Central Vermont Community Radio Central Vermont Community Radio

More Local Shows in February

Here at CVCR, we’re excited to bring more and more of the community into the station. Starting in February, we’ll welcome 10 new programmers onto the air. Their shows will mostly be music shows, adding diversity to our playlists and making our weekends, middays, and early mornings even more “live and local.” This takes ups up to nearly 60 programmers, with 50 shows, making the schedule 80% locally made (up from just 30% a year ago).

Here at CVCR, we’re excited to bring more and more of the community into the station. Starting in February, we’ll welcome 10 new programmers onto the air. Their shows will mostly be music shows, adding diversity to our playlists and making our weekends, middays, and early mornings even more “live and local.” 

These additions mean about 60 of your neighbors will bring you views, community connections, and musical selections across 50 eclectic shows every week.

This is a huge milestone for the station. Less than a year ago, only 30% of our main schedule was local. Now, 80% is locally made.

Continue reading for specific days and times for these new shows and the few additional changes to the schedule. 

As always, the Programming Committee is open to your feedback. Use our listener survey to tell us what you think and other thoughts on existing programming.

Thanks for continuing to listen and support your community radio stations of WGDR and WGDH and please help us welcome this new group of programmers in the coming weeks.

The 8 new local shows include:

Sundays

  • 10am-noon: “Audio Ergo Sum,” a music show by Darien & Ruby McElwain, variety of music

  • 4-5pm: “Swivel Radio,” a music by DJ Effery, variety of music

  • 6-7pm: “The Tim Show w/ DJ For Now,” a music show with DJ For Now, indie rock, psych rock, and more

  • 9-11pm: “Spiral Galaxy,” a music hosted by Tom McMurdo, psych rock, prog, jazz and more.

Tuesdays

  • 6-8am: “Styrofoam Stereo,” a music show by Thomas Mattera, blues, rock, folk, roots and more (bi-weekly), alternating with Full Moon Hacksaw.

Wednesdays

  • 6-8am: “Discoverances,” a music show by Savannah Bailey. Take your first listen to something new with DJ Savannah, who will be actively discovering new and old artists to love! Pulling from WGDR's extensive physical and digital music libraries, the name of the game is discovery, with a special focus on women musicians who did not get the airtime they deserved.

  • 2-4pm: “Soul Joy,” a music show by returning programmer Jacquette Landrum, gospel and Christian music, and interviews

    Thursdays

    • 11am-noon: Talking Vermont,” a talk show about the prison industry in Vermont by Tim Burgess (bi-weekly show)

    To make room for these local shows, the following syndicated shows will move to these new slots: 

On Sundays:

12am-2am - Green Bubble Tea

2am - Café Chill

On Tuesdays:

6am - The five day airing of Background Briefing with Ian Masters at 6am will be reduced to just three days a week, Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.

9am - Peace Talks Radio

9:30am - Sprouts

11am - Rising up Sonali

2pm – Straight Up Soul (new syndicated music show)

3pm – First Voice Radio

On Wednesdays:

11pm-1am - Most Fluids (new syndicated music show)

On Thursdays:

12pm – Afrosonic Taxi

1pm – Rocking the Rez

4pm – Law and Disorder

On Fridays:

2am – Modern Jet Set

On Saturdays:

6:30am – Food Sleuth Radio

8am – Bike Talk

 A few existing local shows also have moved or changed:

  • Country Sounds in Modern Times, with Barry Matthews is now just one hour, earlier on Wednesdays at 4pm.

  • Woodwarbler’s Jazzgrass Show with Brian Aust is now live at 7pm on Wednesdays.

  • The Jive Turkey Show with Turkey Joe is expanding to two hours on Fridays, starting at 11am.

  • The Hoi Polloi with Damian Taylor will be retiring from the schedule.

  • Bon Mot, with Rick Agran, is returning to live broadcast Sundays at 5pm

These changes also mean we have reached the point where we have limits in the schedule.

First, there are limited local slots for new programmers. This means late nights, a handful of slots during middays on weekdays, and early mornings will be where new folks will have a chance to start shows with us. We will also offer options for new applicants to become subs or be involved in the station in other ways while being on a waitlist for when more local slots open up.

These changes also mean we will be retiring a few syndicated shows Short Wave Radio, For the Wild, Write the Book, All Things Cage, Woodsongs Radio, and the Final Straw. These shows all can be listened to directly on their websites.

 

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Thank you, listeners.

We are sending you all our warmest wishes for the new year. Thanks for making 2023 an amazing year for Central Vermont Community Radio.


Friends of CVCR -

As we end the year today, we wanted to send all of you our warmest wishes for the coming new year. To help ring in 2024 and celebrate what was good for 2023, please tune in tonight for a special New Year's Eve live special program: Countdown, hosted by the Revel Level, 7pm-midnight.

While we are in celebration mode, I wanted to also share this poem we recently got from a listener. It really captures all of what this station has been about since 1973 and where we aim to still go in the new year and beyond.


Also, today is the last day to give to CVCR for 2023 tax purposes. We are so grateful to the over 350 of you who supported the station this year. We put your money to good use, keeping the programming you love airing all year long.

As you can see below, 84% of our funding this year has come from listeners like you. We are really proud of that!

Thank you for tuning in and happy new year!

Llu Mulvaney-Stanak, WGDR/WGDH Station Manager

Llu@WGDR.org, 802-276-0365



p.s. We are always eager for your feedback. Take our listener survey and help us continue to curate programming in 2024.


WGDR/WGDH broadcasts at 91.1 FM in the greater Plainfield area, 91.7 FM in the hollows and hills of Hardwick and beyond, and at WGDR.org to the whole world. Our studio is located at the Eliot Pratt Center on the Goddard College campus at 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield, VT 05667.

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A rewind of 2023 at WGDR & WGDH.

What a year of building more community on the radio! We are profoundly grateful to every single one of you for helping these beloved stations continue to thrive. Click through to this blog post to rad up on this year’s stats and highlights.

Friends of CVCR -

What a year of building more community on the radio! We are profoundly grateful to every single one of you for helping these beloved stations continue to thrive. As you can see from this year's stats, hundreds of our neighbors are stepping up to provide the time, funding, and energy it takes to power your community radio stations.

As we look to the end of the year, here are a few highlights of 2023:

  • In the spring, the schedule transformation was one of the biggest in the history of the station. We added a ton of new local and syndicated shows, bringing you new perspectives, stories, and musical genres. A number of our brand-new local shows are now some of the most streamed shows each week, a testament to the dedication they have brought to what they produce for you each week.

  • By the summer, the entire station took on a new sense of togetherness, especially in the wake of the summer flooding. We asked programmers to rise to the moment and they did just that for you. Providing resources and relief from the unrelenting clean-up and recovery efforts.

  • This sense of station teamwork rolled into the fall, where we truly made the fall drive a FUNdrive, with amazing special programming, cross-hosting, and more. You could hear just how much fun everyone was having, and it paid off, raising over $14K for the station, and blowing away all other CVCR drive records.

  • The community has turned it up too, helping us raise money (Worst. Song. Ever.!), transform the station with a new paint job, buying and rocking our station swag around town, and underwriting the station.

  • Listeners have not only tuned in more, but they've let us know what they think. We are getting close to 100 entries for our listener survey. If you have yet to take part, please do.

  • We spent all year celebrating the huge milestone of 50 years of WGDR being on the air. Did you know we are the 2nd oldest community station in the country and the oldest and biggest in Vermont? While we had to postpone the party, we are in the works of a 51st party for this coming spring. Stay tuned!

  • We also want to again extend our deepest gratitude to weather guru Bob Mitsenbeger who retired from his near-daily live forecast with us, to CVCR founding board member Joseph Gainza who completed his term, and to Eamon Dunn, our first paid summer intern.

Best Tunes of the Year from WGDR/WGDH Music Hosts

We mean it when we say it. The station not only sounds different, it feels different to be part of this place. We are creating a sense of connection, care, and fun at the station, all while talking directly to and with you, our community, about what is happening right here in our communities. Thank you to everyone who is making this happen.

Stay tuned for 2024! We have 10 new local shows preparing to come on the air, plans in the works for a redo on WGDR's 50th (err, now 51st) party, and lots more engagement in and with all our listening communities.

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Countdown: A live New Year’s Eve radio dance party

Join us for COUNTDOWN: A live on-air New Year’s Eve radio dance party, Sunday, December 31, 7pm-midnight.

Hosted by the Revel Level, with guest DJ sets by Chris Buckridge (Predictably Unpredictable), Sydonia (Theme Time), Turkey Joe (Jive Turkey Show), the Still Lifers, and more.

Listen back to the 6 hours of music our programmers rang in 2024 with!

What a year it was. We want to dance it OUT with you live on the air, soundtracking New Year’s Eve celebrations across the hills and valleys of central Vermont and far beyond.

Join us for COUNTDOWN: A live on-air New Year’s Eve radio dance party, Sunday, December 31, 7pm-midnight.

Hosted by the Revel Level, with guest DJ sets by Chris Buckridge (Predictably Unpredictable), Sydonia (Theme Time), Turkey Joe (Jive Turkey Show), the Still Lifers, and more.

Call in your requests and New Year’s resolutions. Tune in for other drop-by surprises too. What a way to ring in a new year with your friends here at Central Vermont Community Radio.

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12/18: How to prepare for flooding.

As of midday on Monday, December 18, we have been receiving reports of the start of flooding in several areas across our listening area. Moretown and Waitsfield are watching the Mad River crest, Montpelier and Barre are both anticipating river flooding today, the Barre Auditorium has reopened as a shelter, and there is water washing over an increasing number of roads.

There is no other way to put it. This is gutting.

As your community radio station, we are once again prepared to be here for the community to share resources and updates as they are available.

In the meantime, as we watch the streams and rivers, we want to share some helpful flooding preparation suggestions from our partners at Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation (CVEDC). Click through to read more.


Monday, December 18, 2023

Friends of WGDR/WGDH -

We have been receiving reports of the start of flooding in a number of areas across our listening area. Moretown and Waitsfield are watching the Mad River crest, Montpelier and Barre both anticipating river flooding today, the Barre Auditorium has reopened as a shelter, and there is water washing over an increasing number of roads.

There is no other way to put it. This is gutting.

As your community radio station, we are once again prepared to be here for the community to share resources and updates as they are available.

In the meantime, as we watch the streams and rivers, we want to share this helpful email from our partners at Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation (CVEDC). It reminds us all of the impact going through this has on our mental health and practical steps for right now to prepare for possible flooding in your home, business, or place of work.

On behalf of everyone here at WGDR and WGDH, we are right here with you all.

Llu Mulvaney-Stanak

Station Manager, WGDR/WGDH

Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation (CVEDC) Pre-Flooding Reminders

It’s tough news to hear this morning that we are again facing flood impact in Central Vermont.

I’m writing to you from a shelter-in-place order at my home several yards from the Mad River, which has slipped its banks.

As one of my favorite colleagues and I just reminded each other: as hard as it is to think we are facing flooding again, the good part is: we know what a strong community we live in, and we all know each other a little bit better now.

If you are a business owner in Montpelier, Barre, Waitsfield or another municipality likely to flood:

  • Move items off the floor to higher locations - try to move items on the first floor up four feet, and remember to consider what is in your basement.

  • Take valuable merchandise from the location if it’s possible. If not, place valuable items on desks or tables.

  • Volunteers in Barre and Montpelier are available currently if you need help moving or preparing for potential flooding. Email: info@centralvermont.org to be connected with support.

  • Take some quick photos of how you are leaving your space in case you need these for insurance

  • Unplug or remove electronics; disable elevators if this is an option

Revisiting the potential of flooding gives me a lot of emotions and I know I’m not the only one. If you are feeling in need of mental health support, please consider these resources from Washington County Mental Health.

Sincerely,
Melissa Bounty, Executive Director CVEDC

WGDR/WGDH broadcasts at 91.1 FM in the greater Plainfield area, 91.7 FM in the hollows and hills of Hardwick and beyond, and at WGDR.org to the whole world. Our studio is located at the Eliot Pratt Center on Goddard College campus at 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield, VT 05667.

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How we are funded.

We are so grateful to the over 350 of you who supported the station this year. We put your money to good use, keeping the programming you love airing all year long. We are really proud to be supported so greatly by our listeners.

As you can see below, 84% of our funding this year has come from listeners like you. We are really proud of that! Your chance to give to CVCR for 2023 tax purposes is running out. Give today! We are so grateful to the over 350 of you who supported the station this year. We put your money to good use, keeping the programming you love airing all year long. 

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