Do you have a story about you and CKUA that you’d like to share with us? Please let us know by writing us. We’d love to feature it! What do such stories look like? Well, here’s one by our beloved host, Leo Cripps!
My involvement with different cultural organizations and events in Calgary consistently kept CKUA in my life – or maybe it was the other way around!
After 25 years in radio, I left in 2010 to spend more time with family. In 2016 [CKUA’s former Content Director] Kevin Wilson requested I host one of the four weeks of The Take Away, leading up to the launch of the new CKUA Calgary Foundation studio. Little did I know, this was a job interview!
For a couple of years we kept in touch, but it was while I was in Vienna in 2018 that the email came: “It’s time to talk about Your New Show!”
I wasn’t ready to go back to radio but neither Kevin nor [CKUA’s current Content Director] David Ward wanted to hear no.
“But….” I started. Only to be interrupted by Kevin.
“No buts… we’ll have a chin wag when you get back. When are you back?”
A week later I was ‘cornered’ at the Calgary Folk Music Festival. Journeys became a reality on CKUA in September! Imagine the first episode of a new show on a long-running station with a very diverse audience, in front of a live studio audience–the butterflies inside were prevalent.
Journeys is a metamorphosis of ideas–a global music program exploring unique cultures and music; after all what is a journey without new experiences? It is a curated experience for CKUA listeners, multicultural and diverse in its content, educating on music and cultures not readily available.
Almost two years of Journeys has passed and I’m grateful I complied with Kevin and David. Each week, I get to present programs that keep listeners entertained and engaged.
The CKUA family has instilled the confidence for me to continue making good radio.
Thanks again for telling us this origin story about you and CKUA, Leo! We love hearing your show, Journeys, on Saturdays from 1:00 to 3:00 PM (MT)!
Please email us if you would like to share your own CKUA story with our community!