19, WOUB Public Media is postponing the premiere screening of "Our Town: Chillicothe," which was originally scheduled for September 26 at the Majestic Theatre. It has been rescheduled for Sunday, March 27, 2022 at 3 p.m. at the same location.
“We are saddened to have to postpone this premiere screening because we know how excited people are to see the film,” said WOUB General Manager Mark Brewer. “We have nearly 300 people registered to attend the event, and we want to celebrate this documentary with all of those people at the Majestic in Chillicothe when we know that we’ll all be safe being together.”
“Postponing the event makes sense, since it is such a large event and cases are surging now due to the highly contagious Delta variant,” said Ohio University’s Special Assistant to the President for Public Health Operations Gillian Ice. “Masks and distancing are needed at indoor events to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
WOUB will also be rescheduling the broadcast premiere of the program for March 28 at 8 p.m.
“We want the people in Chillicothe to be the first to see the film at a premiere screening event,” said Brewer. “So, we will wait until March to air the film on television as well.”
The Chillicothe film is the eighth historical documentary in WOUB’s Our Town series. The series is produced and directed by 14-time Emmy-Award winner and a southeastern Ohio native Evan Shaw.
“While we are disappointed to have to postpone this event, we look forward to March,” said Shaw. “We’ve put together a wonderful documentary on Chillicothe which will inspire community pride, and this premiere will be worth the wait.”
The film examines the history of Chillicothe as the first and third capital of the state of Ohio as well as its presence on the State of Ohio seal with a circular coat of arms that depicts a Chillicothe sunrise. This film also looks at many other unique aspects and people from Chillicothe’s history including: how it is home to the oldest newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains; the influence of the papermaking industry; how World War I contributed to the city’s growth and its notable residents like Librarian Burton Stevenson who created an immense library system for Camp Sherman and later founded the American Library in Paris; Commander Henry Walke, a prominent naval Captain and artist; Oliver Anderson, a free man of color who was kidnapped from his Chillicothe home by southern slave catchers; and Former U.S. First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes, who was the first First Lady to have a college degree.
"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.