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WPKN April 2023 e-Newsletter
Note from Steve di Costanzo, GM of Community Radio Station WPKN 89.5-FM

WPKN 89.5-FM Music Mash ’23-Record Fair + Westport Public Library Screens WPKN Doc + Sound & Vision II in New Haven

April is here. As I type this e-Newsletter I’m checking to see if it's a themed month of special activities for WPKN. We just finished with Women's Month and Black History Month. I don’t see anything specific for ‘special’ programming. What I do see this month is our biggest annual fundraiser (maybe bi-annual) of the year- Music Mash Record Fair ’23 coming on Saturday April 22 in downtown Bridgeport at Read’s ArtSpace. We love doing the event at this historic location because it’s a very large gallery space with good lighting and free parking. This year we’ll have a few food trucks and local vendors and some of the biggest Vinyl Record/CD/music merchandise dealers in New England. We are very happy to also be working with Park City Music Hall as a ‘marketing partner’ for this event. We’ve lowered the prices a bit and planned it as part of Record Store Day. We are running free PSA’s to help our ‘Mom and Pop’ local record stores get the word out as well. Please support your local record stores! Please come out and see us...and tell a friend too.

The recent VersoFest at The Westport Library was fun and informative. WPKN was a media partner and there were loads of WPKN’ers participating and hanging out. (see photo below of Chris Frantz with keynote guest Steve Lilywhite; the 'Beehive Queen' Christine Ohlman interviewing Miriam Linna from Norton Records; Legends Beats and Grooves Connecticut Hip Hop 50th Anniversary)

WPKN will be involved at the Westport Library again on Sunday, April 16 as they screen the WPKN documentary film for free – ‘The Greatest Radio Station in the World’ free of charge. (see story below)

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Information on Music Mash '23
Saturday, April 22
8am-5pm
REG $5 | Early Bird $15
Full-Page ad on Page 9 in The Sound Magazine- Music & Culture For CT & NY
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VersoFest at the Westport Library
Westport Library Movie Screening of WPKN's Documentary Film -
'The Greatest Radio Station in the World'
Sunday, April 16th
2pm to 4:30pm
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Westport Library, Westport, CT
Film Screening: 'The Greatest Radio Station in the World'
Sun, April 16 @ 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm EDT

Verso Studios at The Westport Library presents a screening of the 2022 documentary, The Greatest Radio Station in the World, in the Trefz Forum.

This film tells the 60-year history of WPKN radio, 89.5 FM, launched in Bridgeport in 1962, and still going strong. The station broadcasts to 1.5 million people in Connecticut, Long Island, and parts of New York and Massachusetts. Operating 24/7 and largely run by volunteers, WPKN offers a unique and eclectic mix of live and recorded music, news, public affairs, spoken word, arts & culture, and other free-form programming which defy genre.

Please register here for this event. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/film-screening-the-greatest-radio-station-in-the-world-tickets-531122751447

The filmmaker, Cob Carlson, will do a short intro prior to the screening with GM Steve di Costanzo. The title for the film came from a 2021 New Yorker magazine article entitled "On Air with the Greatest Radio Station in the World," which described how "you can hear a Stevie Wonder song performed by an all-women jazz septet or twenty minutes of Tuvan throat singing."

The mission of WPKN.org is to strengthen and enrich the community through programming that is provocative, innovative, and free from commercial influence and promotes diversity, tolerance, and freedom of expression.

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Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour Celebrating 65 Years
Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 7:00 PM
Quick Center for the Arts Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT

As one of the world’s longest running and most iconic events, the Monterey Jazz Festival — running continuously since 1958 — celebrates its 65th year with a must-hear, once-in-a-lifetime ensemble. Featuring Grammy Award-winning vocalist Kurt Elling alongside new vocal sensation and Monterey Jazz Festival break-out star Veronica Swift, and critically acclaimed rising star saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, this stellar band will be directed by visionary pianist (and CT-native) Christian Sands and anchored by his longtime rhythm section, bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Clarence Penn.

(WPKN is a Media Partner for this event)
SOUND & VISION II
New Haven
March 11- May 6th

CLOSING EVENT Wed. May 3 at Cafe 9
Read and listen:
https://www.newhavenarts.org/arts-paper/articles/sound-vision-ii-sets-the-record-straight

https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/institute_library_march_2023

https://soundcloud.com/wpkn895/live-culture-episode-79-womens-history-month-for-the-record?in=wpkn895/sets/live-culture-with-martha

Sound & Vision II: For the Record
Celebrating Feminism, Music and Visual Art with a Group Exhibition of Imaginary Album Covers!
• Closing Reception! Wednesday, May 3, 2023 | 5-7pm

ABOUT THE CLOSING RECEPTION:
Our closing reception will take place on Wednesday, May 3 at the gallery. At 7pm we will then move to an AFTERPARTY AT CAFE 9 with women DJs, a cash bar and lots of dancing and fun! It is essential that if you wish to attend the afterparty, you must book free tickets in advance. Click here to book tickets free!* (https://www.tixr.com/groups/cafenine/events/sound-vision-ii-for-the-record-afterparty-64613)
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The art exhibition For the Record is a feminist celebration of music and visual art. It will take place at the historic Institute Library in New Haven from March 11 through May 6 in honor of Women’s History Month. The exhibit features dozens of artists who submitted through open call to make imaginary record album covers. The title—For the Record—comes from setting the “record” straight. Being allowed to speak- or sing- for ourselves, in our own true voices. This is a diverse and inclusive exploration of the roles of women in music.

For the Record will not only feature memorabilia from notable musicians but also album covers designed by local artists, and some treasures unearthed from WPKN’s extensive vinyl archive.

For the Record was curated by Martha Willette Lewis as a collaboration between The Institute Library, WPKN Community Radio and Café 9. The exhibit will feature an opening reception on March 11 with a May 6 closing reception and dance party to wind the whole thing down in style. The Gallery Upstairs at The Institute Library is located at the Institute Library, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven CT.
Don’t miss this fun, festive and imaginative exploration of feminism and creativity!
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Participating: Amanda Bouquet, Amelia Maurer, Amy Wachtel, Angelica Sistrunk, Ann Kennedy, Carol Snyder, Christine Ohlman, Claudia Doring Baez, Corinthia Saez, Dika Kuljis, Dylan Strazar, Emily Herberich, Eva Geertz, Eve Hars, George Corsillo, Jahmal Henderson, Jeff Sokolowski, Joanne Connon, Jody Clouse, John Keefer, Julia Cumming , Julie Bowers Murphy, Kathleen DeMeo, Linda Lindroth, Martha Willette Lewis, Matt Feiner, Michelle Beaulieu-Morgan, Mohan Maharaj, Sr, Patrick Carroll, Linda Lindroth, , Sally Hill & Tim Nighswander, Regan Avery, Sadie Grey Murphy, Sue Czark, T.M. Stewart, Tammy Faye Starlite, Tina Sarno, V.V. Aldebaran McEvoy, The Collection of Alec Cumming, The Collection of Eva Geertz, The Collection of Del La Pietro, The Collection of Steve di Costanzo, The Collection of WPKN
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The Gallery Upstairs at the Institute Library features a challenging roster of contemporary art exhibitions throughout the year. We offer visual art with strong connections to words, language, literature, libraries, and collections, with the active interest of sparking dialogue, providing a locus and salon for visual culture within our community. 
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WPKN Legacy Society
WPKN is fortunate to have a to have a volunteer- Ed Pitari- who spent much of his career working in the non-profit space as a consultant on 'Legacy Giving.' Pitari has helped WPKN take that first step to enhance sustainability through estate planning. We are asking you to consider becoming a member of the WPKN Legacy Society and insure our mission for the next generation of listeners. 

By making a planned gift you will be joining like-minded people who have invested in our future. This is easily accomplished by making a provision in your estate plans to include WPKN. There are several ways this can be done.

If you have any quick questions please email us at development@wpkn.org or call the WPKN office during working hours at 203-331-9756
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