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Saturdays begining May 23 at 4 p.m. – Richard Bangs' Adventures with Purpose

(Rochester, NY)– Richard Bangs' Adventures with Purpose, a new, one-hour special from American Public Television, airs Saturdays begining May 23 at 4 p.m. on WXXI-TV 21 (cable 11) and WXXI-HD (DT21.1/cable 1011). Hosted by Richard Bangs, who is often called “the father of modern adventure travel,” Adventures with Purpose is a series of adventure travel, eco-conscience, and historical specials.  According to Bangs, “Adventures with Purpose not only quickens the pulse and fire the synapses; they are also journeys of enlightenment and discovery—odysseys that make a difference.”

Four Adventures make up the new series. Join Bangs in Morocco, intoxicating intersection of great civilizations, as he seeks the meaning of today's Kabash and what it might represent for modern Morocco and the world. In another episode, Bangs delves into how Switzerland’s alpine beauty helped inspire today’s eco-tourism movement. Bangs’ quest is to discover the roots of adventure travel and to search for what philosophers and poets of earlier times called “the sublime.” When he travels to New Zealand, Bangs traverses the most physically and climatically diverse landmass in Polynesia in search of an age-old Māori concept that might hold a key to our planet’s future survival. In the fourth episode, a voyage up the Nile tells the tale of a civilization inextricably bound to the waters of the river and its creatures. From Alexandria to Cairo, from the Great Pyramids at Giza, to the Valley of the Kings, Richard explores the way the Nile and its fearsome Lord molded a society.  Further upstream still, Bangs visits a temple dedicated to Sobek, the Crocodile God, and seeks the beast himself in the waters of Lake Nassar.

Host and co-executive producer, Bangs is a pioneer in travel that makes a difference, travel with a purpose. He has spent 30 years as an explorer and communicator, and along the way led first descents of 35 rivers around the globe, including the Yangtze in China and the Zambezi in Southern Africa. Bangs has published more than 1000 magazine articles, 16 books, a score of documentaries, and several CD-ROMs; and has lectured at the Smithsonian, the National Geographic Society, the Explorers Club, and many other notable venues. He writes a semi-regular feature for the NY Times.  His latest book, Adventures with Purpose, published by Menasha Ridge Press, is a companion to this television special. 

Pictured: Richard Bangs
Credit: None

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