PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS:

Monday night starts off with twice the valuable finds on back-to-back episodes of Antiques Roadshow. In Eugene, Oregon, the appraisers check out a sword from the reign of Tsar Nicholas II. In the second hour from Houston, the experts check out a collection of lithographed orange crate labels. Then it becomes "Mystery Monday" with Midsomer Murders at 9 and Agatha Christie's Poirot at 10.

More Wild West Tuesday night on American Experience. At 7, find out how different the real Annie Oakley was from the legend. And at 8, separate fact from fiction with Jesse James.

LPB has animal magnetism Wednesday night! At 7, Nature enters the secret life of the wolverine. At 8, NOVA visits a site packed with preserved bones of mammoths, mastodons and other giant extinct beasts. At 8, Inside Nature's Giants travels with experts to South Africa to dissect a great white shark.

The votes will be tallied and Thursday night at 8, LPB will bring you the fan favorite episode from Season One of Doc Martin. Tune in to see if your choice was the top vote-getter! At 9, trace the beginnings of the Iceberg That Sank the Titanic.

Friday night at 7, Louisiana: The State We're In gives you the latest news from around the state, followed by the rest of our news and public affairs lineup. At 9, see the first episode in a new season of Michael Feinstein's American Songbook. Learn how technology has preserved - and altered - the way we think about the great songs and singers of the past.

Saturday night, Waiting for God rejoins our British comedy lineup - it will air at 8:30PM. At 11, the modern rock band Wilco makes a return appearance on Austin City Limits.

Sunday is Masterpiece night in a lot of homes, even on Super Bowl Sunday! At 7, catch up on Part 4 of Downton Abbey, Series II if you missed it last week, then see Part 5 at 8PM. LPB will have an encore airing of Part 5 at 9PM. At 10, see Part 1 of the classic Anne of Green Gables.

GREAT TICKETS FOR GREAT CONCERTS!

LPB offers you great television - and great concerts! You can have the best seats in the house at all of the wonderful concerts Friends of LPB has in store for you! For the kiddies, Elmo Makes Music will have the children dancing in the aisles in Bossier City and Baton Rouge in March. Straight No Chaser performs in April in Shreveport and Baton Rouge. The beautiful and talented ladies of Celtic Woman return to Baton Rouge in April. For all of the dates, locations, and ticket prices, visit the Friends of LPB Box Office.

And coming up in a few weeks: Cirque du Soleil: Quidam at the Baton Rouge River Center Arena on February 26th! A $100 contribution gets you one ticket in Section 110 - one ticket in Section 310 or 311 is yours for a $75 contribution. Get your tickets now!

ONLY DAYS LEFT TO NOMINATE A LOUISIANA YOUNG HERO!

Almost every day on the news, you'll hear about a young person in trouble -- often the students who do exceptionally well in the classroom or make a huge difference in their community do not receive the recognition they deserve. That’s why LPB and the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge created the Louisiana Young Heroes Awards. Now in its 17th year, the awards honor students in grades 7-12 who have excelled in the classroom, have served their community or have shown great courage in overcoming adversity in their own lives.

Nominations are now being taken for the 2011 Louisiana Young Heroes Awards. Students must be enrolled in a Louisiana school or home-schooled and cannot be older than 19 years of age.

Some of our previous Young Heroes have overcome physical handicaps or personal tragedies, helped others after hurricanes, cared for family members, started charitable foundations, and even saved lives. You can read profiles and see videos of previous years' Young Heroes on our website. Young Heroes also have a Facebook page - we would love to have you become our friend!

HARRY CONNICK, JR. TO NARRATE LPB'S LOUISIANA BICENTENNIAL DOCUMENTARY

Grammy and Emmy-winning musician and actor Harry Connick, Jr. will narrate LPB’s new Louisiana Bicentennial documentary entitled Louisiana: America's Eighteenth Star. LPB is working with the Louisiana Bicentennial Commission to produce the new documentary which looks back at the first 200 years of the state’s history. It will premiere on LPB in August. Connick, a native of New Orleans, has been a major star since the 1980s. He has sold more than 16-million records, earned three Grammy Awards and two Emmys, and has a long list of acting credits including a four-year stint on "Will & Grace."

LPB is also creating 18 Louisiana: Now and Then Bicentennial segments narrated by actress Faith Ford highlighting the important events in the state’s history that will air around the state.
The documentary will focus on the most important people and events that have made our state so unique. From the actual decision to join the Union in 1812 to the present, Louisiana has had a colorful history featuring massive floods, devastating hurricanes, the Civil War, unique cuisine, and the creation of Jazz, along with charismatic and sometimes controversial figures like former Governors Huey and Earl Long and Edwin Edwards. With the recent elections of Kathleen Blanco, the first woman governor in the state’s history, and Bobby Jindal, the nation’s first Indian American governor, the state has entered a new era of politics.

From the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 through World War II, Louisiana has had a rich military history. The state hosted the largest war games in American history to prepare troops for World War II and Andrew Higgins created the boats that were used in D-Day and other major amphibious assaults during the war.

From the creation of Jazz to Cajun, Zydeco, blues, New Orleans Rhythm and Blues and country music, the musical diversity in the state is reflective of the state’s population and culture. It’s a culture that has produced such music legends as Louis Armstrong and Fats Domino along with contemporary country stars like Tim McGraw and Trace Atkins.

The documentary is being produced by LPB’s Tika Laudun and Al Godoy, who created the duPont Columbia Award-winning six-part series Louisiana: A History. Underwriting for the documentary is being provided by the Louisiana Bicentennial Commission, The Reilly Family Foundation and Entergy Louisiana. The Louisiana Bicentennial Commission and LUBA are underwriting the Louisiana: Now and Then Bicentennial minutes.

DOC MARTIN FANS - TODAY IS YOUR LAST DAY TO VOTE!

LPB is proud to be able to bring you Season Five of Doc Martin starting in March! To get ready, we will start taking your votes on your favorite episodes from Seasons One through Four - we will air the fan favorites starting February 2nd! Get your votes in on our website now!

We will also be taking suggestions on what LPB should name our revamped Britcom Club. We want a name that encompasses all of our British programs - the comedies, the dramas, the mysteries - we even plan to throw some SciFi your way! If we use a name that a viewer suggests, that viewer will win two passes to LPB's new "British Club" event this spring, plus a Doc Martin mug! So, pour yourself a cup of tea and think British!

WE KNOW YOU WATCH LPB - BUT DO YOU "LIKE" US?

We have a good time on our Facebook page - we share programming highlights, information about upcoming events, breaking news, behind-the-scenes pictures from our productions, and sometimes a little silliness! Okay - sometimes a lot of silliness

We would love to have you join our Facebook family that numbers over 4400 fans right now – go to LPB’s Facebook page and click “like!”

You can join in on our latest contest open only to our Facebook fans - but you have to "like" us in order to win!

LPB Recognizes Local Mission US Educator of the Year for Outstanding Use of Innovative Multimedia Classroom Resource

LPB has named Shonda Brooks the Mission US Educator of the Year for the Louisiana region, in recognition of her outstanding efforts to use the innovative multimedia resource, Mission US, to enrich the teaching of American history with students at Lawtell Elementary in Lawtell, Louisiana.

Mission US is a series of free, innovative role-playing games developed to transform the way middle school students learn U.S. history. The second game in the series, “Flight to Freedom,” launched January 24th and immerses learners in the experiences of a runaway slave in the years before the Civil War. The first game mission, “For Crown or Colony?” launched in September 2010 and immerses players in the world of 1770 Boston before the American Revolution. The games, together with a rich variety of supplemental resources for students and teachers, are available for streaming and download at www.mission-us.org. Mission US is produced by public television station THIRTEEN in association with WNET and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with additional support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Ms. Brooks designed precursor activities to build anticipation and develop background knowledge before they played “Flight to Freedom.” Her students created a map in Paint that depicted the slave trade route Africans slaves took to arrive in America. They also have constructed a timeline of slavery in America in Excel. The timeline begins in 1600 and ends with Jim Crows laws in the 1900s. While playing the game, students will use Edmodo.com to journal about their daily interaction with the game. As a culminating event, the students will develop two arguments to present to Congress in the 1800s; one argument for slavery and another against. The students will “act out” their arguments and their arguments will be video recorded and hosted on SpreeCast for others to view. Once videos have been uploaded in late February, at the conclusion of the lesson on slavery, a link will be provided for viewing.

ADD TO YOUR DVD LIBRARY WITH SHOPLPB

Get ready for Louisiana's Bicentennial! Get the award-winning six-part series Louisiana: A History for $75, or the companion book, Louisiana: An Illustrated History for $35 from ShopLPB. Right now, buy either and receive a free Louisiana: A History soundtrack CD, created by Emmy winner Mike Esnault!

We have a special LSU Fan Favorites package: Get all three of these DVD's - Forever LSU, The Golden Band from Tigerland, AND Treasures of LSU for only $45!
For the "Boys of Summer," the Louisiana Baseball Stories DVD is available for $25.

JUST FOR FUN....

Julia Child was one of a kind! But we have been told that even she enjoyed this parody of her done by Dan Aykroyd on "Saturday Night Live.

Thanks for watching!

January 30 - February 5, 2012

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February 2012

FEBRUARY MEMBERCARD BENEFITS OF THE MONTH:

Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo in Monroe
Two-for-one admission in February. Call (318) 329-2400 for more information.

Swine Palace Productions in Baton Rouge
Two-for-one admission to Pride and Prejudice in February, subject to availability. For ticket information, go to their website or call (225) 578-3533.

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