Drexel’s student-run radio station, WKDU, will celebrate its 50th anniversary on July 17. The celebration will be a week-long event starting on July 10 and ending with a celebratory outdoor bash in Drexel Park.
WKDU Philadelphia 91.7FM is Drexel’s free-format non-commercial radio station located in the Crease Student Center basement. The station has brought in thousands of members since its creation and has been a big part of Philadelphia’s underground music scene ever since. WKDU is known for its musical diversity and its community-oriented approach.
“The 50th anniversary celebration gives us the great opportunity to celebrate and commemorate all current and past alumni that have made such a grand contribution to the station. This would include the Black Experience in Music, our Electronic Music Marathon, our Reggae Music Marathon and all the other DJs that have come through and made a name for themselves at WKDU,” Bart Jaskulski, WKDU’s general manager, said. “With this celebration, we’re looking to make ourselves situated for the next 50 years. Any donations that come through are gonna be used to upgrade our control rooms to make sure that the station can keep on running for the next 50 years.”
The first event is the July 10 Fundraiser Kick-off followed by The Black Experience in Music programming day. July 12-14 will be filled with special releases such as special edition merch, zine-reissues, a compilation album, an archive web page and much more. The On-Air Alumni Marathon will happen between July 15-17. The closing event will be WKDU’s outdoor birthday bash in Drexel Park, open to any members and listeners.
“It’s the biggest event of the summer, actually the biggest event of the whole year… actually the biggest event for music ever. WKDU is the most important thing in my life and hopefully, our birthday celebration plans will share how many others have been touched by the experience that college radio provides,” Derek Hengemihle, WKDU’s station manager, said.
For more information, visit 50.wkdu.org/.
