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Thursday, March 28, 2024
chonch.jpg
chonch.jpg

In today’s world, notable stories are often limited to 140-character tweets, two- to three-sentence Facebook statuses and/or text messages of a socially acceptable length. Gainesville’s first community Internet radio station, Grow Radio, would rather give a person five minutes, a stage and an audience.

The Conch is a monthly storytelling event hosted at Lightnin’ Salvage in Satchel’s Pizza. Its name is derived from the symbolic conch shell used in “Lord of the Flies” to indicate who has the right to speak. The second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m., the first of which begins July 10, Gainesville residents are invited to come share a true story based on the theme of that month or to simply sit and listen.

Those interested in speaking will put their names in a hat upon arrival. If selected, they will be given five minutes to share his or her story. Grow Radio will record every performance and choose the best ones to broadcast later in the month.

Bill Bryson, 46, is the founder and general manager of Grow Radio, a nonprofit he started three years ago. Bryson said the idea was partly inspired by radio programs he enjoys such as “The Moth,” “This American Life” and “Radiolab.”

“There are a lot of great storytelling based kinds of programming, and that’s where the strength of radio comes from,” Bryson said.

For Bryson, the main goal of many of his endeavors, and especially The Conch, is the idea of inclusion.

“I want to help find people common ground that they didn’t know was there,” he said.

Down the road Bryson said he hopes to bring in members of the community for workshops. He is excited to see people’s storytelling techniques improve over time.

Although Bryson is, by his own admission, not a great storyteller. He feels there are many great stories and storytellers alike in Gainesville who come from all walks of life. He said they are reaching out to and expecting participation from many parts of the community, not just from the university.

True to the occasion, the theme of the event’s launch will be, “There’s a First Time for Everything.”

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