WGDR’s 51st Birthday Weekend
Back in 1973, as the semester wrapped up (in early June), WGDR, Plainfield went on the air at 91.1 FM for the first time. Back in 2021 (in mid-May), 48 years later, the FCC approved ownership transition from Goddard College to Central Vermont Community Radio. To celebrate 50 years on the air for WGDR and three years of community ownership, we are coming together for a big weekend of celebrating as a community both on the air and in person at the station.
We’ll be live and local all weekend long with special programming during each show and a few extra surprises along the way. This includes:
Friday, May 17 Programming
9am-11am: A Station Managers Retrospective on Magical Mystery Tour, 9-11am, hosted by Tonio & Charles. Featuring the founding Station Manager, Kirk Gardner from back in 1973, and the Managers from the last two decades, Bon Kelly, Greg Hooker, Kris Gruen, as well as our current manager, Llu Mulvaney-Stanak.
4pm–6pm: Sixteen Years of Geezer Rock - Geezer Rock hasn’t been around for 51 years, only since 2008. Still, to commemorate the 51st Anniversary of WGDR and in anticipation of the station's big "51st Party at the Pratt" on Saturday, Jeff is dipping back in the pool of tunes that have been played on Geezer Rock during the show's 16-year tenure on the airwaves, starting with its 2008 premiere and going year by year right up to 2024, so expect songs you might have heard before (and loved) from Foghat, Randy Bachman, Patti Smith, the Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, and maybe even the Monkees (from their 2016 comeback and farewell album). Happy birthday, WGDR!
6pm-9pm: Three hours of Barndance Bluegrass! The Grassers will debut their new, extended three-hour show slot, now 6-9pm every Friday.
Saturday, May 18 Programming
10am-noon: WGDR’s history, told by our own archives on Predictably Unpredictable. Host Chris Buckridge will be joined by Kate Phillips, of the Vermont Historical Society, as she shares what they’ve curated out of the station’s own archives.
2-4pm: Boxful of Blues with host John Foster, featuring special party check-ins and guests celebrating WGDR.
3-5pm: “Party at the Pratt!” The community is invited to come on down to the station for a big party at the Pratt building (inside and outside). Folks will enjoy live, local bluegrass music by the Grassers, good food, good company, tours of the station, and learn all about how Central Vermont Community Radio is taking WGDR and WGDH forward for the next 50 years. We’ll have live “check-ins” from the party on the air during Boxful of Blues and Acoustic Harmony. Rain location is inside the station! Details on the party and accommodations can be found here.
4-7pm: Acoustic Harmony will be featuring 3 hours of folk songs from the seventies! Host Mark will play classic folk tunes and singer songwriters from Laurel Canyon to the UK, and all from the 1970's. A couple of past WGDR show hosts will also join in for guest dj spots, and frequent 51st party live check ins with party guests too!
7-10pm Tune in for the “After Party” - a dance party mashup between Xav and KingTone live on the air.
Sunday, May 19 Programming
9-10am - Tonio, host of the Magical Mystery Tour, returns to welcome a co host Alan LePage, sticking around after Curse of the Golden Turnip, and guest Stu Batuz, a station manager from the 1990s, to share some history on the station.
5-7pm - Rick, host of Bon Mot, welcomes poet & medicinal apothecary farmer Taylor Katz of Free Verse Farm in Randolph and does an extra hour of Bon Mot, with past features of the Indie Kingdom youth program WGDR ran years ago.
7-9pm - Birthday Weekend “Wrap Party” on the Revel Level with DJ EhMmAhh
9-11pm - On the Spiral Galaxy with Tom, catch a “woefully incomplete exploration of synthesizers from 1962 to today.”
All our regularly scheduled shows throughout the weekend will bring you extra surprises and content all weekend long to celebrate this massive milestone for WGDR, Plainfield.
As part of this weekend, we’re looking to raise $2,500 as a “birthday gift” for WGDR to support the ongoing upgrades of a 51-year-old station! We’ve got matching donors and sponsors ready to match every dollar raised too, up to $3,000. Together, we could raise at least $5,100 to start the 51st year. Thanks to our sponsors: CVCR Board, an anonymous major donor, Onion River Campground, Washington Electric Coop, and Northfield Savings Bank.
Together, this birthday weekend will raise community connections and funds, and have fun for the station. We’re ready to party with you, tune in and come on down!
