Reminder: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown streams for free on Apple TV, October 28 - 31, 2022

As we learned a couple of weeks ago, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown will not be shown on broadcast television this year.

While Apple still deserves a rock for this move, they are offering the classic Halloween special via streaming for free - without a subscription - via the Apple TV app from Friday October 28 through Monday October 31, 2022. It's not as widely accessible as a free TV broadcast, but it's the best on offer this year.

You do not need an Apple device to use the Apple TV app. It is also available on a variety of streaming devices, including Rokus and Amazon Fires, and on many different smart TV brands. You can also watch using a web browser on any device by going to tv.apple.com . See this Apple support page for a more detailed list of supported devices and how to watch.

You do not need to subscribe to Apple TV+, but you will need to either have, or create, an Apple ID to sign in and watch.  (Apple fails to mention this in their instructions, below.)

Apple's instructions for streaming Great Pumpkin for free are:

1. Go to tv.apple.com or download the Apple TV app from the app store wherever you watch (streaming) shows and movies.
2. Search for It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and hit Play to stream for free from October 28-31.

The special also remains available for purchase on DVD and Blu-ray as an alternative.

Also, don't forget that a few months ago, Craft Recordings released a new, improved version of the It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown soundtrack - free of special effects, with much better sound quality, and several bonus tracks.  Well worth getting if you haven't already!  (Just be sure to get the 2022 version.)

It's the Great Pumpkin and other Peanuts holiday specials won't air on PBS in 2022, will be free on Apple TV+ for a limited time

Bad news for traditionalists: Apple TV+ and PBS have confirmed that  It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and the other Peanuts holiday specials will not be airing on PBS or another over-the-air broadcast television station this year.

Instead, in 2022, the Apple TV+ streaming service will make the three big Peanuts holiday specials available to view for free without a subscription for a limited period around each holiday, as follows:

• It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - October 28 - 31, 2022 (Friday - Monday)
• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving - November 23 - 27, 2022 (Wednesday - Sunday)
• A Charlie Brown Christmas - December 22 - 25, 2022 (Thursday - Sunday)

To stream the specials for free, you don't need an Apple device. The Apple TV+ app is also available for a variety of streaming devices such as Roku and Amazon Fire, and on a variety of different smart TV brands. You can also watch using a web browser on any device by going to tv.apple.com . See this Apple support page for a more detailed list of supported devices and how to watch.

You will not need to subscribe to Apple TV+, but you will need to either have or create an Apple ID to sign in and watch.  (Apple fails to mention this in their instructions, below.)

(If you're already an Apple TV+ subscriber, you can watch the specials at any time, on any day.)

In addition to the links above, Apple provided this graphic (click to show larger):

This is not the first time that It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving haven't been seen on broadcast TV - Great Pumpkin didn't air in 2020, and Thanksgiving failed to make it to TV screens a few times over the past decades.

But unless something changes - and right now there's no indication that it will - this will be the first time since its original broadcast in 1965 that A Charlie Brown Christmas will not have an over-the-air television broadcast.

The three holiday specials remain available for purchase on DVD and Blu-ray as an alternative.

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Meanwhile, Apple TV+ also announced additional Peanuts content that's coming to the subscription streaming service in December.

First, two additional classic Peanuts holiday specials will finally be available on Apple TV+: I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown and Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales will be added to the service on December 2, 2022.

They will be joining A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown, meaning that all four classic Peanuts Christmas specials will be available on Apple TV+.

Also on December 2, 2022, Apple TV+ will premiere a new Christmas-themed episode of The Snoopy Show. According to Apple TV+: In “Happiness Is the Gift of Giving,” Snoopy adapts a Christmas poem to help Sally sleep, Charlie Brown makes gifts for his pals and Snoopy finds waiting to open his presents a challenge.

For more information about Apple TV+, including how to watch and subscribe, visit tv.apple.com and this Apple support page.

Beaglefest: A history

(This special post is by 5CP Associate Editor Gayna Lamb-Bang and her roommate, Derrick)

The Peanuts Collector Club was founded in mid-1983 by Andrea Podley, who until summer 2008 managed the ever-increasing duties with the sole assistance of her husband, Phil. She published quarterly newsletters, each of which seemed to be larger than its predecessor, every one filled with articles about various aspects of Peanuts-dom: bios of individual members and descriptions of their collections; news on just-released merchandise; collectibles; and definitive lists of particular items (refrigerator magnets, for instance). The most popular newsletter feature, during its early years, was the all-important Buy/Sell/Swap pages in the back (which gradually shrank, as the Internet became more important, and eBay consumed everybody's attention!). At its peak, the Club had close to 2,500 international members.

Beginning in the summer of 2008, Kathy Magrane took over the position of Club president. Bowing to the digital age, the printed newsletters ceased shortly thereafter; since then, most business and news has been conducted via the club's Facebook page.

But stepping back in time...

Within two years of the Club's founding, the growing cadre of members decided to celebrate their organization with a festival of convention of some sort. Member Marian Wolff gets credit for coining the term "Beaglefest": selected out of an abundance of caution, lest "Snoopyfest," or some derivation thereof, might be forbidden due to licensing rights.

Beaglefest I was scheduled for July 5-7, 1985, at the Los Robles Lodge in Santa Rosa, California; it was chaired by Andrea Podley. This was a modest affair, and attendance was small: just 40 brave and enthusiastic souls, all a little crazy about Peanuts collectibles, many of them meeting each other for the first time during an introductory wine and cheese party held in the Lodge ballroom. The excitement and high spirits continued during the next day's Collectors' Market, when Club members brought hundreds of items to sell or trade. Many sellers immediately spent their profits on more goodies for their own collections. Later that evening, members gathered for dinner and then sat in the bar and talked the night away.

Beaglefest was declared a success, and so...

A happy group of Beaglefest II attendees

Beaglefest II took place June 30-July 3, 1989, again at Santa Rosa's Los Robles Lodge; attendance was much larger, with slightly more than 100 members arriving from across the United States and Canada, with a few flying in from overseas. Bruce Carlson chaired the event, which adopted the slogan "40 Years of Happiness." Swap meets were held on both Saturday and Sunday, with a stunning display of collectibles for sale. A costume parade was modest enough to permit all participants to win a prize, and — best of all — Charles and Jeannie Schulz were guests of honor.       

Beaglefest III brought roughly 300 people to the Los Robles Lodge from July 2-5, 1993; members came from all over the United States and Canada, and four additional foreign countries. Bruce Carlson once again chaired the event, and Charles and Jeannie Schulz once again were guests of honor. The Club completely filled the hotel, which was convenient; the often late-night room sales didn't bother any other guests!