Penguin City to Host Watch Party for PBS Show ‘City Centric’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A watch party for an advance screening of an episode of the PBS Western Reserve miniseries “City Centric” that focuses on Youngstown leaders will take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Penguin City Brewing, downtown.

The evening will begin with a happy hour from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

To reserve a spot, click HERE.

Each episode of “City Centric” focuses on six people who live in a city in the station’s viewership area: Akron, Canton, Alliance, Kent, Youngstown and Sharon, Pa. Those who were chosen “reflect the fabric of their community,” according to the station. They fall into these categories: entrepreneur, revitalizer, entertainer, humanitarian, politician and future leader.

Each episode is 30 minutes long.

The Youngstown episode focuses on Jackie Popovec, lead singer of The Vindys; Samantha Turner, 3rd Ward city councilwoman; Patricia Stokes, neighborhood steward for Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation; Sharon Letson, Youngstown CityScape executive director; Aspasia Lyras-Bernacki, co-owner of Penguin City Brewing Co.; and Derrick McDowell, founder of Youngstown Flea.

The Youngstown episode will air Sept. 29, and the Sharon episode will air Oct. 6.

To learn more about the “City Centric” series, click HERE.

The Sharon episode will focus on Alane Jewell, businesswoman; Jim Landino, developer and businessman, and his wife, Jen Krezeczewski; Molly Bundrant, Sharon councilwoman; Michael Kotyk, Sharon recreation commission; Taylor Galaska, Sharon councilman; and Tom Roberts, executive director of HopeCAT.

The host of each episode is Sthephanie Marie of Campbell. Marie is a native of Puerto Rico and was named Miss Ohio USA in 2020.

“‘City Centric’ is more than a new series for PBS Western Reserve,” said Ryan Donchess, program and production manager and executive producer of the series. “It’s a passion project for us that highlights the many great people in our vast viewing area who enthusiastically strive to make their communities better.”

The show is the flagship series for PBS Western Reserve’s “LuminUS: Stories About Us” collection. These programs are focused on the northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania region.For additional air times, go to PBSWesternReserve.org.

Pictured at top: Top row, from left: Jackie Popovec, Samantha Turner and Patricia Stokes. Bottom row, from left: Sharon Letson, Aspasia Lyras-Bernacki and Derrick McDowell.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.