Sunday, April 20, 2025
5:30pm: Water's Edge: Black Watermen of the Chesapeake
The unique relationship between African Americans and the Chesapeake Bay contains an abundance of untold stories, tales revealed in Maryland Public Television’s new documentary, Water’s Edge: Black Watermen of the Chesapeake. Stories of bravery and resilience illuminate an industry packed with African American pioneers. Meet an ambitious steamboat captain who revolutionized recreation for Black Marylanders in the early twentieth century, a pair of renowned sailmakers from Chestertown, and innovators such as the present-day captains who are surviving by shifting their businesses to meet a changing market.
6:30pm: Discovering the Dove
In Discovering the Dove, a 30-minute documentary special, the centuries-old story of Maryland’s founding enters a brand new chapter as a team of shipbuilders endeavor to recreate the Dove of 1633… without a blueprint. Join historians and craftspeople in unraveling the mystery of what the 17th century ship might have looked like. Discover clues in passenger diaries, period artwork, and sunken ships, and visit the shipyard at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum to watch as the New Maryland Dove takes shape, plank by plank. Finally, accompany the crew of the new vessel for her maiden voyage across the Chesapeake Bay to Historic St. Mary’s City − a journey that highlights just how much we can discover about the past through recreating it.
7pm: Racing Rivals: Log Canoes of Chesapeake Bay
Elegant and agile, propelled by outsized sails offset by nimble crew serving as human ballast, the iconic racing fleet of Chesapeake Bay log canoes embodies tradition, speed and grace. On breezy summer weekends, those who restore, race, and revere them are out to win- but not at the expense of preserving these unique vessels and the heritage they represent. Racing Rivals: Log Canoes of Chesapeake Bay introduces us to this uniquely Chesapeake sport and the passionate sailors vying for coveted trophies.
7:30pm: NEW Resurrecting Poplar Island
Witness the rebirth of a unique Chesapeake ecosystem in Resurrecting Poplar Island. Once home to a thriving community, Poplar Island was reduced to a few wispy bars of sand by the 1990s. Its reconstruction remains one of the most ambitious environmental engineering projects on the planet.
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Monday, April 21, 2025
7:30pm: Chesapeake Decoys: The Nature of Waterfowl Art
Explore the ancient art of the waterfowl hunt–and the fine art it has inspired. Chesapeake Decoys: The Nature of Waterfowl Art takes viewers to the Chesapeake marshlands, where hunters share in an age-old tradition, and to the Easton Waterfowl Festival, where intricate decoys carved from blocks of wood fetch generous sums from enthusiastic collectors.
9pm: Eatin' the Chesapeake: The Five Feasts
From the quiet brackish shallows at Elk Neck, Maryland to the rolling hills and beauty of southern Maryland farms, and on to the lively talk and song of Eastern Shore church halls, 400 years of seafood, seashore, and traditional cooking is coming home to Marylanders and their neighbors. There are favorite Chesapeake-born dishes from colonial cookbooks, crab shacks, German home-kitchen cooks, southern Maryland farms, Eastern Shore chicken-fry kitchens, and Smith Island fresh-off-the-boat Chesapeake supper tables. So pull up a chair and sample the best dishes the Chesapeake region has to offer!
9:30pm: Eatin' Blue Catfish: Chesapeake Style
There’s a new item hitting restaurant menus, grocery stores, and dinner plates across the Chesapeake Bay region. Though Chesapeake cuisine is mostly known for its iconic native species like blue crabs, oysters, and rockfish, local chefs are now touting the blue catfish, a tasty and meaty but unwelcome guest in the Chesapeake watershed. The population of this invasive species has mushroomed, threatening to upset the biological balance of the Bay. Now, a coalition of wildlife managers, seafood marketers, commercial watermen, and recreational fishers have come together to tackle the problem. Visit the kitchens of Maryland-area chefs as they get creative, testing delicious ways to prepare and serve this savory predator in preparation for a seafood cooking competition. Get your forks and appetites ready as we see which chef has what it takes to get the judges excited about Eatin’ Blue Catfish: Chesapeake Style!
10pm: Eatin' Oysters: Chesapeake Style
The lowly oyster is a delicacy the world over, yet many people say enjoying one is an acquired taste. Here in Maryland, home of the Chesapeake Bay, the Chesapeake Oyster is king. Whether it’s slurped raw on the half shell or fried, baked, braised, or roasted, it’s a favorite. Eatin’ Oysters: Chesapeake Style takes viewers around the Chesapeake region in search of who’s eating oysters, who’s shucking, why they love them, where to find the best of them, and the best ways to eat them.
10:30pm: A Passion for Oysters
To the casual eye, oysters are nothing much to look at. Yet this humble shellfish that once populated the Chesapeake Bay’s bottoms in massive numbers, has inspired shooting wars, piracy, social and environmental conflict, and libraries of legislation for more than two centuries. Today, the conflicts continue even as oyster populations are reduced to some one percent of their historical bounty. The oyster presents challenges for protection and restoration unique among Bay seafood. In the Chesapeake Bay and worldwide they occur close by the land-water edges shared by some half the planet’s population. A Passion for Oysters explores these issues and more, evoking the history, culture, art, and science surrounding the Chesapeake oyster, with an eye to explaining the roots of the never-ending conflict it inspires.
11:15pm: Nassawango Legacy
Amidst a patchwork quilt of farm fields and drainage ditches, one Eastern Shore stream in particular stands out for its wild beauty. This short film chronicles a local family’s multi-generational efforts to protect Nassawango Creek, a tributary of the Pocomoke River. It also highlights the ongoing efforts of environmental non-profit The Nature Conservancy to ensure that the 18-mile waterway continues to flourish into the future as an 11,000-acre preserve.
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
8:00pm: NEW Chesapeake Rhythms
Chesapeake Rhythms celebrates the seasonal movement of some of the region’s iconic species.Captivating visuals and lyrical prose chronicle the comings and goings of creatures like the tundra swan, monarch butterfly, and the American eel.
8:30pm: NEW Every Acre Counts: Chesapeake Farmers at the Forefront
Every Acre Counts introduces us to four farmers from different walks of life who have adopted more sustainable practices that support their own livelihoods as well as the environment in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Explore how they take charge in a growing movement toward “regenerative agriculture” to support the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.
10pm: Kent County’s Storied Landscape
How is history expressed in a landscape? Kent County, in Maryland, lies between the Sassafras and Chester rivers on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Walk the pristine coastline where Native Americans once lived, and meet an archaeologist uncovering evidence of a centuries-old oyster roast. Learn how footprints of English settlements reveal evidence of early colonial trade, and find out what a new map of the region has revealed. Follow a young man as he walks an African American graveyard, seeking out his ancestors' lost heritage. Then squint into the rising sun as watermen continue to harvest the Chesapeake Bay’s iconic rockfish, oysters, and crabs using the fishing techniques of the first indigenous people.
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
7pm: Headwaters Down
Filmed over 13 days and across 250 miles of river, Headwaters Down is the story of the James River told through the eyes of five friends. Once the most polluted waterway in America, the James is recast as a monument to a river’s innate resilience and the incredible progress that can be made when we try to heal our rivers instead of commoditizing them. From the humble headwaters in the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Fall Line whitewater in the crew’s hometown of Richmond, Virginia, Headwaters Down is an exploration of the James River’s past and present and a living documentation of the many different ways in which anyone can get out and experience the beauty, history, and awesome power of this underappreciated river.
8pm: NEW Headwaters Down: Tidal River
The sequel to Headwaters Down, Headwaters Down: Tidal River continues the journey of five friends as they kayak the James River. This time, they explore the 110-mile stretch from Richmond to the Chesapeake Bay.
9pm: NEW Upstream, Downriver: Uniting for Water Justice
Fresh water. Imagine a day without it. We use it to grow food, transport goods, generate power, support industry, and provide sanitation. Upstream, Downriver opens with beautiful, intimate footage of our human connection to the rivers that flow through the hearts of our cities, towns, and rural areas. The film follows these rivers to communities where frontline activists are fighting for clean water and climate justice across the U.S. Interwoven with their inspiring, powerful stories is historical context that reveals the systemic disregard for many disadvantaged communities.
Thursday, April 24, 2025
7pm: Salted Earth
"Salted Earth" plunges us into the heart of an invisible and creeping crisis that's transforming the Mid-Atlantic – the inexorable rise of sea levels. This hard-hitting, yet tenderly woven 20-minute documentary paints a vivid picture of an escalating environmental catastrophe, where the threat is not just the swelling sea, but the encroaching salt that kills forests and decimates arable land. Our journey navigates the brackish waters of climate change alongside an intrepid team of scientists. Through their tireless work, they seek to unravel the intricacies of how salty water infiltrates groundwater and soils, with consequences as far-reaching as they are devastating. Their research is more than academic; it's a desperate quest for solutions that may help vulnerable communities adapt and even survive.
7:30pm NEW On Water's Edge
Rising sea levels can present major challenges for communities along Maryland’s Eastern shore. Uncover the story of Crisfield, and Maryland's relationship to the waters of the Chesapeake Bay – past, present, and what that might look like in the future. Discover the challenges posed by living On Water's Edge, and learn about the potential solutions that could support the community and build a more sustainable economic backbone.
8pm: NEW Resurrecting Poplar Island
Witness the rebirth of a unique Chesapeake ecosystem inResurrecting Poplar Island. Once home to a thriving community, Poplar Island was reduced to a few wispy bars of sand by the 1990s. Its reconstruction remains one of the most ambitious environmental engineering projects on the planet.
8:30pm: Racing Rivals: Log Canoes of Chesapeake Bay
Elegant and agile, propelled by outsized sails offset by nimble crew serving as human ballast, the iconic racing fleet of Chesapeake Bay log canoes embodies tradition, speed and grace. On breezy summer weekends, those who restore, race, and revere them are out to win- but not at the expense of preserving these unique vessels and the heritage they represent. Racing Rivals: Log Canoes of Chesapeake Bay introduces us to this uniquely Chesapeake sport and the passionate sailors vying for coveted trophies.
9pm: Chesapeake Beacons
Chesapeake Beacons is a breathtaking survey of the Bay’s most treasured navigation landmarks, complete with stunning bird’s-eye aerials, up close and personal tours, and dramatic time-lapse views that capture their iconic beauty. A visual spectacle, this special also introduces viewers to the legends, lore, and fascinating maritime history behind these beacons of the past.
9:30pm: Conowingo Dam: Power on the Susquehanna
When it was opened in 1928, the Conowingo Dam was celebrated worldwide as a miraculous engineering feat. The dam’s unique story and place in Maryland history is now told in this one-hour documentary that recalls the drama and controversy that has swirled around the structure since its opening in 1928. From the drowning of an historic Maryland village and rich valley farmland to stories focusing on town life downriver, the Conowingo Dam’s story is rich in history and irony–a tale that has waited nearly 90 years to be told.
Friday, April 25, 2025
7:30pm: Creatures of the Chesapeake
Watch a seahorse stalk its prey, marvel at the simple elegance of the moon jellyfish as it glides through the water, and listen for the distinctive foghorn sound of the oyster toadfish. Get to know these Creatures of the Chesapeake-and more-in this up-close look at residents of North America’s largest estuary.
10pm: Secrets of the Chesapeake
Secrets of the Chesapeake travels the Chesapeake region – east and west, north and south, from mountain to marsh – to ask locals for sage advice to discover and uncover the most unusual places to explore and things to do for the weekender. But these aren't ordinary tourist destinations. Instead, they're spots that only a native would point to: remote shorelines where beachcombers can find beautiful and rare sea glass; an island gem-of-a-seafood-shack; quiet crossroads where tragic local history comes alive. Secrets of the Chesapeake takes viewers to places they'll never forget where they'll meet people they've only read about.
Saturday, April 26, 2025
5:30pm: Reviving the Forgotten River
The Anacostia River, nicknamed “DC’s forgotten river,” is an infamously polluted tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. One of only three U.S. rivers to be legally “impaired by trash,” it is also plagued by toxic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and sewage outflows. But after years of work by local activists, progress for the river’s restoration is being made—so much so that the Anacostia may soon be swimmable for the first time in more than half a century.
6pm: Potomac By Air: Our Nation's River
Beginning in West Virginia, the fly over event captures the flow of the Potomac River as it rapidly descends through the Appalachian Mountains into the Piedmont region of Maryland, then proceeds south past the Great Falls into the nation’s capital, before ending in the Chesapeake Bay. A scenic journey of the river's natural and man-made history along with America's monuments and memorials.
7pm: Chesapeake Bay by Air
Chesapeake Bay by Air captures the unparalleled wild beauty, rich history, and natural serenity of the bay from 2,000 feet above. The program marries gentle verse, prose, and music with dramatic images captured by high-definition cameras that bring the region into razor-sharp perspective. Viewers are transported to many of the Chesapeake Bay's most stunning locations, from dawn over the Susquehanna River, and the mysterious carved marsh of Blackwater Wildlife Refuge to the tranquil fishing village of Smith Island and the smokestacks of Sparrow's Point. Cameras also soar above the ancient Calvert Cliffs, Annapolis, and bustling Baltimore, the steel spans of the Chesapeake Bay Bridges, and historic Point Lookout.
8pm: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge: Spanning the Bay
In 1952, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge changed everything for Maryland, with far-reaching effects on everything from commerce to commuting. It fueled the growing tourism industry, transforming tiny beachside resorts such as Ocean City into bustling summertime destinations. Discover the vision, struggles, and engineering genius that led to the creation of this state treasure!
9pm: NEW Key Bridge Disaster: Reflect, Recover, Rebuild
In mere minutes, six lives were lost, and history was forever changed. As Maryland marks the one-year anniversary of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, MPT, in partnership with WBAL-TV, takes an in-depth look at the heroic efforts of first responders and community leaders. Key Bridge Disaster: Reflection, Recovery and Rebuilding explores the impact of the nation's largest maritime disaster on the people and businesses affected and looks ahead to the bridge that will replace the historic one we lost.
