Editor’s Note: KFUG 101.1 FM is Redwood Voice Community News’s parent organization.
Have you ever wondered what’s lurking around Orick after dark?
Aisling Bludworth has and at 3 a.m. Sunday, she and Bryce Evans are going to regale KFUG 101.1 FM’s loyal listeners with a tale that turns on the roll of the dice.
“I have a real fascination with Orick,” Bludworth said of the former lumber community about 42 miles south of Crescent City. “It’s a tiny little town that I’ve passed through a few times. There are old buildings that are shuttered and quiet. Something about Orick calls to me — that’s the perfect setting for hunting monsters.”
Orick 95555 is one of the acts planned for this weekend’s Fugathon, a 24-hour fundraising event that will serve as the low-power radio station’s official relaunch in its temporary home at the United Methodist Church in Crescent City.
From 7 p.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday, the Fugathon is a good introduction to the patchwork of talents that have made KFUG Community Radio unique among Del Norte County radio stations.
This year’s fundraiser will feature favorites like Ray Loose Arrow, Skankin’ in the Pit and Shane McCullough Live. Lynn Szabo will host a broadcast of Health Matters and there will also be live music including AFS, Chemical Cabinet, Hugs and Antidote.
“You’re going to take a week’s worth of DJs and shove them in a room for 24 hours,” Bludworth told Redwood Voice Community News. “It’s a very concentrated dose of KFUG.”
The Fugathon has been KFUG’s annual fundraising drive since 2023. KFUG, itself, was the brainchild of Jim “Weird” Wayman and Paul Critz when it began as a Part 15 AM station that broadcasted via transmitters sprinkled around Crescent City. Occasionally the station reached Pelican Bay State Prison, KFUG board member John Degler told Redwood Voice in June after Critz retired.
“The interesting thing about Part 15 rules is there are no real rules — you could broadcast profanity,” Degler said. “But Paul was really strict about what went on the air. He always wanted to have some kind of news or public information to it. That had always been the goal.”
In about 2015, the Federal Communications Commission began seeking applications for low-power FM licenses. Critz was one of the first to submit an application and KFUG began broadcasting at 101.1 FM.
This year, after experiencing a change in leadership in June, KFUG has had to move to its new home at the United Methodist Church. There is currently no radio broadcast, though it’s still streaming online at kfugradio.org. Executive Director Heather Polen said KFUG will continue to be shaped by volunteers and it’s doing its best to get back on the airwaves.
After a brief hiatus, there will be returning DJs to KFUG, Polen said, but she was unable to share the details on how many will be coming back. There are also opportunities for people who want to try their hand at the mic.
“We can teach people how to use the equipment,” Polen told Redwood Voice.
KFUG Community News LLP is also the home of Redwood Voice Community News. According to Polen, one of the goals is to bring youth back to the organization’s news arm
“We are building out the intern program for youth to learn media production skills (and) journalism and will be hiring soon,” she said.
Meanwhile, as for the relaunch itself, Bludworth said she envisions a less grimy, more cleaner venue at the church — one that’s also a bit easier to get to for the public. She said she hopes the voices people hear during the Fugathon will be regular features as KFUG gets back up and running. To take a listen, click here.
