After a hiatus, it’s grand to be back with The Barry Awards, our annual celebration of the great work and contributions of our members. This year’s ceremony was held at the auditorium of The Charlotte Street Arts Centre on the evening of April 2. It was great seeing so many of the members gathered to celebrate their own!
The event was emceed by Station Manager Mark Kilfoil, and the event was organized, decorated and carried out by Program Director Erin Bond, with assistance from several volunteers.
The Awards
- Most Creative Show Promo: Synapse Radio
- Most Streamed Online: Testing For Echo
- Best Use of the Library: Throwback Shack
- Best Returning Show: People Need Music
- Joe Blades Memorial
Director’s Choice: Long-Term Volunteer: Ryan Howard
This award, formerly known as simply the Director’s Choice, was renamed in honour of one of the amazing members lost in 2020. Joe Blades was the long-time host of Ashes, Paper and Beans, a phenomenal poetry, spoken word and writing show which interviews authors, featured their works, and served as a cornerstone of literary recognition on CHSR. This show was just the tip of a gigantic iceberg, however, as Joe was also a poet, writer and publisher himself, and continuously published and supported the publishing and promotion of countless writers throughout the province. He was also a tireless volunteer, helping out not only with CHSR’s efforts, but with many other arts organizations in the city.
The award was given to Ryan Howard, the co-host of Against The Mat and The Recap Sequence. He has provided critical support to the station during fundraisers, promotions and most recently, the space reduction. His positive attitude, his desire to celebrate pop culture, and his eagerness to help move things forward has been tremendous. - Best New Show: Hispanic Connection
- Emerging Radio Talent: Winter Case
- New Member of the Year: Eden Jones
- Host of the Year: Elaine Bell
- Don Roberts Memorial
Director’s Choice: Past Member: Chris Waddell
This award, formerly honouring another CHSR legend as “the Carmen Kilburn award”, has been updated to recognize another legend who we lost just this year: Don Roberts. Don was a true gentleman, and loved to share his love of classic, early recorded music from the 30s, 40s and 50s on his program Musical Memories. This show has always had a dedicated following, and despite not having been produced for quite a number of years, is still in regular rotation.
The award was given to Chris Waddell, lead singer of The Wasteland Zombies and the host who revived the long-running original heavy metal show, The Crazy Train. Chris also joined us to serve for a time as our Music Director, and has always been an encouraging supporter of the mission of CHSR.
