Blippi poses with Brittany Voie's son, Owen, age 3, at the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad Museum.
State Route 6 is seen with Mount Rainier in the distance as the Chehalis steam train approaches the crossing. This footage was captured by a drone.
Drone used to capture footage of the steam train.
After our first son was born, we started really rethinking our decision to continue TV service at home. We realized that most of the time, our TV was tuned to BabyFirst TV or some other children’s programming, and we were paying more than $100 per month for that service. On top of that, we were very underwhelmed by the quality of content.
We already had a “smart” TV — one that has apps built-in, such as YouTube, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. — so we “cut the cord” on TV service and switched to streaming content available online (we also have a digital antenna for Seahawks games, news, etc. We get about a dozen regional channels free).
Around the same time, “Blippi” — also known as Stevin John, of Ellensburg — started appearing on YouTube as a suggestion, mixed in with some of our other BabyFirst TV favorites. At first, I dismissed Blippi as goofy and silly. But as I paid closer attention, I realized that what he was doing was completely brilliant.
Blippi is a fun, positive and engaging children’s personality who does a great job of introducing children, ages 2 to 6, to the world around them. As a parent, it’s refreshing to find a show geared at toddlers that isn’t set in a fantasy land, or that is entirely animated. Blippi episodes often center around real vehicles or locations, and introducing kids to terms, concepts and objects in the real world around them.
I consider it practical, educational and age-appropriate information. The wide variety of content isn’t geared towards “boys” or “girls,” just kids in general. This is more inclusive to girls, where some of the more traditionally “masculine” content is concerned (dump trucks, machinery, etc.).
One of Blippi’s first videos was a monster truck-themed and tractor-themed episode of his show, and I recognized almost immediately that the episodes were filmed in Ellensburg. Other early episodes — including garbage trucks, excavators, horses, fire trucks, etc. — all appeared to be filmed in and around the Ellensburg area, too.
Our oldest son was almost immediately hooked on this friendly — and exceptionally clever — character.
Two years later, Stevin John’s children’s character creation is taking global online media platforms by storm, with his YouTube channel recently reaching the coveted milestone of 1 billion total views (on YouTube alone) and multiple Amazon Video Star Awards. His show now has followers in numerous countries and continents and has recently expanded into other dedicated Blippi channels dubbed in other languages.
After a Blippi episode filmed at Boomshaka in Olympia was released, I was determined to get this guy to come to Chehalis. I knew that Blippi hadn’t filmed a train video yet, so I focused on that and shot off several emails over the course of a couple of months. Stevin John — Blippi himself — ended up responding after I sent some photos and videos of the Chehalis steam train and the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad Museum.
After coordinating with the production team and the steam train board, we made a plan. I met Stevin John and his cameraman, June, at the museum on a Saturday morning and we spent the whole day filming and riding the steam train.
It was truly a magical day for so many reasons. It couldn’t have gone smoother. The same beautiful, sunny day Blippi filmed on the steam train, there was both a women’s church group and a model train hobbyist/fan group riding along. Everyone was so curious about this guy in the blue shirt, orange suspenders and funny hat (Blippi’s costume) — they loved him!
Part of the magic of it all though, was Stevin himself. Despite being this wild whirlwind self-made digital star, he was humble and down-to-earth. He took the time to talk with almost all of the steam train volunteers one-on-one and listened intently to their stories throughout the day.
And, when my 3-year-old son showed up, in his Blippi T-shirt, to ride the steam train that day, Stevin, dressed as his signature character, could not have been more gracious. It was obvious that Stevin takes his job seriously and understands how much these little guys look up to him.
The Blippi steam train episode was released on July 5 on YouTube. The 101-year-old Baldwin-built steam train looks incredible filmed in 4K (super high definition) and Chehalis looks incredibly scenic in the drone footage that’s included in the episode. The final product also includes appearances by several steam train volunteers and a few Lewis County locals.
In the past week or so, the episode has gained nearly 2.5 million views worldwide, so far, on YouTube alone.
After the episode was released, parents all over the world — England, India, Turkey, Australia and Germany — were commenting on social media, thanking Blippi for the video and sharing their excitement. Some parents even shared photos of their children watching the episode, with our Chehalis steam train on their screen in the background of the photo.
Shannon Gibson, living 8,000 miles away in Melbourne, Australia, wrote: “It’s another hit dude … Thanks for all the great content mate …” — about our steam train, right here in little old Chehalis. It warms my heart to think that people all over the world are hearing the word “Chehalis” for the first time (and in a way that isn’t associated with crime or flooding).
Thanks again, Blippi. We hope to host you again in Chehalis real soon.
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Brittany Voie is The Chronicle’s senior media developer. She welcomes correspondence from the community by email at bvoie@chronline.com.
