Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) will host a free Listener Appreciation Event from 5 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 22 at the River Prairie Center in Altoona.
Several WPR program hosts will attend, along with local WPR staff members. The open-house style event will feature refreshments and a cash bar will be available. Pianist Josh Gallagher will provide live music through both hours of the event.
Advance registration is encouraged, and may be completed at www.wpr.org/presents, where additional information is also available.
WPR program hosts who will attend include Rob Ferrett, Lori Skelton and Al Ross. Ferrett hosts “Central Time” on The Ideas Network from 3 to 7 p.m. on weekdays while Skelton hosts “Afternoon Classics” from 1 to 3 p.m. on weekdays and “Wisconsin Classical” on Sundays from 1 to 2 p.m., both on the NPR News and Classical Music Network.
The event will include a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of “Spectrum West,” a program produced in Eau Claire and hosted by Ross. The show focuses on western Wisconsin arts, culture and humanities and airs on The Ideas Network at 10 a.m. Thursdays with a repeat broadcast at 7 p.m. on Fridays on WUEC (89.7, Eau Claire) and WVSS (90.7, Menomonie) which are part of WPR’s news and classical music network.
“Spectrum West” correspondents Jim Oliver and Katharine Thomas will also attend the event, which is intended to say thanks to the WPR audience. It will include yard games, giveaways and some surprises, according to a WPR press release.
WPR attendees will also include Dean Kallenbach, regional manager and host of “The West Side,” the issues-based call-in program with a western Wisconsin focus that airs on The Ideas Network at 10 a.m. on Mondays. Others from WPR will include reporters Rich Kremer, Liz Dohms and Clara Neupert, along with staff and volunteers from WPR’s Eau Claire office.
Ferrett’s “Central Time” program takes a different approach each hour to cover a mix of topics that range from current news developments to cultural trends and ideas of all sorts. The four-hour program can be heard on The Ideas Network, which includes WHWC (88.3, Menomonie) and WRFW (88.7, River Falls).
WPR is a service of the Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.