Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Nord-Ouest FM will be holding a radiothon March 17-19 to help raise funds to continue providing Francophone media to the public.
Executive director Gisèle Bouchard says the radio station holds radiothons to promote the radio station and to help generate extra income for the station.
“As a non-profit organization we rely largely on government funding, and we need to diversify our sources of income,” says Bouchard.
“The radiothon is a great way to bring the community together, to get various people involved in the community radio station, and it’s a great way to raise awareness.”
The radiothon is set to commence on March 17, and Nord-Ouest FM staff will be kicking off the afternoon with a live show from the Rural Northern Chicks’ Market at the Centre Chevaliers.
“(We are) hosting a variety of shows and live music on the air throughout the weekend,” she says.
“If things work out, we’re even trying to host a remote show from the SARDA Trade Show on Saturday morning.”
Nord-Ouest FM is located at Centre Chevaliers on Main Street Falher. The radio station started in 1996 and was run by the regional office of Association Canadienne-française de l’Alberta (ACFA) until 2017. A group of concerned residents worked together to ensure the radio station continued to operate, they established a non-profit organization in 2018 and relaunched the station in December 2019, rebranding and changing the station’s name.
The radiothon is being used to assure funds are available to keep the station operating in the community. Bouchard explains Nord-Ouest FM held its first radiothon last year as an independent organization.
“We raised over $10,000 in donations and sponsorships,” Bouchard says.
“We (held the radiothon) last year because we needed something to get the community involved and we need people to know that the radio station is now a separate organization from the regional ACFA, with its own aims and goals.”
Nord-Ouest FM covers the majority of the Peace Country, with its focal area being the Smoky River Region, Northern Sunrise County, and Peace River. Bouchard says the station’s main radio audience is a 100-km radius around Falher.
“Presently, our broadcasting tower only reaches a little beyond the Smoky River area,” she says.
“However, our live-streaming service through nordouestfm.ca and apps like RadioPlace allow anyone to listen to our content anywhere in the world. Nord-Ouest Fm is one of the top six stations featured on the RadioPlace app,” she adds.
The radio station has primarily Francophone content, but Bouchard says the CRTC agreement allows for up to 35 per cent content in English music, up to 10 per cent of English programming, and up to 10 per cent of content in languages other than French and English.
“This means that other cultural groups like the Ukrainian or Filipinos could produce and host a show on our airwaves,” says Bouchard.
“We’ve chosen to broadcast almost exclusively in French, an exception being made for local musical acts. We’re open to broadcasting any local artists and bands on our airwaves and we have specific times during the week exclusively reserved to local, Albertan, and Western Canadian music.”
The station currently entails a two-hour morning news program hosted by Bouchard. This includes local and Francophone news from Monday to Friday from 8-10 a.m. They also have Accent Nord-Ouest, a two-hour weekly show on Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m., hosted by Bernadette Levesque, focusing on the region’s residents. The program is 80 per cent French content and 20 per cent English content, featuring interviews, discussions and segments with people from around the region.
Local musicians are highlighted occasionally with dates posted on the radio’s social media page; this is called Les Artistes de Chez-nous. Tiernan Depuis Tokyo is a 30-minute show hosted by Larier Tiernan, a Franco-Albertan living in Tokyo, that focuses on up-and-coming and LGBTQ artists.
Bouchard also says the radio station plays a series of programs provided by other radio stations from across Canada.
“We do try to make room for the whole community, especially when we are involved in events such as the Honey Festival,” says Bouchard, explaining that although a Francophone station they want to ensure there is content for everyone.
“With last year’s Friday night line-up, we really tried to have a bit of everything for everyone as well as a good mix of English and French language content throughout the evening.”
Bouchard says they try to focus on local events, shows and news reports. She says Nord-Ouest FM collaborates with many local organizations to ensure people stay connected in the community and are provided with top notch coverage. She says the radiothon will help to ensure they can continue providing the popular programming.
“It’s so beneficial to our artists and to those who take part in our programming,” Bouchard says.
“The radiothon funding allows us to hire summer students at a higher wage, gives us the opportunity to pay the artists, and gives a voice to French-speakers in an Anglo normative world,” she adds.
Bouchard says they hope to hold the radiothon every year as it is the station’s main fundraiser.
“People from the Peace Country can help by donating throughout the month of March,” she says.
Bouchard says people can volunteer in many ways. Nord-Ouest FM is continually looking for new people to help and to contribute content to their airwaves.
“Musicians can come in and play, organizations or individuals can book an hour of airtime and host a show during the radiothon weekend where we provide technical support during the show and logistical support before hand to pick songs and plan out the show,” she explains.
“This is actually a great way for people or groups to get the word out about what they are up to and what is coming up. Business owners can donate items for our silent auction. And people can just stop in and listen to the shows, chat it up with our volunteers and find out what we’ve been up to.”
Bouchard says anyone interested in donating, volunteering or would like more information about the various programming can call Marianne Houle at (780) 837-2346 or email info@nordouestfm.ca.
They are also in need of more board members, so if anyone is interested, she urges them to reach out.
“I think it may be the radio station’s main goal to create a safe space where any level of French, any accent has a place on our airwaves,” Bouchard says.
“Our goal is to create a space where people from the area create content for and about the people and place they know,” she concludes.