Ryan LeuteritzKCRW, Santa Monica College’s premier radio station, closed out their popular KCRW Summer Nights series by bringing the party to Orange County for the first time, in partnership with Irvine development company and community builder FivePoint. This past weekend, in promotion of Irvine’s StoryCorps experience, “Stories from the O.C.,” 2,500 attendees packed Cadence Park for an end-of-summer block party while DJs Travis Holcombe and Valida entertained the crowd for hours, even through light rain.
Stories from the OC installation. (Damian Tsutsumida)
In addition to live music, attendees were treated to multiple food trucks, craft beers, wines and even educational workshops. KRCW hosted recurring 20-minute interactive workshops throughout the event, called “Ask A Great Question, Get A Great Story,” taught by veteran journalists and podcasters Jesse Hardman and Andrea Galdamez. These workshops aimed to educate attendees about starting important conversations through important questions.
Armed with techniques from the “Ask A Great Question, Get A Great Story” workshops, attendees recorded their stories at the StoryCorps recording center at Cadence Park. StoryCorps is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving humanity’s stories through audio recordings. This Peabody Award-winning organization has hosted recording installations around the world, dating back to 2003, with their first appearance at Grand Central Station in New York City. StoryCorps projects have tackled subjects like 9/11, mass incarceration, and the plights of minority groups in the U.S., boasting the largest collection of African American stories ever collected.
Stories from the OC recording booth. (Damian Tsutsumida)
StoryCorps’ latest venture, “Stories from the O.C.” focuses on Orange County and the many diverse stories that have given our home its character. Stories from the O.C. features a beautiful recording environment, inspired by California campgrounds, complete with a “faux fire” and an airstream trailer, where O.C. residents have been encouraged to record their own stories as well as interview others. O.C. residents of all backgrounds have made the trip to Cadence Park to recount their own unique experiences, in an effort to fill StoryCorps’ online library with genuine and interesting stories to be shared with humanity for generations to come.
Recordings can be made by appointment through the Stories from the O.C. website. Recordings are typically done between two people, so it is recommended that you bring a friend or family member to your recording appointment. Upon Stories from the O.C.’s completion, on December 31, StoryCorps will upload the entire library of recorded stories to the Library of Congress, as a rich auditory history of Orange County, as told by Orange County residents.
KCRW Summer Nights attendees enjoyed recurring 20-minute interactive workshops throughout the evening entitled “Ask A Great Question, Get A Great Story.” (Damian Tsutsumida)
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