Campus radio station rings in anniversary with karaoke, DJ sets
Last week CFRU 93.3, Guelph’s non-profit, campus, and community radio station, turned 35. Everyone in the community and on-campus was invited to come enjoy the occasion.
For over three decades, CFRU has been a sonic heartbeat in the community. On a daily basis, CFRU lauds equality, liberty, and good vibrations through music and spoken word programming.
To embrace the occasion, a birthday party was thrown at The Brass Taps in U of G’s University Center. Golden Throats Karaoke came by to get things going with their unique selection of local and hit karaoke tracks. Brian Borcherdt and Graham Walsh, of the acclaimed Canadian electronic-rock band Holy F**k, were there DJing between rounds of karaoke.
Vish Khanna, renowned radio personality, journalist, and station manager at CFRU, talked about the 35 years they’ve been casting waves.
“To me, it is really meaningful. I mean, I had a career there for a while [at CBC] because of CFRU, using it as a training grounds,” said Khanna. “I still call upon those skills I first learned at the station for everything I do. So yeah, it’s amazing, personally.”
Andrea Patehviri, host of the CFRU show Indie Alarm clock, offered her thoughts on the anniversary.
“I think it’s awesome that we’re celebrating CFRU, because campus community radio is so important. I got into it in my first of my undergrad and now I’m in my last,” said Patehviri. “Community radio is so important because it’s a platform for people who don’t always voices in larger media.”
If you are looking to get involved in the media industry, CFRU may be great place for you to start.
“There is certainly programming opportunities… but CFRU is way more than that. It’s a volunteer driven enterprise almost top to bottom,” said Khanna. “CFRU has opportunities in marketing, audio production, music review, public relations and administration.”
In the next 35 years for CFRU, Khanna said he has “no earthly idea” what’s going to happen, but offered some whimsical, spacy thoughts on the topic.
“I wish I knew. I will be 71 in 35 years – no, 72. So, I will still be managing the station at 72 – that’s for sure, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” said Khanna. “When you look at our schedule grid, either online or on paper, it does look like the shows are kind of clouds floating in space, and I think in 35 years that’s actually what they’ll be. Every show will have to be on a cloud and you’ll have to harness the cloud in your mind and in your heart to access the programming. All of us, of course, will be flying by then, so it’ll be easy to go from cloud to cloud, station to station.”
Part of the CFRU website’s About Me section reads, “we engage, inform, and entertain our listeners; we empower and teach our volunteers, and we support all of the great people doing cool things around Guelph.”
Whether people are flying or not, this constant is sure to stay.