| Honor. Celebrate. Remember. Explore.
The KVIE Explorer Guide takes you on a terrific journey, giving you opportunities to experience growth and adventure. Exploring new ideas and broadening people’s horizons is available through public television for everyone regardless of their circumstances to participate. Each month, discover programs about national celebrations and observances to those that offer information on health awareness, cultural traditions, and holiday specials. Check this page each month for new information. Orange color signifies programs airing on KVIE, while green signifies programs on KVIE2.
 National Women's History Month
Women’s history month honors the women who have given of themselves to improve the United States. KVIE celebrates these women’s contributions with programming that tells their stories.
Hats Off
You’ve probably seen Mimi Weddell playing the grande dame or eccentric senior in TV shows, movies, and countless commercials, and print campaigns for fashion companies. But Mimi is no ordinary actress because she is 94 years old! Meet the woman who began her acting career at the age 65. Mimi transcends the mundane and difficult confines of her own daily life to fulfill her dreams.
KVIE: Monday, March 1, 10pm-11pm
Ten Sisters – A True Story
This story is about the 10 Waggoner sisters who grew up caring for one another in a two-room house wracked with parental discord and financial troubles. Following a 1942 court proceeding, Illinois’ state social services sent the girls to live in separate orphanages and foster and adoptive homes. The poignant film pairs their tragic early experiences with their recent efforts to restore their family ties and regain the closeness they shared 65 years ago.
KVIE: Tuesday, March 2, 11pm-Mid.
The Remarkable Red Hat Society
This program chronicles the evolution of the Red Hat Society, the sorority for women over the age of 50. This organization allows grandmothers, mothers, and daughters to briefly put aside their responsibilities and obligations in the pursuit of fun and friendship. For women coping with widowhood, illness, or other life changes, the nurturing network of friends counsel, inspire and put a little silliness back into their lives.
KVIE: Thursday, March 18, 11pm-Mid.; Sunday, March 21, 4pm-5pm
Independent Lens: Taking Root – The Vision of Wangari Maathai
Taking Root follows Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai in her quest to reclaim her land and her culture through the disarmingly simple act of planting trees. This direct action has fostered community solidarity, environmental literacy, and political resolve that helped to bring down Kenya’s 24-year dictatorship.
KVIE2: Saturday, March 20, 10pm-11pm
Ella Es el Matador (She Is the Matador)
For Spaniards —and for the world — nothing has expressed their country’s traditionally rigid gender roles more powerfully than the image of the male matador. So sacred was the bullfighter’s masculinity to Spanish identity that a 1908 law barred women from the sport. Learn the surprising history of the women who made such a law necessary and meet two female matadors currently in the arena.
KVIE2: Saturday, March 20, 11pm-Mid.
Ani DiFranco Live at Babeville
On September 11 and 12, 2007, singer/songwriter/guitarist Ani DiFranco played two sold-out shows in Buffalo, NY. Six high-definition cameras capture the extraordinary energy in the room. Ani DiFranco is one of America’s most fiercely independent and beloved musicians, as well as an outspoken voice of conscience. A widely celebrated as a feminist icon, DiFranco’s lyrics focus on contemporary social issues such as racism, sexism, abuse, poverty, and war.
KVIE2: Sunday, March 21, 10pm-11pm.
Bold Visions: Women in Science and Technology
Bold Visions: Women in Science and Technology glimpses into the lives of extraordinary women working in the fields of science and technology: a research scientist searching for genetic causes of diseases, an astronaut applying her engineering expertise in space and a results-driven technologist responsible for numerous patents
KVIE: Monday, March 22, 11pm-11:30pm
 National Craft Month
National Craft Month is all about flexing your creativity. KVIE will feature programs that inspire you to express yourself through craft-making, whether you’re a seasoned artist or just starting out.
Chihuly in the Hotshop
In 2006, world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly reunited glassblowers from important periods of his career at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA. Chihuly in the Hotshop captures highlights of that historic event, following Chihuly and his teams as they create magnificent works of glass art in the museum’s state-of-the-art hotshop. The documentary offers an intimate, close-up view of the artist’s process, from initial design to completed piece.
KVIE: Wednesday, March 3, 11pm-Mid.
A Ripple in the Water: Healing through Art
Shot on-location throughout South Africa and narrated by Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the award-winning documentary A Ripple in the Water: Healing through Art focuses on the inspiring work of artist/activist Kim Berman. She mobilizes people facing great adversity to use papermaking, printmaking and embroidery to address HIV/AIDS, poverty alleviation and the empowerment of women and children across South Africa.
KVIE: Tuesday, March 16, 11pm-Mid.
 St. Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick is a patron saint of Ireland, and he is commemorated each year on March 17. For more than 1,000 years, the Irish have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day religiously. People celebrate the holiday in different ways — for example, in Illinois, the Chicago River is dyed green each year! KVIE welcomes you to join us for our St. Patrick’s Day programming.
Celtic Thunder: It’s Entertainment!
Celtic Thunder, a group of five Celtic male vocalists, undertakes a musical review that spans six decades and will delight and enthrall audiences, whether through the nostalgia of classics such as Standing on the Corner or the group’s unique take on contemporary numbers such as Michael Bublé’s Home or U2’s Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. Two members of Celtic Thunder will be hosting this program live from the KVIE studios.
KVIE: Thursday, March 4, 8pm-9pm
Music of Ireland: Welcome Home
Grammy Award-winner Moya Brennan hosts exclusive interviews and performances by The Chieftains, Riverdance’s Michael Flatley, U2, Pete Seeger, Sinéad O’Connor, the late Liam Clancy, and others.
KVIE: Saturday, March 6, 3:30pm-5pm
Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart
Celtic Woman vocalists Lisa Kelly, Chloë Agnew, Lynn Hilary, and Alex Sharpe, with violinist Máiréad Nesbitt, perform at Ireland’s historic Powerscourt House and Gardens. You’ll hear spirited Celtic fiddle and bodhran pieces, lush arrangements of Irish classics, contemporary covers, and original compositions. In addition to the six-piece band, the Aontas Choir, a film orchestra, the Discovery Gospel Choir, the Extreme Rhythm Drummers, and a bagpipe ensemble join Celtic Woman.
KVIE: Sunday, March 7, 6pm-8pm
My Music: When Irish Eyes are Smiling – An Irish Parade of Stars
The songs of Ireland have entered the hearts of millions of Americans, often inspiring other kinds of music. This nostalgic journey back to the 1950s and 1960s presents long-unseen footage of beloved performers singing some of the greatest songs from and inspired by Ireland. Hosted by Patty Duke, the program features performances by the late Frank Patterson, the ultimate Irish tenor and a star around the world.
KVIE: Wednesday, March 10, 8pm-9:30pm
KVIE2: Thursday, March 11, 7:30pm-9pm
Burt Wolf: Travels & Traditions in Dublin, Ireland
For over 700 years Dublin lived under foreign domination. Today it is an independent Republic with among the highest per capita incomes in Europe. Burt Wolf explores the city’s Viking history, visits the Guinness brewery, discovers the origin of the Guinness Book of Records, tours the town’s classic pubs, and finds out why the ancient Book of Kells is the most valued cultural object in Ireland.
KVIE: Wednesday, March 17, 11pm-11:30pm
Burt Wolf: Travels & Traditions – The Lands of St. Patrick, Ireland
During the 5th century, Saint Patrick arrived in Ireland and changed the nation’s history. Burt Wolf investigates the real story of Patrick’s life; visits Patrick’s original church, treks to the mystic pilgrimage sites of Lough Derg and Croagh Patrick, and explores the reasons Saint Patrick became the patron saint of the Irish. He also examines the diaries of the ancient monks who chronicled the attacks of the Vikings.
KVIE: Wednesday, March 17, 11:30pm-Mid.
Out of Ireland
Out of Ireland includes interviews with Irish and Irish American celebrities and politicians and showcases Irish music and entertainment.
KVIE2: Sunday, March 21, 12:30pm-1pm
 Passover9
Passover, a springtime festival, begins at sundown on March 29. The holiday commemorates the protection of Jewish first-born sons during one of Yahweh’s plagues, meant to put pressure on the Pharaoh to let his Hebrew slaves go. Join KVIE in celebration of Passover.
A Passover Celebration
This entertaining family special hosted by Jeffrey Tambor (The Larry Sanders Show, Arrested Development) illuminates the traditions that set the Jewish holiday of Passover apart from all other nights of the year. This dynamic program presents a dramatic retelling of the Passover story by Rabbi Irwin Kula (Simple Wisdom With Irwin Kula), a delicious Passover dessert from Chef Jeff Nathan (New Jewish Cuisine), a unique Seder creation from home design expert Teresa Strasser (While You Were Out), and a trip back in time to ancient Egypt with the award-winning children’s series Alef...Bet...Blast Off!A Passover Celebration also explores the musical traditions from around the world, inspired by the story of Exodus, as told in the Haggadah.
KVIE: Tuesday, March 23, 11pm-Mid.
For many, spring, which begins on March 20, is when the world comes alive again after a long winter — the sun comes out, flowers are in bloom, and some of our favorite fruits come back to our plates. Celebrate springtime with KVIE.
Crane Song
Crane Song is a stunning visual essay of the Sandhill crane’s migration through Nebraska, weaving together striking images and majestic sounds of the birds’ journey with the stories and insights of the individuals who observe these creatures, as well as landowners endeavoring to ensure a habitat that is welcoming to the cranes.
KVIE2: Saturday, March 20, 8pm-9pm
Tuberculosis is the cause of death for over 1.5 million people annually. While the United States is not a nation that currently struggles with tuberculosis, those in developing nations are especially susceptible to contracting the disease.
On the Lake: Life and Love in a Distant Place
On the Lake: Life and Love in a Distant Place tells the story of the tuberculosis epidemic in 1900s America. This program touches that rare emotional cord of what life was like for millions of people infected with TB, while providing a glimpse into human nature when faced with a large-scale epidemic. Victims are shipped off to remote sanatoriums. Many die — but many recover, and even meet and fall in love while hospitalized.
KVIE2: Wednesday, March 24, 7pm-8pm
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First Day of Spring 
World Tuberculosis Day