(L-R) Kyle Blase, Jenny Handel and Greg Bebetich heard about KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee on the radio, and they thought they’d check it out. They consider themselves KRCL donors and aficionados. Photo: John Barkiple
KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee filled the Gallivan Center with hundreds of cheerful listeners, donors and volunteers. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) KRCL board chair Daela Taeoalii-Higgs, Ellen Parrish, and KRCL DJ John Florence prepare an opportunity drawing for gift baskets of wine or high-point beer. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Olivia Walker, Megan Kearl, Annika Lindsay, Amelia Christensen and Emily Boren enjoy food truck fare from Chow Truck and Fiore Wood-Fired Pizza. Photo: John Barkiple
VFA volunteer DeAnn Zebelean (center, in a white jacket) is surrounded by VFA and KRCL youth radio DJs at the VFA clothing donation table for homeless youth. Proceeds from the Polar Jubilee benefited VFA’s homeless youth programs. Check voaut.org/home4teens to learn more or donate. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Jake Miller, Rio Connelly, Casey Carrigan and Alex Littlefield pour from kegs of Proper Brewing Company’s KRCaLe, a seasonal ale created in collaboration with KRCL’s staff. While DJ Bad Brad might have preferred a tart Saison, KRCaLe is a dark, hoppy beer suitable for winter drinking. Photo: John Barkiple
Two Nations perform at KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Double daters John Anderson and Bella Didier join Dan Jorgensen and Meredith Larsen for dinner and a Two Nations performance at KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee “The Internet said it’d be awesome,” Larsen said. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Ben Beacom, Mary Nejatifar, DJ Shanalee Otanez, Kali Sutherland, Elida Vargas, Phoenix Poore, Jade Matkin and Chandler Tippins from KRCL’s Loud and Clear youth radio program volunteered to help set up the Gallivan Center. Otanez is proud of their fine writing as they prepare their second round of radio shows. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Victor Naranjo and Diana Garcia came out to see National Parks at KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Whitney NoLastName and Mark Nelson are on their second date after meeting on OKCupid. They started on neutral ground at Blue Copper Coffee, and decided to try the Jubilee for round two. If he plays it right, she might tell him her last name on date number three. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Josh Letsinger and Becky Ablad are on their fourth date after she made her play at Bourbon House. Ablad faked a boot buckle failure to stand next to Letsinger’s table where she flirted her way into his group and scored his phone number. He appreciates DJ Bad Brad’s consistently fresh playlists, while she’s interested in KRCL’s different perspectives. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Heidi McDaniel, Janson Cross, Secily Tinyhand and Hillary Mauermann pose for Photo Collective’s Dave Brewer at the photo booth for KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee. Tinyhand and Mauermann love the Women Who Rock radio show – they even have the lunchboxes to prove it. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Bailey Peterson, Teresa Vaughn and Jodi Reese listen to KRCL all the time. Vaughn’s donations to KRCL earned her a backstage pass to events such as the Polar Jubilee. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Bob Plachta, Nancy Carlson, Omar Abou-Ismail and Sam Aziz take a break from the chilly plaza for beers and snacks upstairs at the Gallivan Center. PopArt Popcorn offered seven flavors at a popcorn bar. Learn more at the popartsnacks.com website. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Sally and Tom Loken worked the ID verification station at KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee, and they listen to KRCL every day. KRCL is her first choice with KUER following close behind. Photo: John Barkiple
The National Parks perform at KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Wyatt Maxwell and HyeSoo Dixon are enthusiastic supporters of KRCL, and Maxwell occasionally breaks into his vinyl collection to help keep DJ Bad Brad’s show fresh. “KRCL’s Dirty Boulevard introduced me to some ‘70s new wave punk that’d I’d have never listened to on my own,” Maxwell said. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Leah Heathersmith, Sarah Louise Duensing and Mallory Mavina Robbins were talking about Sugarhouse’s new Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant when Duensing said, “I love me some fried pickles on this end.” Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Chase Murdock and Stephanie Petry order coffee from Nick Bryce at the Three Pines Coffee booth at KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee. Photo: John Barkiple
Chow Truck and Fiore Wood-Fired Pizza anchored the west end of KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee. Lines were long, but the service was food-truck fast and friendly. Photo: John Barkiple
The Gallivan Center’s ice skaters added romantic energy to KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee. For hand-holding couples, an ice-skating selfie is Instagram gold. Photo: John Barkiple
Fire pits and colored lights made for a magical night at KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Proper Brewing Company’s Liam and Elizabeth Connelly drink KRCaLe brewed in collaboration with the KRCL staff. With an hour to go, the four kegs of beer he brought are almost gone. Fans of KRCaLe can still enjoy a pint at the Avenues Proper restaurant, but he expects the tap to run dry by February. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) KRCL DJ Eugenia Hero-Jaffe and KRCL board member Kaneischa Johnson get ready to bring Fictionist to the stage. Johnson booked the bands for the Polar Jubilee and she manages Provo’s Velour Live Music Gallery. Photo: John Barkiple
The headliner, Fictionist, closes out KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee. Photo: John Barkiple
(L-R) Kyle Blase, Jenny Handel and Greg Bebetich heard about KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee on the radio, and they thought they’d check it out. They consider themselves KRCL donors and aficionados. Photo: John Barkiple
For the sixth year in a row, KRCL celebrated its birthday with a polar jubilee. The radio station is 36 years old and still going strong. Hundreds of fans, donors, sustainers, volunteers and KRCL staff bundled up and swarmed the Gallivan Center for an evening of music, food and conversation.
KRCL is crucial to the diversity of Salt Lake’s radio scene, but the station’s reliance on donations puts it in a tricky situation. Donors consistently provide KRCL with the funds it needs to offer eclectic programming throughout the week and provide a metaphorical “town square” in which all manner of Utahns can meet and mingle. And on a magical night like the Polar Jubilee, the metaphor becomes reality as the Gallivan Center fills with public radio supporters of all stripes.
From the Three Pines Coffee booth by the ticket table to the Salt Lake Photo Collective photo booth upstairs above the Gallivan Plaza, KRCL’s 2015 Polar Jubilee offered something for everyone. Hungry guests stood in line for Chow Truck tacos or for Fiore Wood-Fired Pizza and ate dinner standing under heat lamps or seated at communal fire pits. Coordinated guests even strapped on skates and took a few turns around the rink east of KRCL’s fenced event.
On the plaza, tables against a fence created a perimeter filled with activity centered around a giant tree covered in colored lights. On the north end, volunteers from Volunteers for America collected clothing donations for homeless youth. Proper Brewing Company poured pints of their KRCaLe, a collaboration between brewers and KRCL DJs and staff that produced a dark, hoppy ale. Another table offered a selection of wines. On the south end, bands performed on the Gallivan stage.
The upstairs event space at the Gallivan Center gave Polar Jubilee guests a chance to warm up and grab a pint of beer or a glass of wine. Dave Brewer was up there with a prop-filled photo booth experience to celebrate KRCL’s birthday, and PopArt Snacks had a seven-flavor popcorn bar filled with surprises like Thai coconut curry, nori sesame and white cheddar jalapeño.
Three bands kept revelers on their feet as the evening’s chilly air grew colder. Two Nations started at 6:00 p.m. and drew a crowd that swelled as The National Parks took the stage. By the time Fictionist started playing, Samba Fogo was also performing to a warmer crowd upstairs above the plaza.
In the end, loyal KRCL volunteers struck the tables and corralled the fences and called it a night as the moon waited to rise above a festive tree in Salt Lake’s town square.
