‘Edge of America’ TV Series Premiere on Travel Channel
Watch out for the premiere of ‘Edge of America‘ on January 22, 2013 on Travel Channel.
Calf Testicle Festivals in Oklahoma… Lobster Boat Races in Maine… Tall-Bike Jousting in Oregon… Americans will do just about anything to entertain themselves! Travel Channel’s new original series “Edge of America,” celebrates the weird and wonderful varieties of entertainment that have developed around regionally unique and historic activities. Premiering on Tuesday, January 22 at 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET/PT, the 13 half-hour episodes feature arts and entertainment reporter Geoff Edgers, investigating his way across the country in search of all-American fun. Follow Edgers as he immerses himself in American subcultures, and dives head first into the unexpected and bizarre world of entertainment found on the “Edge of America.”
“Whether a unique activity has been taking place in a town for almost a century or just started recently, we know Americans love to amuse themselves doing wacky and adventurous things,” says Andy Singer, General Manager, Travel Channel. “As a journalist, Geoff Edgers is a curious storyteller. He’s also crazy and up for anything, which makes him the ideal host to help introduce our viewers to these surprising pursuits – and some you just may want to try.”
In the first half-hour episode of the season premiere (9:00 p.m. ET/PT), Edgers begins his journey in Oklahoma, at the annual Calf Fry Festival in the town of Stillwater, named after the time-honored tradition of eating the testicles of recently castrated calves. Before ultimately partaking in the bull testicle eating competition, Edgers travels to a nearby ranch and discovers, first hand, how these cowboy delicacies are acquired. With the state exporting over $250 million of beef each year, it’s no wonder cattle are in the DNA of Oklahoma’s entertainment. Next, he heads to the sleepy town of Mangum where 30,000 people gather annually to celebrate a local nuisance – the rattlesnake. Edgers meets up with a local rattlesnake expert who teaches him how to find and catch the celebrated reptile. After capturing a particularly ornery rattlesnake, Edgers eats its still-beating heart. Finally, he goes back in time at a frontier shooting range just outside of Tulsa, and competes (while donning19th century garb) in an old-fashioned black-powder shoot out… against a teenage girl.
In the second episode of the season opener (9:30 p.m. ET/PT), Edgers heads to Oregon to find out how the west has fun. First stop, the World Championship Pig-N-Ford Races, where grown men race around a dirt track in 100-year-old Model Ts while holding onto live pigs – a pastime they’ve been doing since 1925. In Portland, at the BiKETOBEERFEST, he keeps it weird by entering the bicycle throwing competition; and meets underground tall-bike jousters. After climbing atop a nearly 6-foot-tall, custom-made Frankenbike, Edgers lowers his well-padded lance and races into battle. Later, he learns that although environmental protection laws (started in the 70’s) have cut the industry in half, Oregon still remains the #1 lumber-producing state in the nation. Therefore many of Oregon’s most popular events use the forest as the backdrop for fun and competition. Chainsaw sculpting blends Oregon’s logging history with its creativity, and Edgers tries his hand at carving a wooden masterpiece. He then races to the top of an 80-foot oak with the help of highly specialized climbing gear and the 1996 International Tree Climbing Champion.
“Edge of America” is produced by Magilla Entertainment for Travel Channel. For Magilla Entertainment, the executive producers are Brian Flanagan, Laura Palumbo Johnson and Matthew Ostrom. For Travel Channel, the executive producer is Patrick McManamee.