Fox Morning News in Somerville Friday
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Co-hosts Shannon Mulaire and Gene Lavanchy will bring the Fox25 Morning News to Union Square this coming Friday. – Photo courtesy of Fox25

By Elizabeth Sheeran

You don’t have to travel to Rockefeller Plaza or Times Square to be seen on a morning news show this week. Boston’s Fox25 Morning News team will broadcast from Union Square from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Friday, July 26, and they’re inviting locals to show their “Somerville Pride” as part of the live audience.

Fox25’s Friday morning Zip Trip broadcasts have been a summer tradition for the past decade, stopping in over 170 cities and towns across New England since 2003. The Fox morning news team did their live broadcast from Davis Square back in the summer of 2004, and Somerville is getting the chance once again this week to show off some hometown spirit.

“We look forward to getting out of the studio to do the live broadcasts in the summer,” said Fox25 co-host Shannon Mulaire, who will be on location Friday morning with fellow co-host Gene Lavanchy and other members of the Fox25 Morning News team. “It gives us a chance to highlight some of the good things about the city, since good things don’t always make the news.”

Mulaire has been in town exploring Somerville landmarks, businesses and “hidden gems” over the past few days, getting ready to take Friday morning viewers on a video tour of the city. Some of her stops so far have included the Prospect Hill monument, Boston Burger Company in Davis Square, and Dilboy Stadium where she met players from the Boston Breakers professional women’s soccer team.

She said some of her best tips for what to look for in Somerville came from local viewers who responded to her on Twitter. In fact, suggestions from Fox25 Morning News viewers had a lot to do with Somerville’s selection for a ZipTrip stop. A Fox25 spokesperson said Somerville was a great ZipTrip destination because of its street festivals, eclectic neighborhoods and great restaurants, among other things.

This Friday’s broadcast promises to showcase a pretty diverse mix of Somerville people and places. Regular ZipTrip features will highlight what the city has to offer in everything from cuisine to real estate. Groups already on Friday morning’s guest list include Somerville Firefighters and the Sunsetters youth performance group. And Somerville-born U.S. Representative Michael Capuano will face off against a Fox News Somerville trivia quiz. Rep. Capuano said he has no doubt Fox 25 will stump him, but he’s looking forward to the challenge.

Other guests are still being confirmed, including who will be chosen as Somerville’s “hometown hero.”

Residents who head to Union Square to show their local pride in Friday morning’s live audience will get a chance to sample food demonstrations, compete in a scavenger hunt and win all kinds of prizes, including a new car. The Fox25 team will pick a Fan of the Week who demonstrates what Fox calls “true Zip Trip spirit.” And one lucky young viewer will be pulled from the crowd to act as Zip Trip Junior Reporter for the day.

Mayor Joseph Curtatone said it says something about Somerville that Fox25 is returning for a second ZipTrip here this week, with so many other communities in the region to choose from. “Somerville must be a pretty special place for them to be coming back again,” said Mayor Curtatone, who is scheduled to appear on Friday morning’s broadcast.

“I have no idea what they have in store for me,” said the mayor. “But I’m excited for the chance to talk about all the exciting things we all know are going on in Somerville.”