WILMINGTON – It's been about a year-and-a-half since bison were reintroduced at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington.
Locals are driving to Wilmington to get a glimpse of the herd, which could soon gain more national and international fans and bring more tourists to the area.
The Public Broadcasting Service will air an episode of “Travels with Darley” on WYCC Chicago titled “Route 66 & Midewin” at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3. The episode will broadcast on PBS’ other affiliates, too.
But locals have a couple of special opportunities to check out the show ahead of everyone else. A preview of the episode took place April 1 in Wilmington, but on Tuesday, a second screening will be held at the Joliet Area Historical Museum, 204 N. Ottawa St., Joliet.
Producer Darley Newman visited Illinois in October to film the show. She’s been working with the National Forest Foundation on a project that shows what the U.S. Forest Service offers, according to a news release from the service.
A reception goes from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and the screening starts at 6 p.m. After the screening, Newman and others involved in production will take part in a Q&A session. A second episode, titled “Ottawa & Beyond,” will also be shown.
“We were lucky to be able to film Midewin, as well as historic and modern attractions along Illinois Route 66 and beyond, making for a diverse set of stories and adventures,” Newman said in the news release.
Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Bob Navarro spoke about the show Thursday at a Will County committee meeting.
Navarro said the show initially intended to have Newman film just in Midewin, but she ended up contacting the HCCVB and got more ideas of where to go.
“I wanted her to kind of frame her arrival in Chicago along Route 66 to get to Midewin, and that’s exactly how she did the show,” Navarro said. “So the first half of the show is Route 66 from Chicago to Midewin, and then the second half of the show is on Midewin.”
In the episode, Midewin ecologist Bill Glass leads Newman through the prairie in search of the Midewin bison herd. Along the way, they encounter fields of tall grasses, a crew of volunteers harvesting native Illinois prairie seeds and people picnicking and enjoying the trails of Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie on foot, by bicycle and on horseback, the news release states.
When this season of “Travels with Darley” ends in June, PBS will release the most popular episodes internationally.
“She certainly thinks, because of the Route 66 angle, this show will be picked up internationally,” Navarro said, speaking of the popularity of the Route 66 path.