CKUA Holiday Programming Schedule 2021-2022

While a few familiar CKUA voices will be off enjoying the holiday season with family and friends, ’tis the season to meet up with some other radio friends! Expect to hear more from Hayley Muir, Marek Tyler, Aaron Au, Brian Golightly, Oskar Zybart, Erin Ross, Keri Rak and Amy van Keeken over the holidays.

This year’s holiday offerings include festive editions of your favourite CKUA shows, with hosts looking back at their favourite releases of the year. We’ll spend New Year’s Eve counting down the Top 100 most-played albums of 2021 from 6am-6pm, and ring in 2022 with a special New Year’s Eve Bash hosted by Lionel Rault!

CKUA’s Holiday Programming Schedule Tuesday, Dec 21 – Tuesday, Jan 4

Friday, December 24 (Christmas Eve):

Join us for Holiday-themed programs, including Andy Donnelly’s Celtic Show Christmas Eve special celebrating family, community, caring, and companionship, with music of the season from the Celtic world. Celeigh Cardinal will share Christmas songs in multiple Indigenous languages. Plus, Cam Hayden brings you a special Friday Night Blues Party chock full of Christmas blues favourites.

Saturday, December 25 (Christmas Day):

Gather around the radio for festive editions of beloved CKUA shows. Our Saturday Breakfast guest host Aaron Au will have Christmas music that the whole family can enjoy from the sacred, to the screen and stage–everything from Handel’s Messiah to music from John Williams’ iconic score for Home Alone. There will also be an opportunity to hear some of Tchaikovsky’s iconic score to the Nutcracker ballet alongside Duke Ellington’s take on this famous work. Wide Cut Country will be all seasonal music, as Allison Brock shares some of her favourite Christmas memories along the way. Mulligan Stew features the long-lost Christmas in the Round featuring Barney Bentall, Shari Ulrich, Roy Forbes, Jim Byrnes, Craig Northey and Shaun Verreault trading songs and stories.

Sunday, December 26 (Boxing Day):

The Road Home contemplates the BOX in our lives. From boxcars to moving boxes, the jukebox to the penalty box, box-socials, hat boxes, the soap box, the mail box, the boxing ring. And along the way we riddle the questions: what the heck is Boxing Day? And why do humans live in boxes? Plus, it’s B-Side Beatles Revisited on Roy’s Record Room. With all the excitement around Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary, Roy revisits a fab-four magical mystery ride exploring B-sides of the Beatles Canadian Capitol and Apple singles from 1963 to 1970.

Friday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve / Top 100 Albums of 2021 countdown)

What better way to celebrate New Year’s Eve than looking back on the year’s best-loved albums? From 6am to 6pm (MT), Oskar Zybart, Amy van Keeken, and Brian Golightly count down CKUA’s Top 100 most played albums of 2021. Celeigh Cardinal will share some of her favourite singles of 2021 on the final Full Circle of 2021. Then, Cam Hayden gets in on the action by highlighting the best in blues for 2021 on a two-hour Friday Night Blues Party. And Lionel Rault will help you ring in the new year with a live special: CKUA’s New Year’s Eve Bash from 11pm-1am (MT)!

Saturday, January 1 (New Year’s Day)

Spend New Year’s Day with your favourite Saturday hosts, as the celebration of the year that was 2021 continues. Saturday Breakfast guest host Aaron Au will be taking in the best of the Viennese tradition of the Neujahrskonzert. In case you’re still feeling the effects of their previous night’s entertainments, Aaron will make sure to keep the “light” in light opera and make sure there is plenty of fun and frivolity in music of Lehar, von Suppe, Johann Strauss Jr. and more. Allison Brock, Leeroy Stagger, Terry David Mulligan and more will look back on their top releases of 2021. Plus, Mulligan Stew delivers a soundtrack to move you from the kitchen to the table; and a conversation with Canadian comedy legend Rick Mercer.

Sunday, January 2

Sunday’s Road Home will re-visit The Leonard Cohen celebration, two hours dedicated to the words and music of our cultural icon.