This Old House(R) Hosts Day-Long Event in Atlanta on Thursday, October 20 to Mark Finale of the 2005 'Meet This Old House' Tour

This Old House(R) Hosts Day-Long Event in Atlanta on Thursday, October 20 to Mark Finale of the 2005 'Meet This Old House' Tour

Master Carpenter Norm Abram and Plumbing and Heating Expert Richard Trethewey Spend the Day with Fans at The Home Depot(R) Followed by a House Call for the Emmy-Nominated Ask This Old House(R)

NEW YORK, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Can you imagine asking Norm how many plaid flannel shirts he really owns? Would you like to talk to Rich about how to maintain your home's heating system? Have you ever dreamt of actually being the person who wins the Ask This Old House "What is it?" challenge?

Well, now's your chance. On Thursday, October 20, Norm and Rich will mark the finale of the national 2005 Meet This Old House tour with a day-long event at The Home Depot at 6400 Peachtree Dunwoody Road NE in Atlanta, Georgia (located off of Exit 5A on GA-400 North). Built by The Home Depot, the tour is sending the This Old House experts to six cities across the country, allowing fans to meet members of America's favorite home improvement team. In addition to its final stop in Atlanta, the tour visited New York, Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston, and Dallas from August through October 2005.

"We're excited to mark the finale of the 2005 Meet This Old House tour in Atlanta, a city that is so dedicated to home improvement," says This Old House master carpenter Norm Abram. "We're thrilled to be back celebrating the end of another successful tour that has given us the opportunity to meet even more of our fans in person."

While in the Atlanta area, Rich will also make a House call for the fourth season of the Emmy-nominated Ask This Old House on PBS (check local listings or visit thisoldhouse.com/tvschedule). The series visits homeowners across the country to provide hands-on guidance on home-maintenance challenges including everything from a rotting porch to noisy pipes to an under-performing lawn. Viewers who are interested in receiving a House call may submit questions at thisoldhouse.com. The This Old House Hour (This Old House followed by Ask This Old House) airs Thursdays at 8:00 pm on Georgia Public Broadcasting.

The October 20 event is free and open to the public from 12 noon to 8:00 p.m., featuring half-hour, onstage appearances by Norm and Rich at 12 noon, 2:00 p.m., 4:15 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. While on stage, Norm and Rich will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the show, as well as an insider's look at the first Contemporary-style This Old House project located in historic Cambridge, Massachusetts. Throughout the day, audiences will find inspiration, information, and instruction on everything from interior design to toolbox supplies, through sponsor clinics, demonstrations, and interactive games and challenges. In addition, there will be sweepstakes and giveaways, Ask This Old House "What is it?" challenges, and question and answer sessions with the This Old House experts.

Day-of-event highlights will include: * On-Stage Appearances by the This Old House Crew -- Fans will have the opportunity to get up close and in-person with members of America's favorite home improvement team, as they talk about life behind-the- scenes of the series, and share anecdotes about memorable moments, lessons learned, and favorite projects. Fans will want a front-row seat to have the chance to get answers to their toughest home improvement questions, as well as take an insider's look at the new This Old House Cambridge project. * "Ask The Designer" -- Instant design advice from This Old House design consultant Karen Walden, who will be on hand illustrating ideas using a variety of elements including color swatches, wallpaper books, countertop samples, hardware samples, blankets and throws, carpet samples, backsplash tile samples, decorative molding samples, and floor samples, including vinyl, ceramic, wood, and linoleum floor tiles. * "All About Color" Session -- Karen Walden will lead an informative and fun session that addresses the psychological and emotional characteristics of color, covering the definitions of primary, complementary, or secondary colors, and hues and tints. She will discuss which colors work best in particular rooms, and answer questions such as "How do you make a room seem larger or cozier?" * The Tudor Doghouse -- Audiences will have the chance to see the English- style Tudor Doghouse, as featured on NBC's Today and in the July/August issue of This Old House magazine. Fans will be able to enter the "Doghouse Like Your House Building Contest", by submitting a photo and 100-word essay telling why their doghouse is like their real house, for a chance to win a year's supply of dog food from Hill's Science Diet, a digital D50 Nikon camera, and to have their doghouse featured in This Old House magazine. For more details, visit thisoldhouse.com/doghouse. * Sponsor Clinics and Demonstrations-Industry experts will offer first- hand instruction on topics such as how to install a lockset and how to install a toilet. Also, the day will include surprise challenges and games from our sponsors allowing attendees the opportunity to win prizes. * "Tool Challenge" -- An interactive activity offering an opportunity to test some of today's most state-of-the-art tools. * "What is it?" Challenge -- This challenge is based on the popular Ask This Old House "What is it?" segment. Audience members will get to play along with the crew to guess the name and use of a particular item-and for a chance to win a $250 gift card from The Home Depot. * This Old House Grand Sweepstakes -- The chance to enter on site during the event, or on thisoldhouse.com/tour to win. Grand-prize winner to receive a two-year lease of a Ford F-150 truck, first-prize winner to receive a $5,000 gift card to The Home Depot, second-prize winner to receive $3,000 in Discover gift cards, and third-prize winner to receive a trip to the current This Old House project house, plus other great prizes. * Giveaways -- This Old House and sponsor goodies will be included in a Meet This Old House tour gift bag.

Please visit thisoldhouse.com/tour for additional tour information.

The first Meet This Old House tour took place from August through November 2004, as part of a year-long 25th anniversary celebration integrating television, publishing, Internet, and special events. The tour visited The Home Depot locations in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston, and Atlanta.

The 2005 Meet This Old House Tour Sponsors

The 2005 Meet This Old House tour is built by The Home Depot. Additional tour sponsors include some of the most distinguished household brand names including American Standard Companies, Discover Card, Ford Truck, STRAIT-LINE Electronic Tools, James Hardie Building Products, LG Electronics, U.S.A., Liquid Nails Adhesives, Philips Lighting Company, Ridgid Tools, Schlage, State Farm, and Trane.

About This Old House, The Multi-Media Lifestyle Brand

This Old House is the No. 1 multi-media home enthusiast brand, offering home enthusiasts trusted information and expert advice through award-winning television, a highly regarded magazine, an information-driven Web site, a comprehensive line of books, a DVD series, and live events.

This Old House Ventures, Inc. is a business of Time4 Media(R), a multi- media company whose enterprises include leading magazines, Web sites, television and radio programming, feature films, and events and exhibitions. Time4 Media is a subsidiary of Time Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

Press contacts Jennifer Welsh Frederika Brookfield National Publicist Communications Director WGBH Boston This Old House Ventures, Inc. 617.300.5470 212.522.5809 jennifer_welsh@wgbh.orgfrederika_brookfield@timeinc.com

Kathryn Hathaway Photography contact National Associate Publicist Bailey Vatalaro WGBH Boston National Promotion Assistant 617.300.5305 WGBH Boston kathryn_hathaway@wgbh.org 617.300.5328 bailey_vatalaro@wgbh.org

Source: WGBH

CONTACT: Jennifer Welsh, National Publicist, +1-617-300-5470, jennifer_welsh@wgbh.org, or Kathryn Hathaway, National Associate Publicist, +1-617-300-5305, kathryn_hathaway@wgbh.org; or Photography contact: Bailey Vatalaro, National Promotion Assistant, +1-617-300-5328, bailey_vatalaro@wgbh.org, all of WGBH Boston; or Frederika Brookfield, Communications Director of This Old House Ventures, Inc., +1-212-522-5809, frederika_brookfield@timeinc.com

Web site: http://www.wgbh.org/ http://www.thisoldhouse.com/tour

------- Profile: Ent