After 5: Toothsome TV

For 22 years, there has been one goal.

Ozarks Public Television has used the appeal of great food and wine to ensure that quality educational children's programming is available to Ozarks families. In those two decades, the Friday Night TV Dinner and the Wine and Food Celebration have been the vehicle to make that happen.

However, this year's TV Dinner, held Nov. 6, was a radical departure from the past. Leaving traditions at the Newberry Building on the square, the promoters chose the new Zan nightclub, 311 S. Patton Ave. Brown Derby Director of Operations Brad Feuerbacher describes Zan as "the swankiest joint in town." Indeed. 

Gone was the formal dining room and hors d'oeuvre-carrying wait staff, which inherently favored old money and the boomer generation. In their place was a two-story club with a Grey Goose ice bar, fine wine lounge and a cocktail party atmosphere that crossed generational boundaries, blurring lines between fundraising and a great party.

In today's economy, and with current supporters not getting any younger, viewer-supported OPT is adapting.

"We are definitely reaching out to a broader donor base," says OPT Special Events Coordinator Hannah Combs. "This is a transitional time for us, and we are looking for ways to move forward."

While the Sunday afternoon Wine and Food celebration has seen little change, forward motion is unmistakable. The representation of local restaurants and merchants seems to always outdo the previous year's, and 2009 was no exception.

With more than 20 purveyors of culinary pleasures showcasing their wares and upwards of 200 wines open, the three-hour time frame allows even the most adventurous guest only the opportunity to sample.

Whatever your pleasure, the true beneficiaries are the children. "We're in a generation where kids have grown up watching Nickelodeon and don't even know who Big Bird is," says OPT Membership Coordinator Jamie Miller. "We need to change that."

This year's Sunday wine selection on Nov. 8, was better than ever. While the usual mass-produced labels were out in force, there were also many gems at a variety of price points. All are available locally at the Brown Derby International Wine Center, 2023 S. Glenstone Ave.Ozarks Public Television broadcasts locally as KOZK-TV, Channel 21 in Springfield, and KOZJ-TV, Channel 26 in Joplin. The station provides programming to 549,540 households in the Ozarks each week. For donation and membership information, visit www.optv.org or call (417) 836-3506. The November fundraiser netted $44,000 this year, up from $32,000 last year. Attendance was slightly higher during the two-day event, with nearly 900 guests this year.