Media figure Al Roker comes to Bentonville in June

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Bentonville Film Festival will host a conversation with longtime weatherman Al Roker on June 17 in Bentonville.

An Afternoon with Al Roker will take place from 1 to 2 p.m. June 17 in the Great Hall at Crystal Bridges at 600 Museum Way. Tickets are $30. Link here for tickets.

Roker will discuss his career, love of storytelling and passion for inspiring youth. He will also talk about his newest project, “Weather Hunters,” a new animated STEM series for children ages 5-8 that’s designed to support learning about Earth science and meteorology through adventure and comedy. The series will premiere on PBS Kids on Sept. 8.

Roker is the weather and feature anchor of NBC News’ TODAY as well as the co-host of third hour of TODAY. He joined in January 1996.

From July 2009 to September 2015, Roker served as co-host of the morning show Wake Up with Al on the Weather Channel. Until January 2000, he also served as the weekday weather forecaster for News Channel 4’s early evening newscast Live at 5 on WNBC-TV, NBC’s flagship station in New York City.

He came to WNBC-TV as a weekend weathercaster in December 1983 from WKYC-TV, the NBC TV station in Cleveland. Roker began his broadcasting career while still in college as a weekend weatherman at WTVH-TV in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1974. After graduation, he moved on to weathercasting jobs in Washington, D.C., (1976–1978) and Cleveland (1978–1983).

Raised in Queens, N.Y., Roker received a bachelor’s degree in communications from the State University at Oswego in 1976, and he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the school in 1998. He resides in Manhattan with his wife, ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts. Roker has two daughters and one son.

An Afternoon with Al Roker is sponsored by Andrea Albright and Patrick Bannon, and Demara Titzer. The event is presented in collaboration with the Bentonville Film Festival, which celebrates diverse voices in media and entertainment.