Blog

We don't have a blog post this week because our staff members were very busy preparing for the Greenfield High School versus Turners Falls High School Thanksgiving Day Football Game and they are now spending some well deserved time off with their families and friends.  We hope that those of you who celebrated the holiday had a wonderful time and that everyone has a great weekend!

Okay, we realize that it's now November but we just couldn't finish out the week without sharing about some amazing experiences we had on Wednesday.  First of all, we estimate that more than 200 children stopped by our lobby to get candy from a chemist (Executive Director Oscar Lanza Galindo) and an astronaut (Oscar's daughter, Chel).

Usually, we have lots of candy left over but not this year.  We do have a little, however, so feel free to grab a piece, or two, if you come down to edit, pick up equipment, or say, "Hi!"  Just make sure you come down soon because it won't last!

On the other hand, some things that will be around for a while are our pictures from the festivities.  If you haven't seen them yet, be sure to check out our Rag Shag 2018 Photo Album.  The image below may be our favorite because it was probably the most creative and original group costume we saw:

The participants are dressed as sayings; "Holy Cow!", "Oh Dear!", and "When Pigs Fly!"  Have we mentioned before that our staff really loves puns?

Actually, writing about humor reminds us that we need to tell you about what we thought was the funniest part of the day.  If you've been to our offices recently, you know that we've set up chairs around the outside of the lobby so that they can be quickly and easily arranged for special events and meetings.  Unfortunately, that sometimes gives the impression that it's a waiting room.  Further, the way our space goes back in a rectangle, with doors to offices lining one wall, can make it seem like a medical facility.  Those things, along with the fact that Oscar was wearing a lab coat and Communication Coordinator Alicia Brody was dressed as a nurse, caused a number of parents to comment that they thought we were a dentist's office and many jokes ensued about drumming up business by giving out candy.

Though Oscar and Alicia had not coordinated their costumes, Alicia (center) and our fantastic Rag Shag Parade coverage co-host, Greenfield School Committee Chair Adrienne Nunez (right), had.

Adrienne really wanted to be a surgeon this year and she was so excited about Alicia teaming up with her that she brought along an extra surgical hairnet and booties for Alicia to wear.  All of this inspired us to think about doing a whole staff group costume next year and we were so tickled by the dentist misidentification that it will probably be Little Shop of Horrors.

As you can see, we had a very happy Halloween and we hope that you did too.  Next up, Election 2018!

Witches, ghosts, and goblins!  We're sure to see a lot of these on Halloween, when we once again film the Greenfield Recreation Department's Rag Shag Parade.  Before we tell you about our preparations for that event, however, we should probably share about the Gremlins who visited us last week.

If you were curious about why there was no blog post on Friday, October 12th, wonder no more.  We must have accidentally left some food out after midnight, or not noticed that some of those torrential downpours we had were leaking into our Mogwai enclosure, because early that day our website crashed.  When our communication coordinator discovered the problem, she immediately contacted tech support to resolve it.  Unfortunately, it took a while to access the server where our site is housed and then multiple things had to be fixed.  By the time everything was back to normal, it was late afternoon and we had spent most of the day interacting with tech support and keeping the public informed about our progress.

Speaking of keeping you informed, now it's time to talk about how we’re getting ready for the main event on October 31st.  Our production coordinator, Philippe, has been organizing volunteers and double checking equipment, and we've all been figuring out our costumes.  We're sad to say that longtime co-host Russ Brown, of The Dukes of Sports, will be unable to be a part of our shoot this year because he has to work.  Never fear!  Our communication coordinator, Alicia, will be back with a special surprise co-host.  Be sure to check our social media feeds to find out who that is, as we get closer to Halloween.

In the meantime, we hope you've been enjoying our videos of previous Rag Shag Parades, which have been airing on Cable Channel 15 on Tuesdays at 6:30PM and Fridays at 4:30PM throughout the month.  In addition, on Throwback Thursdays, if you follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter, you've gotten to see some of our favorite costumes from the last few years.  Both of these things will continue through the big day.  It's all part of our efforts to share the fun of Halloween all October long.

Finally, we just have to state that we can't wait to get to Energy Park and see what everyone is wearing!  Be sure to check www.gctv.org at 8PM on October 31st to see pictures of the costume contest winners, and then tune in to Cable Channel 15 at 9PM to watch our full video!

Whew!  Between events this week and things happening in the future, we have a lot of balls in the air and we're working hard to make sure that none of them hit the ground.  Many of you know that this time of year gets a little busy for us with the Franklin County Fair Parade, Greenfield Rag Shag Parade, and Greenfield High School (GHS) vs. Turners Falls High School Thanksgiving Football Game.  What you may not know is that, in addition to planning for those shoots, we're laying the groundwork for the GHS Music Department Holiday and Spring Concerts, the GHS Music Parents Association Telethon, the Greenfield Kiwanis Auction, and more.

On Monday, our executive director met with GHS Music Department Director Maria Scotera to discuss logistics involved in moving the telethon to the high school.  Later, at our staff meeting, we all put our heads together to hammer out details for our Rag Shag coverage and an open house event that we want to have next month.  We would have talked about the football game as well but we ran out of time.  Yesterday, our staffers got together again to put finishing touches on our handbook for the Kiwanis auction, so that all the information we need for that huge production is always to be found in one, easily accessible, place.

But wait, there's more!  While all of that pre-planning was going on, we were working out last-minute set-up details for the #Stand4Forests Open Mic that Mass Forest Rescue held in our lobby on Wednesday.  We were also finishing up organizing equipment for recording the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast this morning and staffing for tonight's GCTV Lobby Artist Talk.  Finally, did we mention that our board of directors also held their monthly meeting this week?

As you can see, we're definitely not bored around here but that doesn't mean you can't do some planning of your own and come up with an idea for a show.  We'll teach you how to use our equipment and edit your video so all you have to bring is your creativity.  Come on down!