STYLE AND SUBSTANCE MEET IN A STATEWIDE PORTRAIT
OF AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN TRADITION IN WQED’S ‘BARBERSHOPS: PA STYLIN’’
Premiering in October on WQED tv13 and most PPTN stations

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PITTSBURGH, PA - What’s the proper technique for shaving a customer with a straight razor? What do the red, white and blue stripes of a barber pole symbolize? And what makes a haircut extra crispy? The answer to these and other questions can be found in the new WQED special “Barbershops: PA Stylin’.” This hour-long documentary premieres Thursday, October 6 at 8 p.m. on WQED tv13, and repeats on Sunday October 9 at 5 p.m. The special is produced byWQED Multimedia, with funding from the Pennsylvania Public Television Network.

“Barbershops: PA Stylin’” takes a loving look at the cultural importance of barbershops in the African American community. The special is hosted and narrated by Chris Moore, co-host of WQED’s nightly news magazine OnQ, as well as Black Horizons - the nation’s longest running minority affairs program. WQED produced the first special “Barbershop” in 2003, focusing on Pittsburgh barbers and their customers. “PA Stylin’” focuses on barbers of color from Pittsburgh to Philly, and many places in between.

As Moore and his crew traveled the state, they found many similarities between the hit Hollywood film “Barbershop” and the vibrancy in real life barbershops. Mainly, that the shops are and always have been places where black men could feel free to discuss anything and everything – without the interference and censorship found in other public forums. Politics, romance, race relations and hair care are discussed with the honesty and humor that keeps generations of men snug in their elevated barber’s chairs while the rest of the world visits their stylists.

The barbershops featured in “PA Stylin’” are:

Pittsburgh: Willie T’s, Fred Tait’s, the Natural Choice
Johnstown: Deacon Samuel Hart
Lancaster: Champ Hall’s Barber School and Champ Hall’s Barbershop
Reading: Charlie Hayne’s Barber School
Philadelphia: Maxamillion’s Gentleman’s Quarters and The Original Pretty Boyz

“More than just a shave and a haircut,” said producer Minette Seate, “‘Barbershops: PA Stylin’’ is a funny, touching, irreverent and respectful look at the people who are making the world a better place, one haircut at a time.”

“Barbershops: PA Stylin’” is made possible by a grant from the Pennsylvania Public Television Network. The network receives funding from the Commonwealth to provide public television for all Pennsylvanians.

WQED Multimedia Pittsburgh provides educational, cultural and informational programming, products and services for local and national audiences. WQED Multimedia Pittsburgh is Telling America's Stories with the American Classics, Rick Sebak’s All-American Specials, American Soundtrack and America's Home Cooking series. It is the parent company of WQED tv13, WQEX –your America’s Store channel, WQED fm89.3, WQEJ fm89.7/Johnstown, a publishing division that includes PITTSBURGH magazine, local and national television and radio productions, www.wqed.org and the WQED Education and Community Resource Center.

For additional information, please e-mail: promotion@wqed.org