BELIZE CITY–In commemoration of their 25th anniversary on the airwaves, KREM Radio, Belize’s first private radio station, will be holding an entire day of activities at the Memorial Park in Belize City next Monday, November 17.
The event is aimed at giving back to the community, its listeners in particular, through numerous giveaways and a full-fledged line of entertainment from early in the morning straight through to sundown.
Amandala spoke to KREM’s Evan “Mose” Hyde, who told us more about the event and gave us a rundown of what the celebration will entail.
He said, “Basically what we are doing is to move our whole broadcast studio to the Memorial Park, so that means all our various [daily] shows will be happening there, but the shows will be altered by the fact that we will have past personalities who will be contributing a little airtime too.”
Hyde said that they are overwhelmed by the opportunity to reconnect with those who have passed through their gates and played a part in their existence, as well as to celebrate with the supporters who have been along for the ride.
“During the day, we will be having a lot of giveaways, including cash accounts at various banks and round trip tickets to the US courtesy United Airlines. We will simulcast through [both] radio and TV, but the day will really be dedicated to giving back to the listeners and to the community because our journey is such that at critical junctions in the life and the journey, it’s really the people who saved this [radio station] and gave it the support to continue, whether it was attending an event we have had, or donating to the telethons that we have had, it really comes down to the people out there who have defended us because we feel that connection at this particular milestone to show that gratitude and give back, so it’s really going to be a day of mad giveaways”, Hyde told us.
He encouraged the public to come out to the event, since there will be food stalls with all sorts of dishes and snacks, as well as drink specials and a wide array of entertainment, but most of all, to witness the drawing of the 25 lucky winners who will each walk away with a land title for a portion of prime property in western Belize.
“Moving on to nighttime, that is when it turns a real mad affair because we have many artists who are giving up themselves – I say that because they said that they will come and perform for free, and that is a gesture of solidarity that you cannot explain in words what it means to us because, at the end of the day, that’s how they eat, so when an artist gives his performance for free, they are giving a lot of who they are, so we have respect for the fact that some of the legendary talents, some of the baddest living Belizean musicians — names such as Lord Rhaburn, Pen Cayetano, Supa G, and Chico Ramos, a mad, mad Belizean star who, though overlooked, has to be considered one of the greatest Belizean performers when taking a look at his body of work. We also have some future legends like Sweet Pain Band who is emerging, TR Shine, Blackberry, Positive Vibes, and these are just to name a few, in addition to living legend ‘soundmen’ like Stone Jam, so the compilation is just mad”, he continued.
Since earlier this year, KREM has been offering a variety of giveaways to listeners on its daytime shows in honor of its 25th anniversary, but since last month, the station has embarked on a momentous and unprecedented initiative to award twenty-five deserving Belizeans with 100×170-feet size properties at Mile 39 on the George Price Highway.
“Sometime around 9:00 p.m. or thereabout, they will draw out of the barrel 25 names from all the people who have called in to try to win one of those enormous lots in Frank’s Eddy Village, and 25 names will emerge, 25 first-time land owners; it is the greatest raffle ever in the history of Belize for the very fact that 1st place and 25th place get the same value – the value of a land, and you could get it appraised and know that you are not talking about no 3-digit [figures]. When you are talking about land, it’s minimum 4-digit, up to 5-digit land value and imagine 25 people will walk away with empowerment of a land title, so nothing like that has ever been done. We are making history in the Memorial Park, come Monday, that is to put it very conservatively”, Hyde highlighted.
As a matter of fact, KREM first made history when it opened its doors on November 17, 1989 alongside the government-run Radio Belize, which was the country’s only radio station at the time.
Despite facing a myriad of adversities over the years, the station has stood its ground, many times through the unwavering support of fans and listeners across the length and breadth of the country.