Little Light Duo performs a cover of Gerry Rafferty’s Right Down the Line at the Kiama Community Radio Stations third birthday celebration at the Kiama Leagues Club Friday evening on the 25th of August 2023.
The Kiama Community Radio (KCR), a non-profit station, first launched during the pandemic, celebrated its third birthday at the Kiama Leagues Club.
The station, established to rekindle connectivity within the local community during a time of disconnection, hosted the event to fundraise for a recording studio.
Community members, volunteers and KCR supporters attended to commemorate how far the KCR station has come in three years.
Local bands Cha Cha del Mar, Little Light duo, Pearl Noire, The Spayds and The Kiama Sea Shanties supported the event with live performances.
The programs manager for KCR station, Gabriela Cabral, said she was surprised about the support received for the event.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have the support of these musicians and artists who are performing for free,” said Ms Cabral.
“We support them in performing and promoting their music, but we never expected this level of generosity.”
A variety of silent auction prizes donated by the community and businesses such as Blooms the Chemist and Manning St Cellar.
KCR presenter, Carol Goddard said that the event had been planned for months.
“It’s a sponsorship night and we are hoping to get a lot of interest so that we can have sponsorship from the local business community,” Carol said.
“We want to celebrate the fact that 3 years ago we started with nothing, and we have survived, and we are now streaming 24/7 live and are now aiming at an FM license.”
The radio station is currently operating through the Kiama Community app, where users can access the live stream. They have six morning and evening programs where presenters discuss topics such as books, travel, life, what’s on in Kiama and more.
Gabriela Cabral said that the KCR station face significant challenges due to not having an office space or a recording studio. Based in a small space in the Kiama Business Chamber, the station relies on donated technology.
“Our big challenges are that we need a recording studio, because at the moment we are broadcasting from the only studio we have so we have got nowhere to record. Having said that we have nowhere to put this recording studio we are lobbying council to let us have a room in the business chamber offices,” Cabral said.
“We desperately need a home,
“An FM license means more visibility, more outreach and more support from the community.”
To support Kiama Community Radio, volunteer and sponsorship options can be found on their website.