"A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION" LIVE AT BLOSSOM ON JUNE 21
TICKETS GO ON SALE APRIL 19 FOR GARRISON KEILLOR AND COMPANY
Friday February 8, 2008

For immediate release
Contact: Robert J. Burford, WKSU
(330) 672-3114
burford@wksu.org

WKSU presents one of the stars of public broadcasting live on-stage at Blossom Music Center on Saturday, June 21 at 5:45 p.m. Since Garrison Keillor's first broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion" in 1974, the show and its creator have become nearly synonymous with public radio. A modern interpretation of an old-style radio variety show, "A Prairie Home Companion" brings together comedy sketches, musical performances and Keillor's beloved weekly monologue centered on the fictional small town of Lake Wobegon, MN.

Tickets for the live broadcast go on sale through all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone and online at Ticketmaster.com Saturday, April 19 at 10 a.m. Prices are $60 for gold circle pavilion seats, $48 for standard pavilion seats, $34 for bench seating and $26 for lawn tickets. Children 12 and under will be admitted free to watch from the lawn when accompanied by an adult with a paid ticket.

"'A Prairie Home Companion' consistently rates among favorite programs for WKSU listeners," says WKSU General Manager Al Bartholet. "Garrison Keillor understands what makes radio special and every week he uses this knowledge to produce two hours of great entertainment. And the audiences in Northeast Ohio have proven that they enjoy seeing the show live and being part of a very special event."

Along with his roles as writer and host for "A Prairie Home Companion," Keillor serves the same duties for "The Writer's Almanac," a five-minute program centered on writers and writing that is aired on 340 public radio stations. He is also the noted author of more than a dozen books including "Lake Wobegon Days," "The Book of Guys," "Love Me" and "Homegrown Democrat," as well as the screenplay for the movie "A Prairie Home Companion," directed by the late Robert Altman.

Born in Anoka, MN, in 1942, Keillor graduated from the University of Minnesota and now lives in St. Paul with his wife and daughter. He has been honored with numerous awards for his contributions to radio, television and literature, such as the National Humanities Medal in 1999 and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

For the June 21 live broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion" from Blossom Music Center, Keillor will be joined onstage by members of his Royal Academy of Radio Acting (Tim Russell and Sue Scott), sound effects genius Fred Newman (also known for his work on PBS' "Between the Lions"), and The Guys' All-Star Shoe Band, a stellar collection of musicians featuring Rich Dworsky and Pat Donohue. Special guests for the Northeast Ohio broadcast will be announced at a later date.

"A Prairie Home Companion" is currently carried on nearly 600 public radio stations throughout the U.S. and can be heard overseas on BBC7 in the U.K., ABC Radio National in Australia, America One, and the Armed Forces Networks in Europe and the Far East. The program is produced by Prairie Home Productions and is presented and distributed by American Public Media. It is sponsored nationally by General Mills and Select Comfort.

WKSU's live broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion" from Northeast Ohio is made possible through support from Kent State University, The J.M. Smucker Co., Western Reserve Academy, Ohio.net, Diebold Inc., Cascade Auto Group, National First Ladies' Library, Lehman's, Northeast Ohio Education Association, Metro Regional Transit Authority and Billow Funeral Homes.

WKSU broadcasts NPR & Classical Music at 89.7 FM, and is a service of Kent State University. WKSU programming is also heard on WKRW 89.3 FM in Wooster, WKRJ 91.5 FM in Dover/New Philadelphia, WKSV 89.1 FM in Thompson, WNRK 90.7 in Norwalk, W298BA 107.5 FM in Boardman, and W239AZ 95.7 FM in Ashland. The WKSU web site is www.wksu.org.

PR08.01           ###      2/08/08
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