JOHN DAY – The Kam Wah Chung and Co. Museum got some early visitors last Saturday, and they came a long way to see it.

The museum won’t open to the public for a new season until May, but Oregon State Parks ranger aid Judy Bracken gave a tour March 29 to a film crew from the European Travel Channel.

The crew is in Oregon working on a 15-part series called “Oregon Uncovered.” The European Travel Channel is like the Travel Channel that is available in the United States except it is shown in Europe and airs segments mostly on destinations outside of Europe. The channel previously shot a similar series on California called “Taste of California.”

Jaimie Douglas, a producer from Primefilmsites, worked on that series and proposed the Oregon idea to the Oregon Tourism Commission and the European Travel Channel.

“After ‘Taste of California’ I was looking at other destinations, and I was born and raised in Oregon so I wanted to do something for my state,” Douglas said. “I went to Travel Oregon and pitched the idea of the ‘Taste of California’ concept for Oregon. It will help brand Oregon in the international market.”

The crew began filming in Portland in October and will finish in Southern Oregon in September. Mount Bachelor, Powell’s Books, the Peter French Round Barn in Harney County, and several Oregon wineries will be filmed, in addition to the Kam Wah Chung Museum.

“Oregon Uncovered” will be shown in Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, France, Scandinavia, Belgium and the United Kingdom for three years starting in 2009. It is expected to be seen in 48 million households in Europe. The series will later be aired on the U.S. version of the Travel Channel, and will be available for purchase.

Bracken said the museum regularly gets foreign visitors and she hopes the series brings more tourism and money into John Day and Grant County.

“I think it’s so exciting,” Bracken said. “It’ll bring more visitors to John Day. I’ve already seen people from the Philippines, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, China and Australia. They come from all over.”

The film crew found the museum to be unique to them. Series host Alister Divall said he felt he went back in time.

“I think it’s quite fascinating,” Divall said. “It’s like a Hollywood film set. You’re used to going to a museum and seeing everything in cases behind glass. You walk out into the street and it’s a modern town. I expect to see a muddy street with horses and cowboys when I walk out of here.”

The European Travel Channel crew isn’t the first to shoot at the museum, a German film crew filmed another travel show last October.

The museum underwent a $1.5 million renovation in 2006-07, with experts from the National Park Service coming in to help restore and preserve the treasures and artifacts stored there.

The museum re-opened for a few months last August, but closed for the winter. This May’s re-opening will include ceremonies featuring dignitaries from across the state.