That’s a wrap: Port stars in final McGivern show episode

Port Washington will take the spotlight next week when “John McGivern’s Main Streets” airs its final episode.

A special public viewing of the show will be held at the Port Washington-Saukville Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, May 5.

Doors to the PAC, which is at Port Washington High School, open at 6:45 p.m., with the viewing at 7 p.m. A question-and-answer period will follow.

Emmy Fink, who hosts the show with McGivern, will answer questions, producer Lois Maurer said, and McGivern is trying to arrange his schedule to be there as well.

The show, which was filmed in Port last summer, will debut on Madison’s Public Broadcasting Service station at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 7, and on Milwaukee’s PBS stations — channels 10 and 36 —on Thursday, May 14.

It will also be available on YouTube after the May 7 showing, along with some extra footage.

“Port Washington makes a really great episode,” Maurer said. “There are a lot of fun things in Port.”

The show features a variety of Port activities, including a fishing trip on a Nicky Boy charter boat. Fink went on the trip, Maurer said.

“John gets motion sickness,” she explained.

The show will also showcase Tello’s Grille and Catering — “Angel is just a joy,” Maurer said, referring to owner Angel Tello — a stop at Chocolate Chisel for chocolate and ice cream and a trip to Hollander Chocolate.

“We did a whole chocolate tasting at Hollander Chocolate,” Maurer said.

They visited Allen Edmonds, where Maurer said, “John got to pretend to make some shoes,” and also stopped at Cavelier Wine Bar, Bernie’s Fine Meats, Moonlight Tavern and the Board Shack.

The show also will feature Port Main Street Inc.’s Paint on Port mural program and Fish Days.

It takes four days to shoot one episode of the show, and Maurer said filming in Port occurred on one day last July and four days in September.

“We had such great cooperation from everyone,” she said. “It took longer than normal because he (McGivern) got stopped on the street every 10 minutes.”   

The Port episode is the last for the show, which is completing its fifth season.

“It’s always the No. 1 rated show on PBS in Wisconsin,” Maurer said.
But we just couldn’t make the funding work.”

This wasn’t the first time McGivern featured Port on his show. In 2013, Port Washington was featured on an episode of McGivern’s “Around the Corner.”

McGivern will also be presenting his stage show, “A Man For All Seasons: 4 Seasons, 4 Stories” at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 16 at the PAC.

The 75-minute show is a retrospective of McGivern’s life, Maurer said, noting he has broken it into seasons — spring, a season of discovery; summer, filled with growth, friendships and bad habits; fall, when he becomes grownup with responsibilities; and winter, the present as he looks back.

“You’ll learn things about him you do not know,” Maurer said. “He’s not just a chuckle a minute. You’ll leave with a gratitude for life.”

To register for the free preview on May 7, visit https://tinyurl.com/3tcjv2tu.

For tickets to the stage show, visit https://tinyurl.com/yckav4pj.