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Grand Opening: Come See CTG’s New Studio!

Austin PBS building lit at night
Hey everybody, it’s finally here! Join the fun at our grand opening of the Austin Media Center to tour our Austin PBS new digs at Austin Community College Highland, including the brand-new Central Texas Gardener studio. Come hang out with us on Saturday, August 27 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Below’s a shot of the new Master Control that’s already sending broadcast shows your way.
desks and chairs in front of several monitors for master control operations broadcast programs
Bring family and friends for live music, interactive learning lounges, local chef food trucks, and to meet the super great people behind Austin PBS, including the community-led journalism team, Decibel.
wall or door panel with raised characters to read Austin PBS Enriches Lives and Transforms Communities
Grab a photo with PBS Kids characters and story-time readings led by local authors, musicians, and celebrities, including Chet Garner, host of The Daytripper.
PBS Kids Characters on white background with words Be My Neighbor Day at the Grand Opening and plus More PBS Kids Characters
hallway with wood wall on one side with plaques and blue door at end of hall with words "Studio 6A Pfluger Keller"
In the Pfluger Keller Community Soundstage, watch an interview with Evan Smith of Overheard and a presentation of the Zilker Summer Musical, Newsies.
television studio platform stage bleacher seats and some lights
To prep its debut for you, the new CTG studio is getting its final polish and new lights. After that, the Austin PBS crew will move in the CTG set and fluff it up after its bad hair day travels. (Thanks to JJ Weber, Director of Production & Operations, for this picture and all the work behind years of move-out, move-in logistics, especially during a pandemic.)
empty studio with work lights on ceiling grids
We’d love to see you and find out what you want to watch on CTG as we move forward!
staircase to Austin PBS sign on wood paneled wall; windows above
AND, since you’ve all been asking, we’ll also debut new CTG T-shirts, thanks to the very talented Kat Davis, Austin PBS Graphic Design Intern!
two T-shirt designs; one sage green, yellow letters, white flower designs and the other white with orange letters and teal flower designs
Here’s Kat, who also assisted with the program for The Weather Station’s ACL performance soon after she arrived.
woman in front of Austin City limits sign and holding a program for the performance
I absolutely love her designs and the story behind them. “I grew up gardening with my family in the Northeastern U.S. When I came to Austin in 2014, I found Central Texas Gardener and watched dozens of episodes to adapt to the (very!) different conditions here. Although trial-and-error remains a familiar experience, I now have my own Central Texas garden with four vegetable beds and a variety of native and adapted plants,” Kat writes. Thanks to Kat for the pictures, too, including her spring garden.
zinnias in foreground of fenced backyard; women tending plants in raised beds
“As a long-time fan, I was thrilled to be tasked with designing a new T-shirt for Central Texas Gardener. I considered garden tools, houseplants, seed packets, and vegetables, but couldn’t stay away from sketching Texas wildflowers. There’s a special joy to seeing the first wildflowers each season and I wanted the shirt to feel the same way!”
woman wearing white T-shirt orange letters Central Texas Gardener and teal flower designs; man wearing sage green T-shirt with yellow letters and white flower designs
Can you spot what she included, along with a bee and sulphur butterfly? Here’s her list, botanical names to boot!

• Mexican Hat Ratibida columnifera
• Pink Evening Primrose Oenothera speciosa
• White Pricklypoppy Argemone albiflora
• Lemon Beebalm Monarda citriodora
• Texas Bluebonnet Lupinus texensis
• Prairie Verbena Glandularia bipinnatifida
• Rain Lily Cooperia pedunculata
• Texas Thistle Cirsium texanum
• Firewheel Gaillardia pulchella

Kat delightfully added CTG viewer’s favorite dachshund, Augie, who joined the CTG team when Travis County Extension Horticulturist Daphne Richards rescued him as a youngster.
woman and dachshund in living room
A big bouquet of thanks to Kiah Wagner, Graphic Designer extraordinaire, whose creativity spans every Austin PBS platform and project.

Stay up to date on all of our festivities!
colorful lighted panels on side of building with Austin PBS sign and logo

See you there and thanks for stopping by, Linda

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