PCN Tours

PCN Tours celebrates its' 25th anniversary of being on-air this year! Come take a behind the scenes tour and learn more about what makes this Commonwealth a great place to live and work with PCN Tours. Each tour is led by a representative of the facility, allowing the viewer to experience television unscripted!

If you would like to suggest a PA manufacturer or museum, contact us. PCN does not charge or receive payment for producing a walking tour.

PCN Tours – From the Factory: Eight Oaks Farm Distillery, April 26 6pm - PCN Tours - From the Factory takes us to New Tripoli, the home of Eight Oaks Farm Distillery. Veteran owned, the distillery normally produces a variety of spirits, including gin, rum, and bourbon. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Eight Oaks has shifted its production focus to hand sanitizer in order to meet the massive demand. […]

PCN Tours – From the Factory: Smile Spinners, April 26 6pm - Our inaugural episode of PCN Tours - From the Factory features Smile Spinners, a fabric boutique and sewing studio for quilting and sewing enthusiasts located in Marysville, PA. The shop offers a multitude of fabric options, sewing machine sales and repair, instructional classes for all levels, as well as professional help with picking patterns and […]

PCN Tours Kite Tales Weaving, April 26th at 6pm - Every year, when PCN covers the State Farm Show in Harrisburg, one event is certain to attract its share of curious viewers: the Sheep-to-Shawl Contest.   After the sheep are sheared, alert viewers notice that pre-dyed wool is loaded and ready in the loom.  Within a few minutes, that colored wool will be woven in with […]

Weekly PCN Tours Schedule

Putting Together PCN Tours

By: Larry Kaspar, Senior Producer and Host

“Assembly required” are words some people dread reading.  Often there’s a cartoon next to them to soften the blow that shows a hapless guy with crumpled instructions scratching his head and a bike with the handlebars where the seat should be.

Me, they make my heart sing.  I run for the toolbox.  I actually take inventory of the parts before I dive in.  Who does that? 

Anyone who’s seen and enjoyed PCN Tours knows what I mean.  The series shows how things are made in Pennsylvania.   

Back in 1995, Harley-Davidson in York was a logical place to start.  Their motorcycles inspire a unique brand of loyalty.  We asked them to do the narration as the bikes went down the production line.   That’s it.  No professional voice-over, no script, strictly spontaneous.  That simple, durable formula endures to this day. 

Ever see a wad of Silly Putty as large as your sofa? 

At the factory, the Silly Putty ingredients are put into a re-purposed dough kneader to mix them together.  You know how when you kneaded Silly Putty in your fingers, the air bubbles made little cracking sounds?    Well, the popping sounds at the factory might send you running for cover.  They sound like gunshots.   No kidding.    

Take Martin Guitars in Nazereth.  If you play acoustic guitar, this place is mecca.  When you see the craftsmanship here, you gain an appreciation for guitars, whether or not you’re a musician. 

These older episodes are a glimpse into the past, but viewers still stay in touch by giving us tips for new shows. Next time you’re intimidated by an assembly job, here’s a tip:  don’t do it on a deadline.  Then take a deep breath, take the plunge, and create.

PCN Tours airs on cable on Sundays at 7 PM, and streams on your device with the PCN Select streaming service.