50 years: What is Community Media Today Open House Oct 18th at WPAA-TV Community Media Center

Community Media Day Open House

On Oct 18th, we are celebrating 50 years of #CommunityMedia in Wallingford with traditions, storytelling, and the intersection of art & technology. Free. Family-friendly. Come prepared with costumes & skits, or be spontaneous. It can take as little as 5 minutes to create a lasting memory.

The annual celebration of community media and its mission —providing a brave, safe, and creative space for a diversity of expression within our community —happens on the Saturday nearest National Community Media Day.

The Timeline: Saturday, October 18th

• Noon: Nonpartisan Get Out Vote (Candidates invited to share Voter Registration Info)
• 1:00 pm Greenscreen Fun | Holiday Message Making (Videos from Past Events)
• 1:00 pm Art & Tech: World Premier (Interactive Fine Art 'In Concert' by Apollo Maldonado)
• 2:00 pm Puppet & Mask Making (Recycling Covid Face Shields)
• 3:30 pm The Puppet Village
• Throughout the afternoon: Check out the Nelson Carty Ford Memorial Art Gallery, or Make a donation toward the Gift4Gift sustaining community media project. Select from Democracy Is A Creative Practice T's & Hoodies, The Check Minus: Two True Wallingford Stories Book, or #TeenTigerTV planet friendly items. Freeman's Attic Art Sale is ongoing. 50% of proceeds support Master's Manna. Select art items on FB Marketplace coordinated by volunteer 'Lawrence'.

Event Details Here.

How It All Began

With the welcoming of Cable TV in the 1960s, communities had the potential to produce local television stories with resources provided under franchise agreements. Advocates across the nation pursued what federal legislation made possible. In 1975, the Wallingford Public Library secured a state grant for a televised community message board. The community communications project soon expanded to include a few local television programs, including 200 North Main St., a program in which library staff shared details about library happenings. Now ceased, it may have been the earliest, longest-running show in Connecticut community media.

Transition To Nonprofit Volunteer Management

The creation of media by the people and for local government as library outreach ended in 1993. There were concerns about satire and free speech. The library board of governors voted to discontinue nearly two decades of progressive service. From this community controversy, Wallingford Public Access Association, Inc. (WPAA) was incorporated as a nonprofit. In 1996, WPAA was designated Wallingford's Cable Access Provider. WPAA remains responsible for meeting the community's reasonable needs for 'P.E.G. Access' with primary responsibilities for the people's media making support.

Sorting Out The Purpose

In 2016, a significant discovery was made—the corporation was limited by its original Articles to "television programs of educational value." This constraint didn't reflect the full scope of work our volunteers had already been pursuing. WPAA's governance team adopted a resolution to realign our corporate identity with the actual mission we were serving.

We filed Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation with the State of CT that align with the universal principles of community media. The updated documents affirmed that Wallingford Public Access Association, Inc. does business as WPAA-TV and Community Media Center, embracing a broader mandate for creative community expression.

"THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Wallingford Public Access Association, Inc. do business as WPAA-TV and Community Media Center."

A Permanent Home

Volunteers completed an adaptive renovation of a two-story 1924 cow barn of 28 So. Orchard St. in 2010 and owned the property outright as of March 2020: See the story by Quinnipiac University Intern Garrett Amil here. See photo galleries here

studioW: Story > Conversation > Community

On Oct 8th, the Department of Economic & Community Development, Office of the Arts formally affirmed that the Media Center & Gallery are an Arts & Culture organization. In the 2025-28 Strategic Plan recommits to empowering the people of Wallingford and beyond to uplift the community through story, conversation, and content creation by operating a community‐centric, digital media center and public art gallery.

As a Community Media organization WPAA-TV is recognized for excellence: National ‘Overall Excellence‘ Award from Alliance for Community Media for Small Public Access Stations 2019, 21, 22 & 23 and ACM New England 2013, 2014, Finalist Excellence Nor’easter Festival 2021, 2022, 2024 and Community Impact 2021,22,23. Our producers and #TeenTigerTV youth are our storytelling heroes. For updates on their success go here.

Democracy Is A Creative Practice

Storytelling is widely considered the oldest art form. It is also at the heart of community media. We support it all—from the informal sharing of stories in conversation to highly produced digital content.

Democracy is a cultural process of active participation, storytelling, and collective problem-solving. It requires citizens to be creative, engage deeply, and collaboratively shape their communities and society to build a stronger, more equitable future. This is the creative practice we support.

We facilitate the integration of art and culture into civic life. We foster dialogue to build shared understanding across differences, develop new policies, and empower communities to address social and political issues. From inception, community TV existed to enable just, creative, and individual expression and the freedoms that make it possible.

When portrayed as an electronic soap-box, public-access TV reinforced singular ideas by individuals. Community media today embraces a different model—we're a hub for collaborative engagement and creation. "Bringing people together" and "allowing people in to do their thing" are very different dynamics. We choose the latter.

Join Us.

Unity begins with 'U'. All that is missing is U.

October 18th is a day to start your journey of discovery. Experience the Magic of TV making and the power of art to inform and entertain. We believe you will discover what you did not know you needed when you come by.

Event Details Here | Join us on Saturday, October 18th at 28 So. Orchard St., Wallingford. Parking in front and on the street.