Rick Dancer, Me and RDTV: Being on TV is Fun

In my hometown of Eugene, Oregon, TV personality Rick Dancer is certainly a local celebrity.  When Rick and I meet at various public locations to discuss upcoming shows we’ll be shooting together, or wine-related topics we’ll be covering in different locations around Eugene, there’s always a passer-by that can’t pass by without stopping and shaking Rick’s hand; sometimes, folks stop and mention a past encounter with Rick or show that touched their lives.  Everyone around us does a double-take, and I often hear whispers that go like this, “look, it’s Rick Dancer.”

Rick and I talking about future shows while meeting at Eugene’s Full City Coffee

The first time I met with Rick to talk about the possibility of doing some wine-centric shows with him, I knew instantly we’d be able to work together and produce some fun and relevant material related to local wine and food.

There’s good reason for Rick’s recognition and popularity.  He was a reporter for Coos Bay’s KCBY in the mid ’80s before moving to Eugene to work as a reporter for KVAL in 1987.  A couple years later, he moved to Eugene’s ABC affiliate, KEZI, where he was a reporter for one year and then became one of their anchors for the next 19 years.  In 2008, he left KEZI to run for Oregon Secretary of State, but lost to Kate Brown by an impressively narrow margin considering he had never been in public office and she had years of experience.

When I work with Rick and his camera crew, we have a great time talking about anything from local wine events and local restaurants to food and wine pairings and new releases from local wineries.  These clips are small parts of larger shows that feature all sorts of topics from one end of the state to the other, but mainly featuring stories in and around Lane County that focus on real people and real life stories that tend to have an impact on viewers.  Rick Dancer TV is well worth watching.  The shows air weekly on KEVU FOX TV in Eugene, on Sundays at 4:30 pm.  Full shows can also be viewed on Rick’s website at rickdancer.tv.

Talking about fall show topics while enjoying a Cherry Cider at The Barn Light in downtown Eugene

I’ve created a tab here on therealwinejulia.com named RDTV, where I’ll be sharing the clips where I’m featuring topics on wine and food.  I’ll also include a link to the full show so readers can have the option of watching just the clip about wine or the entire show.  I encourage watching the whole show, Rick is great at covering topics  – like visiting Idiotville, Oregon, sling shooting apples at Detering Orchards or cycling around Crater Lake.  Some even include very personal conversations with his prostate cancer oncologist (he’s a survivor) or up close and personal conversations with people who have different abilities than most of us that Rick has a passion for: “Look Me In The Eye” campaign.  There’s so much, I could go on and on, so just watch, you’re bound to learn things about Oregon that you never knew.

Here’s the first show that I made an appearance on where we talked about a great summer rosé wine and how important a good wine glass is: Wine Julia on Rick Dancer. 

And of course Rick’s co-host, Emma Christine.  You’ll see a lot of clips with Emma and I simply because putting the two of us together means it’s going to be a good time.  Emma is also the DJ/host on Alternative 103.7 NRQs Morning Show.  Check her out, she’ll have you laughing every week day starting at 6 am.