By Lorna Reese

Last year, Lopez resident and past KLOI board member, Anne Karp, attended the live radio show, West Coast Live, in San Francisco.  During the show, clever, funny and masterful host Sedge Thomson, found out Karp lived on Lopez, where he had spent summers as a youth.

When he told her the island has a special place in his heart, the wheels in Karp’s mind started spinning. Soon they were exchanging emails about broadcasting from Lopez, and now West Coast Live is set to record a show on Lopez, with local, Lopez “personalities,” at Lopez Center on Friday, July 22, at 7 p.m.

The nationally-syndicated, two-hour variety performance features a rich mix of writers, thinkers, humor, music, interviews and audience participation and often records programs on location around the West.

“Lopez has been written about for its natural beauty and outdoor and artistic activities for years,” says Kathy Booth, chairman of the KLOI board. “And we’re thrilled that now even our low power fm radio station is getting national recognition. The show has a million and a half listeners in 14 states and usually broadcasts from the San Francisco Bay area. They also like to go on location around the western U.S. and for them to come to Lopez is huge.”

For Carol Steckler, KLOI board member, community radio is important because it serves the whole country even with local programs.

“It brings people, values, lifestyles and culture to folks in distant parts of the U.S.,” Steckler said. “And it’s a terrific opportunity for us on Lopez to showcase some of our ‘characters,’ artists and activists to a national audience.”

West Coast Live has not yet settled on the guest list for the July 22 show, so you’ll have to come to the event to see what “characters” appear.

“The opportunity to share the richness of life on our small island with the rest of the country is a real coup,” echoes Booth. “It’s truly in keeping with our station’s “real” name: Gathering of Island Voices and Expressions – or GIVE.”

The July 22 show will be presented by Lopez Center and KLOI and proceeds will benefit both organizations.

”West Coast Live’s goal is to showcase the West to the rest of the country and we are a unique part of the West,” says Steckler. “Also, Sedge’s generous nature is to personally serve stations that broadcast West Coast Live as we do on KLOI, every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.”

The program will be broadcast on West Coast Live at a later, as yet undetermined, date. It will be archived to KLOI’s website later this month for listening on line or downloading to iPods.

Tickets for the show are available at lcca.org and at Blossom, Paper Scissors, Islehaven and Islandale.

KLOI, a low-power community radio station, began broadcasting in April, 2008 at 102.9 on the FM dial. Information about programs and other news can be found at kloi.org. KLOI also has a Facebook page.