Boston 25 Zip Trip Coming to Norfolk on August 4th

The Boston 25 Morning News team will broadcast live from Norfolk’s Town Hill (139 Main Street) on Friday, August 4, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the latest installment of the popular summer Zip Trips. Residents of all ages are encouraged to come out and be part of the audience and share what makes their hometown a great place to live.
Special guest and Norfolk native Jessica Reyes is also scheduled to join the morning broadcast. Reyes, a Boston 25 Morning News reporter, will share memories of growing up in Norfolk, as well as her favorite places around town.
Reyes will join Boston 25 anchors Gene Lavanchy, Elizabeth Hopkins, Meteorologist Shiri Spear, and Around Town host Michele Lazcano as they broadcast in front of the live audience.
Friday morning Zip Trips are a summer tradition for the station, which in April changed the name of its newscast from Fox 25 News to Boston 25 News. The live broadcasts, now in their 14th season, are a way to connect with viewers and give residents a chance to promote their community. The station has visited 228 cities and towns (and counting) on its Zip Trips.
The broadcast will include interviews with Norfolk newsmakers, special guests, hometown teams, and local heroes. The segment will also showcase favorite Norfolk restaurants, coffee shops, and more.
Zip Trips have plenty of activities for crowd participation, including a free kids’ activity zone, photo booth, games, prizes, and refreshments. Residents are encouraged to bring a box of healthy cereal for the Norfolk Food Pantry.
Reyes, who notes she doesn’t normally get to attend Zip Trips since she’s usually out covering breaking news, shared some thoughts about her hometown with Local Town Pages.
“Norfolk was such a great place to grow up. I loved riding my bike everywhere—to school at the Freeman Centennial, down Park Street to Nicky’s for ice cream, all over my neighborhood near my childhood home on Essex Street. One of my favorite memories was when I met my first friend in kindergarten. Her name is Andrea, and she’s still my best friend to this day.”
Reyes said one of her favorite activities while living in Norfolk was playing soccer, which she continued playing right up until high school. A 2005 graduate of KP High School, Reyes was active in the school’s DECA program. One of the highlights of her time at KPHS was traveling to Nashville with DECA, where her project was nominated in the national competition.
While in high school, Reyes worked at the after-school program at the Freeman Centennial School, now the Freeman Kennedy School.
“My sister is seven years younger than me, and she was actually one of the kids I looked after. It was a blast!” she said.
After KPHS, Reyes went on to study at the University of Colorado at Boulder before starting her career in broadcast journalism. She worked at WHDH 7News in Boston, WPMT in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and KTAB and KRBC in Abilene, Texas before returning to Boston. She was a freelance reporter for Boston 25 News before joining the station full-time in 2015.
Reyes’ co-worker Gene Lavanchy is also quite familiar with Norfolk. He’s a life-long resident of Walpole, and said he started his professional broadcast career at WJCC, a now-defunct Norfolk radio station.
“It was a small place where you did everything and learned a lot,” shared Lavanchy. “It was an amazing experience I’ll never forget. Of course, the fact that it was so close to the Eagle Brook Saloon was a nice perk.”
Lavanchy, who has anchored the long-running Zip Trips since the very beginning, says the Friday morning broadcasts are a nice break from the usual morning news.
“Usually, when our news trucks roll into town, it’s to report about a story that tends to be bad news,” said Lavanchy. “But when we show up for a Zip Trip, it’s totally different because we highlight the good things about the town, the people, places and things. It’s an opportunity for the town to shine and for us to put a positive spotlight on the community.”
He added, “We hope folks in Norfolk will come out and show their civic pride and enjoy the interactive setup we have on site for kids of all ages and help us highlight what makes Norfolk a great place to live and a fun place to visit.”