In honor of the 97th Academy Awards, we wanted to talk movies. Specifically, we wanted to talk about movies (and TV shows and commercials) that have filmed in Macon. Because there are too many to list, we decided to fantasy draft our favorites with some friends.

For more information about all the productions that have filmed here in Macon, check out www.maconfilmcommission.com and www.visitmacon.org. Also, the Tour Macon app has a guided tour with additional information about the productions that have spent time in Macon.

The Macon Christmas Light Extravaganza is an award-winning event and attraction entering its 8th year. We sat down with Bryan Nichols whose vision created the Extravaganza and whose work includes overseeing installation of more than one million lights in Downtown Macon. The Extravaganza begins Friday, November 29 with a live concert featuring Macon Pops and runs through January 5, 2025. There are shows every night of the week at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00 pm. Each weekend in December features visits with Santa and carriage rides along with additional special activities. And on December 21, live reindeer will be on site for photos.

More information is available at https://maconchristmaslightextravaganza.com/

Emmy Award-winning violinist Robert McDuffie was born in Macon and trained at Juilliard. He has performed worldwide as a soloist with some of the most premier orchestras in the world including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics; the Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Toronto and Jerusalem Symphonies; and all of the major orchestras in Australia.

This wide-ranging conversation covers McDuffie's early violin education; the invitation he received to start the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University; "A Night of Georgia Music" for which he won an Emmy Award; the violin he plays; and the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra.

The Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra begins its new season on October 21 at the Grand Opera House in Macon. More information about the Symphony, and for tickets, please visit Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra — McDuffie Center for Strings.

For additional information about The McDuffie Center for Strings, you can visit About Us — McDuffie Center for Strings (mercer.edu).

And for more information about McDuffie, visit Robert McDuffie

We've heard the name Newton (Newt) Collier several times over the first 19 episodes, and today we have the opportunity to hear from the musical icon and music historian himself. Collier grew up in Macon and began his musical journey on the piano. He picked up the trumpet at age 10, and after graduating high school, toured internationally with Sam and Dave. He also performed with Clarence Carter, Percy Sledge and many, many more.

Collier's musical career connected him with many other musicians who came through Macon, and his knowledge of Macon's musical history is incredibly vast, and this conversation flew by as he shared stories about his career and the careers of those whose paths crossed with his.

Content advisory: This episode contains discussion about anxiety, depression and suicide.

Carrie Genzel has appeared in numerous television shows and movies, including Watchmen, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, The Walking Dead, Supernatural and All My Children. She is presently writing and developing unscripted shows for production as well as working with Visit Macon as host of the new "Macon Beyond" series.

Carrie is mental health advocate, having launched the blog State of Slay, and working as a member of the advisory board for Attitudes in Reverse, an organization that provides anti-bullying and suicide prevention programming for students.

Shane Buerster is founder and CEO of Z Beans Coffee. As a student at Mercer University, a trip to Ecuador led him to a friendship and now business partnership with Arturo Penarreta, the tour guide for that mission trip.

Shane shares the journey from student to entrepreneur in this episode, and shares how Z Beans has created a way for Ecuadorian farmers to export coffee, create sustainability, and earn more than fair trade prices.

For additional information about Z Beans, visit www.zbeanscoffee.com and follow Z Beans social media - Z Beans Coffee on Facebook and Instagram.

David Aiello is GM of the Macon Centreplex (Coliseum, Auditorium, and Atrium Health Amphitheater). He discusses venue management, opening up a brand new building, show routing, and how many steps he and his team take during the day Macon is hosting a show at one of the venues he manages. We also find out more about strange requests he's seen on artists' riders.

More information, including ticketing information, for the venues we discuss is available at www.maconcentreplex.org

Scott Mitchell is one of Downtown Macon's most ardent supporters since 2015. He owns two businesses - The Bohemian Den and Sweet Eleanor's Divine Desserts - and has served on the Main Street Board of Directors, helped create the downtown Hype Team, and has been a huge supporter of other businesses. He helped create Macon Pride and is the President of the Macon Pride Board. Scott was Macon-Bibb Chamber of Commerce's Small Business Leader of the Year in 2022, and The Bohemian Den won the OUT Georgia Business Alliance Small Business of the Year that same year.

On this episode, Scott talks about the upcoming Macon Pride event (September 19-29) as well as the investments he's made in owning businesses in Macon.

Check out the Macon Pride schedule of events at www.maconpride.org. For information about The Bohemian Den, visit www.thebohemianden.com and Sweet Eleanor's at www.sweeteleanors.com.

This episode was originally posted May 17, 2024. We are reposing this episode to ensure it is available on all platforms.

Michael O'Leary is an Emmy-nominated actor who spent more than 20 years portraying Dr. Rick Bauer on Guiding Light. O'Leary was the Grand Marshal of the 2019 International Cherry Blossom Festival parade in Macon, Georgia. In October 2023, O'Leary brought his play Breathing Under Dirt to Macon for a premiere staged reading.

This episode was originally posted June 3, 2024. We are reposing this episode to ensure it is available on all platforms.

Dr. Ilyon Woo is the 2024 Pulitzer Prize Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author of Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom. The book chronicles the epic journey to freedom taken in 1848 by an enslaved, married couple, Ellen and William Craft. Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom was honored as one of the best books of 2023 by the New York Times, People Magazine, Smithsonian and was recognized by Oprah Daily as one of the "Best Conversation-Starting Books of 2023."

Episode photo credit: Michael Wilson