CFUZ celebrating 4 years on the air
For the first time in Penticton history, the first week of February has been designated as Community Radio Week.
In a civic proclamation earlier this month, Mayor Julius Bloomfield urged citizens to support community radio, like CFUZ here in Penticton, which can be heard at 92.9 FM or online at: www.cfuz.ca.
“Community radio volunteers tirelessly work to highlight local people, issues and community groups. The strength of community radio stations such as CFUZ is dependent on support from listeners and businesses,” said Bloomfield.
Those very same volunteers plan to mark the occasion on Feb. 4 when Peach City Radio hosts an all-day “OnAir-versary” to celebrate its four years on the air, while also raising money to sustain ongoing operations.
“In the past three years, our OnAir-versary fundraising drive has raised over $27,000 from listeners in the Penticton area,” says Dave Del Rizzo, CFUZ program director.
“When the community tunes in to CFUZ, they are hearing local people who are passionate about producing radio. We currently broadcast 20 locally produced spoken word and music programs covering a broad range of musical genres.
“Special emphasis is made to introduce local and independent music and Canadian content in general. CFUZ also supports local organizations, artists, writers, and businesses. During last year’s local elections, we broadcast five all-candidates forums.”
CFUZ is headquartered at the Cannery Trade Centre and is hoping the OnAirversary will underwrite some longoverdue renovations.
“Once the renovations are complete, we will have an additional studio, a dedicated space for our transmitter, as well as an enlarged meeting room,” says CFUZ technology director Nils Finnsson.
“These new facilities will allow us to train more volunteers, boosting the amount and quality of locally produced music and spoken word programming for our listeners.”
The station encourages members of the community to tune in on Feb. 4 for a full day of special programming. Donations can be made online at www.cfuz.ca, by phone at 236-422-0929 or in person at the CFUZ studio outside the northeast corner of the Cannery Trade Centre. For a full list of programs and the weekly broadcast schedule visit: cfuz.ca/programs.