Calling All Inventors!

Ever have a great idea for an invention, but didn't quite know how to make it happen?

Well, then, Saturday, May 17 just might be your lucky day.

Everyday Edisons, a nationally televised PBS reality series chronicling modern inventors and the development of their inventions, will host an open casting call for Season Three in Providence, R.I., at the Rhode Island Convention Center (Ballroom level), One Sabin Street.

Everyday Edisons invites all inventors and innovators with new product concepts to attend the casting call. Inventors can register from 7 AM until 1 PM. The day ends when all registered ideas have been reviewed. (Think of it as an Antiques Roadshow event for inventors.)

The Everyday Edisons panel of judges, including product development and patent law experts, provides a forum for participants to present and demonstrate original ideas. Everyday Edisons considers all categories of invention, ranging from sketched ideas and simple concepts to detailed, patented designs and factory prototypes or manufactured samples.

The casting call features a full day of complimentary seminars open to the public, including an opportunity to meet with experts from the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), the editor-in-chief of Inventors Digest magazine and experts within the product development field.

In addition to screening for inventions to feature on the show, representatives from major national retailers, including The Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, QVC, Staples, The Sharper Image, Dick’s Sporting Goods and buybuyBABY will be on site reviewing more advanced prototypes and finished products.

“Having a great idea and making money from that idea are two distinct accomplishments in American innovation,” said Louis Foreman, executive producer and lead judge. “If you can dream it, we can help make it come true.”

The Everyday Edisons judges will select 10 to 12 inventors to be featured in Season Three, which chronicles the inventors as their concept is refined, produced, marketed, and sold. The series invests more than $300,000 into the comprehensive development of each chosen invention at no cost to the inventors. Selected “Everyday Edisons” will have their inventions commercialized and receive a 20-year annuity on all product sales.

Everyday Edisons is produced with the cooperation of the USPTO. Everyday Edisons is currently in production of Season Two, which premieres on Rhode Island PBS in July 2008.

Everyday Edisons casting calls are free and open to the public. Inventors seeking local assistance will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from local inventor groups. Registration forms, directions, maps, FAQ’s and day-of details are available online at www.EverydayEdisons.com. Participants must complete and provide all registration forms in order to audition. Doors open to the public at 7 a.m. and registration closes at 1 p.m. The event will continue throughout the day until all registered ideas have been reviewed.

New England Portrait Nominated for Emmy Award

They make their livelihood in the most dangerous career in the United States. Yet, there isn’t another job in the world they would rather do.

They are commercial fishermen, and their natural attraction and devotion to the sea courses through their veins as if it were a genetic trait. In fact, many fishermen today are sons and grandsons of fishermen.

But their love of life on the high seas brings with it the high risk of tragedy. The watery partner that yields the stock of their trade can also turn on them in the blink of an eye and exact the ultimate price.

This tradition of dedication against the physical and regulatory challenges of life as a commercial fisherman in Gloucester, MA, and Point Judith, RI, was recently showcased in an episode of New England Portrait, the WSBE Rhode Island PBS production hosted and produced by Mary Lou Palumbo. That episode, entitled, “The Loss of Life at Sea: Remembering New England Fishermen,” has been nominated for a Boston / New England Emmy® award in the Environmental Program category.

The award ceremony will be held in Boston on Saturday, May 10. We've got our fingers crossed. : )

"Let's Go Down to the Diner!"

WSBE Production New England Portrait Launches New Season with Nostalgic Look at Local Diners

New England Portrait, the Emmy^®-nominated WSBE series about unique and interesting people, sites, and events that give our locale such character, kicks off its second season with a nostalgic look at local diners during a special premiere party.

On Wednesday, May 14 at 6 PM, New England Portrait debuts "The History of New England Diners" at the Culinary Arts Museum on the Harborside Campus of Johnson & Wales University, 315 Harborside Boulevard in Providence.

In the 30-minute preview, Richard Gutman, director and curator of the Culinary Arts Museum, provides historical context, while owners and patrons of area diners add local color and humor. The diners profiled in the episode include Miss Worcester in Worcester, MA; Shawmut Diner in New Bedford, MA; Hope Diner in Bristol, RI; Champ’s Diner in Woonsocket, RI; and Bishop’s Diner in Newport, RI. The episode also includes an original theme song, “Let’s Go Down to the Diner,” composed for the program by Jon Marable.

During the two-hour party, music will be provided by WRIK Entertainment, and refreshments will be served. Tickets are $25 per person, and all proceeds benefit Rhode Island PBS.

For reservations, please call 401-222-3636 ext. 203, by May 11.

New England Portrait is a production of WSBE Rhode Island PBS, and hosted and produced by Mary Lou Palumbo. Last season, a New England Portrait episode featuring commercial fishermen in Gloucester, MA, and Point Judith, RI, was nominated for a 2008 Emmy^® from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Boston / New England Chapter.

The weekly series airs Mondays at 7PM on WSBE channel 36, digital 36.1, RI cable 8, DirecTV 36, and Dish 7776; Massachusetts cable subscribers should check local cable listings for channel number.

If you can't make it to the preview party on Wednesday, New England Portrait "The History of New England Diners" will air on Rhode Island PBS television on June 2 at 7 PM, and Sunday morning, June 8 at 11:30 AM.