MUSTARD PANCAKES, Produced in Association with OPB, Wins Spring 2006 Parents' Choice Gold Award

MUSTARD PANCAKES, the celebrated live-action, public television preschool series produced by Mustard Pancakes Productions Inc in association with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), has won a Spring 2006 Parents' Choice Gold Award for Outstanding Television Programming for ages 3-6.

Established in 1978, Parents' Choice is the nation's oldest non-profit guide to quality children's media and toys. The Foundation's purpose is to search out and recommend products that help kids grow - imaginatively, physically, morally and mentally - and that are fun, safe and socially sound. Parents' Choice reviews books, toys, music, television, software, videogames, Web sites and magazines for children and families of all achievements and backgrounds.

Reviewing children's materials since 1978, the Parents' Choice Awards program honors the best material for children: books, toys, music and storytelling, magazines, software, videogames, television and Web sites. Parents' Choice Foundation's panels of educators, scientists, performing artists, librarians, parents - and kids themselves - identify the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels.

Said Joel Wertman, executive producer of MUSTARD PANCAKES, "As producers of the show and parents ourselves, we are extremely honored to receive the Gold Parents' Choice Award. We appreciate this significant recognition by the Parents' Choice Foundation, an organization we hold in high esteem. Since its establishment, Parents' Choice has been focused on its mandate to identify and promote excellence in children's entertainment. While developing MUSTARD PANCAKES, our objective was to create a series that embraces the whole child - a program that inspires children to discover the world around them and to learn the values that will help them become successful, creative and responsible adults."

Entering its second season, MUSTARD PANCAKES is a public television children's series for 3- to 6-year-olds, featuring the loveable and funny Courtney Campbell - a gifted storyteller, songwriter, guitarist and comedienne known to children for her musical performances and her family of fun-loving puppets. The live action series celebrates the joy of childhood through the power of music, storytelling and appealing characters, and invites viewers into a world where characters support each other's growth and work together to overcome the day-to-day challenges that all children face.

Executive producers of MUSTARD PANCAKES are Joel Wertman and Liza Perel. MUSTARD PANCAKES was created by Joel Wertman and Courtney Campbell with the creative involvement of a number of award-winning veteran public television puppeteers, writers, musical composers and consultants from perennial favorites such as "Caillou," "Dragon Tales," "Sagwa," "Sesame Street," "Seven Little Monsters," "Noddy" and "The Big Comfy Couch."

MUSTARD PANCAKES is produced by Mustard Pancakes Productions Inc. in association with Oregon Public Broadcasting and distributed by American Public Television (APT). The series made its television debut in July 2005.

OPB Radio Documentary Wins a Gracie Award

Oregon Public Broadcasting Radio has won a prestigious Gracie Allen Award (also known as a Gracie) for "Outstanding Documentary - Mid-Length Format - Radio" for its audio-documentary The Undiscovered Explorer: Imagining York.

The Gracie Allen Awards recognize exemplary programming created for women, by women and about women in all facets of electronic media and is presented annually by the American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT). Each year, the Gracies attract the best and the brightest in radio, television, cable and Web-based media. The Gracie winners will be presented their awards at a dinner in June in New York City.

The Undiscovered Explorer: Imagining York aired on OPB Radio and on public radio stations nationally in February. Through a rich weave of music, interviews, performance and dramatic readings, this hour-long audio documentary, narrated by Danny Glover, tells the story of York, William Clark's slave and the only African American member of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Claire Schoen produced and directed the documentary. For the past 25 years she has created award-winning documentaries in radio, film and video. Her works address a wide range of subjects including: environmental education, physical disability, communications technology, genetic engineering, nuclear proliferation and Jewish culture.

Claire's recent series, "Heart-to-Heart: Caring for the Dying" was broadcast on over 150 public radio stations. The series was honored by both the Gracie and the Clarion awards for Best Documentary Series.

Claire's previous producer/director credits include: "Mad River," an hour-long PBS documentary film about logging the Pacific Northwest Redwoods; "Voices in Exile," a four-part radio series about undocumented Salvadoran refugees, winner of the NFCB Golden Reel; "Is Our Fate in our Genes?", an hour-long radio documentary on genetic engineering, which was part of the series, "The DNA Files," winner of both Peabody and Dupont-Columbia awards.

Morgan Holm, director of News and Public Affairs at OPB, was the executive producer of The Undiscovered Explorer: Imagining York.

Oregon Public Broadcasting Receives Two Telly Awards

Oregon Public Broadcasting has received the prestigious Silver Telly Award for its documentary The Three Rabbis and a Bronze Telly Award for The Oregon Story: Rethinking the Forests.

Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions. Winners and finalists represent the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators and corporate video departments in the world. With over a quarter-of-a-century history of recognizing creative excellence, the Telly Awards is a widely known and highly respected international competition.

The Three Rabbis, which recounts the story of three devoted and passionate Portland Rabbis who played a pivotal role in the growth and emergence of Portland's Jewish community over the last 50 years, aired on OPB TV last October. Jessica Martin, writer and producer of The Three Rabbis, said, "It is a tremendous honor to have worked on this project and for it to be recognized by those in our industry with one of the most sought-after awards."

Kate McMahon was associate producer on the project and Gloria Feves Hammer, a Portland educator and driving force behind the production, served as coordinating producer.

A prestigious judging panel of over 25 accomplished industry professionals, each a past Winner of a Silver Telly, the top honor, upholds the historical standard of excellence that Telly represents. Judges evaluate entries to recognize distinction in creative work; entries do not compete against each other - rather, entries are judged against a high standard of merit. Less than 10 percent of entries are chosen as Winners of the highest honor, a Silver Telly.

The Oregon Story: Rethinking the Forests is part of The Oregon Story series that explores Oregon's ever-changing social, cultural and economic relationships with the land. The Oregon Story: Rethinking the Forests, which aired on OPB TV last November, ventured outside the usual arguments to find new voices with fresh perspectives on the present forest gridlock in Oregon and presented some different ways to view the problems. Eric Cain produced and directed the documentary.