HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIF. (June 30, 2008) – KOCE-TV, Orange County, Calif.’s PBS station, announces its involvement in one of O.C.’s most beloved annual events – “104th Annual Huntington Beach Fourth of July Parade” and its accompanying festivities hosted July 4-6.

KOCE-TV to Televise Parade at 3:30 p.m. on July 4
KOCE-TV will televise the two-mile parade – which has gained recognition as the nation’s largest Independence Day parade west of the Mississippi – at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, July 4. KOCE-TV’s exclusive broadcast of the Huntington Beach Fourth of July Parade will feature a spectacle of floats, marching bands, local celebrities, veterans and military vehicles, miniature horses, Boy Scouts, vintage autos, clowns and a team of professional skydivers that will drop down from the sky to join the event. The event will be viewed by at least 250,000 people along the parade route, and seen by thousands more via KOCE-TV’s public television broadcast.

KOCE-TV’s Ed Arnold and Maria Hall-Brown Serve as Celebrity Announcers
Two of KOCE-TV’s most recognized on-air personalities, Ed Arnold and Maria Hall-Brown, will serve as celebrity announcers of the event. Arnold is the Emmy Award-winning co-host of Orange County’s only nightly news program, “Real Orange.” He is also the winner of the 2007 Radio and Television News Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and a Golden Mike Award. Hall-Brown produces documentaries for KOCE and also acts as producer and host of "Bookmark," an author interview series. She recently took home a Golden Mike Award from the Radio Television News Association for her production, “Notes from Europe,” which followed Pacific Symphony through its first European tour.

KOCE-TV Sponsors Three-Day Pier Plaza Festival
Also, in a show of support for the local community, KOCE-TV will be a presenting sponsor of the three-day Pier Plaza Festival, which extends through the holiday weekend with free live daily entertainment, food, a climbing wall and other physical challenges, kids’ activities and a wide range of exhibitors. The Festival is expected host to nearly one million visitors throughout the three-day holiday weekend.
For more information on the weekend’s events, visit www.hb4thofjuly.org or call 714-374-1535.

About KOCE-TV
KOCE-TV, located in Huntington Beach, produces Orange County’s only nightly news show, Real Orange – now celebrating its 10th year – as well as Inside OC, the only news and analysis show about Orange County business and politics. KOCE-TV has been lauded for its outstanding service to the community and is the recipient of 25 Emmy Awards and 26 Golden Mike Awards. The station’s staff of producers, writers, directors and reporters thoroughly understands the people, places and issues that define Orange County.

KOCE-TV is the sixth-most watched PBS station in America with an estimated 5.8 million viewers* monthly. KOCE’s award-winning programming offers the fifth-largest county in the nation a long-standing community hub for local news, culture and features, and broadcasts the best available national PBS programs to the entire Southern California five-county region. Known for its outstanding dedication to education, KOCE Classroom serves more than a half million K-12 students. A national Roper poll recently ranked PBS as number one in public trust for the fourth consecutive year.** The winner of hundreds of awards including Emmys and Community Service Awards, KOCE continues to be a vital community resource and connector for Southern California. For more information, please visit www.koce.org.

* Nielsen Station Index 2007
** Reported by the GfKRoper Public Affairs & Media poll (2007)

Editor’s Note: Editor’s Note: For interviews or DVD screeners, contact Leslie Licano at 714-573-0899 ext. 23
or e-mail Leslie@echomediapr.com.

Press Contact: Leslie Licano 714.573.0899 ext. 23 Leslie@echomediapr.com