Local Christmas movie podcasters to host first live show in Crystal Lake

Local podcasters Mark Chandler and Bob Baker will host their first live show of the podcast “Festive Foreign Film Fans” next week at Duke’s Alehouse in Crystal Lake.

Baker, the Trout Valley village president, and Chandler, a Cary resident, host the bimonthly podcast that explores festive films, music, food and customs from around the world. Each episode, described as a “global Christmas party,” covers a Christmas movie from a different country that they review and discuss.

“What has been amazing to me is ... how much we have in common as a people,” Baker said. “It’s kind of nice to see that especially under the guise of Christmas.”

The idea came to Baker when he was at his peak of podcast listening during the pandemic. He was looking at Christmas-themed ones and decided he could bring something new and niche to the market.

“I started thinking, ‘Well, I could do that,’” he said. “There’s like 800,000 podcasts and I am the only one covering foreign Christmas movies.”

Baker asked Chandler, who has been his friend for years, to be the cohost because of his love for movies.

“I thought he was just kidding me, but he convinced me to give it a try,” Chandler said. “It’s been a blast.”

The duo has recorded at Waysound Recording Studio in Fox River Grove ever since they started in June 2023. They have covered countries like Taiwan, Poland, Ireland, Slovenia and Lebanon. Their favorite part of the podcast is learning about different perspectives and exploring places they never been to.

“In some of these movies, there’s a lot of heartache that is occurring, but it shows how Christmas brings a little bit of light and laughter or joy in some dark times,” Chandler said.

Sometimes, it can be a challenge to find Christmas movies in countries that don’t have a predominantly Christian population. Baker said if he looks hard enough, he can find something, like the time he has discovered Native American and Algerian Christmas films. At other times, the pair will find Christmas-related films like a documentary that covered a city in China that produces the majority of Christmas lights for the world.

“We’ve tackled really happy, fun movies and some serious sides of the Christmas season,” Chandler said.

The first live show of “Festive Foreign Film Fans” will be at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12 at Duke’s Alehouse, located at 110 N. Main St., Crystal Lake. The free-entry event will have trivia and special guests including Crystal Lake Mayor Haig Haleblian.

“We’re bringing elements of our podcast, but trying to make it more interactive and fun,” Baker said.

They will also have international desserts from KD Market, Anna’s Bakery and Pots and Pies Bakery at the show so people can get a taste of Christmas from around the world. Both hosts hope to have more live shows in the future.

“I think they will laugh, I think they will enjoy our perspective of these movies,” Chandler said. “I just hope it snows ever so lightly that it gives us this feel for the holiday season.”

The podcast can be found at 4fpodcast.buzzsprout.com and on iTunes, Google, Spotify and other places where podcasts are found.