BREMERTON — “People love knowing more about their own backyard. So we love come out here and just giving people reminders about what’s around them,” said Eric Riddle, segment producer for King 5’s magazine show, “Evening.”
Riddle and his cameraman Scott Hopson spent the day in Bremerton June 2, visiting local attractions and businesses to highlight them for a Bremerton-centric piece for their popular feature news show. The team started at the USS Turner Joy, then went to the Valentinetti Puppet Museum, the Bug Museum, the Boat Shed restaurant and ended with Lovecraft Brewery.
“When we think about these things, we think, well, who’s our audience?” Riddle said. “In this case, we chose the Puppet Museum and the Bug Museum because, when families come out, they’re looking for places to take their kids. We’re going to the Boat Shed and … Lovecraft Brewery — places you can eat and drink.
“You’ve got to break it down into those kinds of categories to make it cast a wide net for people.”
Riddle added that they are “anxious to highlight some of the things going on here.”
Stanley Hess, curator of the Puppet Museum, said, “This is very important, not just for us (at the Puppet Museum), but for Bremerton and for visitors to come and see what we’ve got. Were not just a Navy town.”
All this started when the Bremerton Historic Ships Association (BHSA) entered into negotiations with King 5 to play advertisements for the USS Turner Joy museum. John Hanson, BHSA president, said that after two-and-a-half months, “part of that negotiation was the opportunity to have ‘Evening’ come over and see the City of Bremerton.”
“A lot of this day with ‘Evening’ will be Bremerton,” Hanson said. “Only 45 minutes of our schedule today will be the USS Turner Joy. Then we’ll be off to see the Bug Museum and the Puppet Museum, adn we’re going to have lunch at the Boat Shed Restaurant and we’re going to the newest brewery, Lovecraft Brewery. So it’s all about Bremerton today, with the Turner Joy as the centerpiece.”
Cameraman Scott Hopson films on the USS Turner Joy June 2. Photo by Michelle Beahm
“Evening,” formerly called “Evening Magazine,” has been a Seattle-based feature news television show since 1986, and is “one of the most-watched evening programs in the Northwest,” said Hanson.
“I do watch it,” said Hess. “It’s an important resource for people to learn about their community and some of the history, some of the things that are important, that sort of thing.”
Hanson said he expects the segment will have “a very positive effect” on each place the show highlights.
“I think Lovecraft Brewery is an amazing, brand-new brewery … I think that (the show) will bring people into that brewery.
Scott Hopson, left, and Eric Riddle, middle, prepare to interview Valentinetti Puppet Museum curator Stanley Hess. Photo by Michelle Beahm
“The two museums we’re visiting … they’re both very tiny, they don’t have any budgets to do serious marketing or advertising. They’re both free museums and they’re both children’s activities. I think it’ll be a big boost to both of them, as well.”
The first airing of the Bremerton episode will be 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, on King 5. There will also be three more primetime airings (the dates of which are unknown at the time of this writing), as well as reruns over 18 months.
“Bremerton will be telling its story over and over for the next year and a half,” Hanson said. “It’s a very big deal for us.”
The segment will also be online at the King 5 Evening website starting Wednesday, June 8.
“This isn’t exactly a small town, but people are always looking for excursions or places to take their family,” Riddle said, “and we think Bremerton is just an outstanding destination.”
Stanley Hess, left, and Eric Riddle discuss the Valentinetti Puppet Museum. Photo by Michelle Beahm
