CICK Smithers Community Radio showed its appreciation for its volunteers Sept. 5 with a barbecue.
Station manager Glen Ingram said the event was made possible through a Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako Connecting Consumers and Producers grant. The program is designed to promote local food security.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions the event was limited to less than 30 people on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Following the guidelines of the provincial health officer, 28 lucky volunteers, farmers, and [farmer’s market] representatives enjoyed the bounty of the valley,” Ingram said.
Riverside Catering created the menu and prepared the food using all locally grown ingredients.
READ MORE: Smithers Community Radio buys Lions railcar
The station also honoured Alice Williams who has done a show called Shaman’s Fire for the last eight-and-a-half years, but is moving on. Over the course of 346 episodes, Williams has plumbed the depth of her jazz collection for her audience. She received a plaque.
Thank you to CICK and all the staff and volunteers who have been there and helped me over the years,” she said in a blog entry dated Sept. 6. “It has been a big learning curve but a very valuable one, in my mind. I have so enjoyed being able to play music for the public.”
The event also featured a workstation into which attendees could make contributions for an upcoming radio “ZINE.”
READ MORE: CICK Radio celebrates 10 years on air
The funding is also paying for a new podcast that will feature interviews with farmers, consumers and market organizers “with the intention of shedding light on the struggles and successes related to local food production this year,” Ingram said.
CICK’s 11th year has been a big one. The dissolution of the local Lions Club chapter afforded the station an opportunity to buy the iconic Smithers railcar from which it broadcasts.
It also was able to take advantage of the federal government’s Local Journalism Initiative program to add a local news element to its broadcast schedule.
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