(Grand Rapids, MI, January 25, 2010)

On Friday, February 26 from 7:30 – 10 p.m., WGVU and D&W Fresh Market present West Michigan’s premier wine tasting event at The Grand Rapids Public Museum. Guests will choose from more than 300 wine selections from around the world and tempt their tastes with gourmet food samples provided by D&W Fresh Market as classical piano music drifts through the halls. The event also includes 20-40% discounts on wines ordered during the evening.

Our wine tasting events often sell out before the event date, so patrons are encouraged to reserve their tickets soon at wgvu.org or by calling 800-442-2771. Tickets are available in advance for $50 per person; if any tickets remain, they will be available for $60 per person at the door. WGVU members who give annually at the $50 level or above may purchase tickets to The Great Wine & Food Symposium for only $40 until Friday, February 12. Guests must be 21 years or older to attend and present a valid ID. Tickets are non-refundable. Special hotel packages, including a pair of tickets to the event, are available at the JW Marriott. Each package also includes breakfast for two and parking - stay in a standard room for $249 or on the concierge level for $319 (plus tax). To purchase an event package, contact The JW Marriott at 616-242-1500.

The Great Wine & Food Symposium is sponsored in part by Broadway Grand Rapids, Centennial Securities, Mason Street Warehouse and My Auto Imports.

(Grand Rapids, MI, January 12, 2010)

Tova Friedman and Frieda Tenenbaum have a lifelong bond, a shared experience that most people could never even imagine – they were prisoners together in one of the most horrific places ever created by man. The film Surviving Auschwitz: Children of the Shoah, based on the book of the same name by Milt Nieuwsma and produced by WGVU Productions in 2005, journeys with them as they relive the shattering memories of their past and discuss their ongoing struggles in the present.

This January, Tova will visit West Michigan to celebrate the 65th anniversary of her liberation. At each event, WGVU will screen a preview of the film, followed by a question and answer session with Tova. Events will be as follows:

Tuesday, January 26 at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Kenowa Hills High School Performing Arts Center (students only)

Wednesday, January 27 at 9 a.m.
Holland High School (students only)

Wednesday, January 27 at 4 p.m.
Hope College Maas Center Auditorium (FREE and open to the public)

Thursday, January 28 at 2 p.m.
Grand Rapids Civic Theatre (FREE and open to the public)

Tova and Frieda were among the youngest of 7,000 prisoners found alive during the liberation of Auschwitz by a regiment of the Soviet army. In the summer of 2004, the two women journeyed to Auschwitz accompanied by their own children and a WGVU film crew. Together, they faced the sorrow and the tragedy of their past and sought to heal the wounds felt through two generations. 

The film includes photographs and film footage of Tova, Frieda and other children held at Auschwitz, as well as interviews with the two women and their children as they walk the grounds of the infamous death camp. Told in three parts, the documentary explores their lives during their incarceration at Auschwitz; it also reveals what life was like for them both before their imprisonment and after their liberation. Surviving Auschwitz is available on DVD at wgvu.org or by calling 800-442-2771.