At the Gualala Arts Lecture Series talk on Thursday, June 26 at 7:00 p.m., Peggy Berryhill will discuss the history behind KGUA - 88.3 FM, the current programming and the future prospects for Gualala's very own public broadcasting station. Berryhill is the station's general manager and host of "Peggy's Place," the show that features interviews with local residents weekdays at 9:00 a.m.
KGUA is a public radio station that offers many popular nationally broadcast programs such as "Democracy Now," "Living on Earth" and "The World,"but it is also part of the Native Media Resource Center (NMRC), an organization created to produce content about Native Americans and to promote cross-cultural understanding and racial harmony.
The scheduling includes programs on Native American issues and those of other minority groups such as Radio Bilingué, Latino USA, and the African American Consortium. Some different offerings not found on every public radio stations are "Q"with Jian Ghomeshi and "Undercurrents." Besides "Peggy's Place," the station features local programming such as the "Willie B" show and "Lizzard's Lounge" with Liz Redfield.
Berryhill, an award-winning radio producer who has been involved with public broadcasting for 40 years, founded the NMRC in 1997. When she began broadcasting in 1973, there were only two Native American public radio stations in the U.S.: KTDB in New Mexico first broadcast for a remote area of the Navajo reservation followed a few months later by KBRW in Barrow, Alaska. She is called the "First Lady of Native Radio." Today there are 53 Native radio stations on the air, many of them encouraged by Berryhill.
A member of the Muscogee tribe, Berryhill will describe how the dream of a local station became a reality with the support of local businesses and labor to erect a broadcasting tower and create the studios in downtown Gualala. She will also discuss opportunities for volunteers to become involved with broadcasting and behind-the-scene jobs.
Besides the diversity of programs offered to educate, entertain and inform listeners, KGUA provides a forum for any local resident to discuss public issues and to engage coastal residents in local affairs. More information and live streaming can be found online at
www.kgua.org.
Anyone who lives within the sound of KGUA from Manchester to Stewart's Point and from Boonville to boats off-shore will find this an interesting evening. There will be time for audience response once Berryhill concludes her remarks. A $5.00 admission will be collected at the door.
The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email
info@gualalaarts.org.
Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.
