“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
From a speech by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at Riverside Church in 1967,
“I have been to the mountaintop”: Martin Luther King’s last speech.
Station News
Joel Raymond Tribute Party – January 18
Many thanks to all the organizers, musicians, The Grand, and everyone who came out to celebrate Joel! It was a great night in all ways, with excellent music and community!
(Photo: Shirt Tail Kin performing at the Joel Raymond Tribute, with a photo of Joel onscreen on the air, provided by his son, Josh Raymond.)
Joel was a long time resident of Ellsworth (Joyville) and was a music producer, supporter, WERU Community Radio DJ (host of Friday On the Wing for over 30 years), and all around good guy and lover of life.
Read more for event poster.
Talk of the Towns: Helping Maine Downtowns Thrive
Every Maine town and city has its unique story and character, and each works to support vitality in the present while honoring that history. With support from The Maine Downtown Network local groups in Ellsworth and Belfast, along with 9 other Maine communities work to help their downtowns thrive.
On the first Talk of the Towns for the new year, co-hosts Ron Beard and Liz Graves are in conversation with Cara Romano, Director of Heart of Ellsworth, Amanda Cunningham, Executive Director of Our Town Belfast, along with Sylvie Piquet, Program Director for the Maine Downtown Center at the Maine Development Foundation.
Perhaps you are looking for ways to help your own downtowns and village centers thrive.
Make a note to tune in to the recording, Wednesday afternoon from 4 to 5, January 8, when the Talk of the Towns is Maine downtowns!
Photo Courtesy of Heart of Ellsworth.
Public Affairs Program: We Are Queer
We Are Queer, hosted by Olivia Paruk, is a monthly half hour show discussing being LGBTQ+ in Maine and beyond! We Are Queer, highlights the touching experiences from Maine’s diverse LGBTQ+ community that builds empathy and understanding in our greater community. If you have feedback for the show or want to get in touch email info@weru.org with WERQ in the subject line.
Episode 1 – Pepin: Discovery of Self
Episode 2 – Father Douglas: God Does Not Create Junk
Episode 3 – Bo Dennis: Finding Queer Joy Through Farming
You can also listen to all the episodes wherever you get podcasts!
Public Affairs Program: What’s the Word on Maine Street
What’s the Word on Maine Street, hosted by Sarah Pebworth, is a weekly short feature every Saturday at 9:30am looking at local word and literary arts events and offerings!
You can listen to all the episodes in the WERU archives!
One Small Step Wins Award!
WERU’s One Small Step Project (undertaken in partnership with StoryCorps) has been recognized by the Maine Association of Broadcasters for excellence, and at the annual MAB Awards Gala on October 26, we received First Place in the “Radio Feature” category. Congratulations to WERU, and especially to our facilitators and producers Michele Christle and Chris Battaglia! Wonderful work!
More good news: WERU has been accepted by StoryCorps as an alumni hub station for another round of One Small Step this fall! More information is available by emailing onesmallstep@weru.org, as well as at https://weru.org/one-small-step-2024.
Back in June 2023, we put out a call. We were looking for people who were willing to come together for an hour-long facilitated conversation with a stranger with different viewpoints, during which they would be invited to get to know each other as people, through listening to each other’s stories. As you can imagine, the response was mixed. But by the end of 2023, over a hundred people had signed up to participate…
Check out this New York Times article about this StoryCorps One Small Step project, and this Bangor Daily News article about WERU and One Small Step!
Meet DJ Coco
Interview by Katy Green, Member Board of Directors
DJ Coco is the host of Golden Hour, Saturdays 5-6pm.
Tell me about your path leading up to you volunteering at WERU.
I’ve been a musician for many years now and I have typically made friends and found community through playing music. Since moving to Maine, it’s been harder for me to find folks to play music with so I thought community radio might be a good way to meet fellow music lovers and I was right.
2024 Word Literary Festival
The 2024 Word Literary Festival in Blue Hill, October 25-27, was a big success and WERU was there to record it. Listen here for fascinating conversations with authors Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Lev Grossman, as well as moving readings at Poets Aloud! with Kathleen Ellis, Dave Morrison, and Maya Williams. Thanks to Word for providing WERU will the opportunity to record and present this content!
Check out the Updates to WERU’s App!
Have you heard about the recent updates to the WERU app? We’re always trying to improve this service, and two new features under the menu icon are pretty cool. One is called “station news,” which you can select to get articles about the latest goings on at WERU. The other is labelled “your voice,” which gives you the ability to record a station identification or tell us why you listen to WERU, both of which could be broadcast on the station. So, if you want to add your voice to the “Voice of Many Voices,” use this feature and we’ll give it a listen, and you never know, you might hear yourself over the airwaves or on the internet. That’s the every-improving WERU app for your phone or other mobile device, available for free at your favorite app store. Check it out!
Featured Artist of the Week
“Morning Maine” Featured Artist of the Week: RACHEL SUMNER & TRAVELING LIGHT
Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light is our “Featured Artist of the Week”! Tune in each weekday morning at 7:45 AM (ET) to hear our volunteer disc jockey play at least one song from Rachel’s newest album and then give away a FREE pair of guest list passes to see the group performing at The Camden Opera House on Friday, February 7th at 7:30 PM (29 Elm Street).