Live and homegrown music from Stop Words on RadioACTive with the Punk Rock Farmer

More true tales of the agrihood with High Life Ranch and Frog Bench Farms. Plus, Skywatcher Leo T, Independent Book Store Day, Nihon Matsuri Festival, VA Rally, and City Nature Challenge.

Tonight's Punk Rock Farmer Friday edition of RadioACTive features the following people, organizations and/or events. Check them out and get plugged into your community:

Catherine Weller of Weller Book Works, which lays claim to being the largest indie bookstore in SLC. Selling new, used, & rare books since 1929.

• April 26: Independent Bookstore Day 2025. Let's Celebrate! One day, 50 states, 1400+ Indie Bookstores (23 in Utah). Exclusive merch available day-of, in-store only, including a Utah indie booksellers map. Pick one up, visit them all, get a prize. Or download and print here. You must have a physical map with you to collect stamps — no digital versions allowed! We will have a limited number at bookstores, which you can pick up this Saturday:

  1. Visit participating bookstores across Utah. Show your map and get it stamped at each stop. *Limit one stamp per customer.

  2. Choose your final stop wisely — your last bookstore will award you your prize. Every store offers something different!

  The Rules:

  • You can start your quest at any participating bookstore.

  • The challenge runs from April 26, 2025 through April 26, 2026 — so join the Slack community to swap stories, share in the shenanigans, and make it a true literary adventure.

Stephanie Sueoka of Nihon Matsuri Japan Festival, which shares and educates the larger Utah community about Japanese and Japanese American culture, history, and traditions, as well as to be a way to pass on Japanese traditions and culture to younger fifth, sixth, and seventh generation Japanese Americans and to help them identify with their heritage. 

• April 25: Nihon Matsuri (Japan Festival), 10a-5p at 100 S. 300 W., SLC. Event by Utah Japan Festival / Nihon Matsuri: "To share and educate the larger Utah community about Japanese and Japanese American culture, history, and traditions, as well as to be a way to pass on the Japanese traditions and culture. Entertainment (Taiko, Rock band/Jorker's hand, Japanese dance, cosplay martial arts demonstration); Exhibition Japan town, Japanese culture, Bonsai, Origami, Kimono, Dolls, Arts); Experience (Japanese traditional games, Kanji quiz, use chopsticks, Kendama); Food, Japanese Merchandise, Anime, Cosplay, Fashion." FREE and open to the public.

Live, homegrown music from SLC-based Stop Words, which features James Johnson (vocals, guitar), Charlie Johnson (bass), Nate Ley (vocals, guitar), and Michael Cook (drums). Check out their new album, World Tour, released in February.

• April 30: Stop Words, with The Wildfires and Gilded Lillies, 7:00 p.m. at The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 S., SLC. 21+, general admission, $10 in advance. Click here for tickets. 

Rob Johnson of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2199, which is holding a rally at the main gate of the Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs Medical Center from 11a-1:30p tomorrow.

• April 26: Let Our Voices Be Heard, 11a-1:30p at the main gate of the Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 500 Foothill Dr., SLC. Event by American Federation of Government Employees Local 2199: "In support of veterans' rights to access critical health care services, featuring safe staffing ratios, and acceptable wait times. The rally seeks to unite veterans, families and advocates in demanding improved health care services for those who have bravely served our country. During this event, we will meet outside the main gate. We will NOT block access to VA buildings, exits or roads."

Spring plant sales are popping up. RadioACTive talks with Lydia Hartman and Stacy Semborski of Frog Bench Farms.

• May 3: Frog Bench Farms x Liberty Heights Fresh Plant Sale, 8:30a-1p at 1290 S. 1100 E., SLC  "Pre-ordering for our Spring Plant Sale is happening now through April 28. All presale orders will be available for pickup on May 3rd at Liberty Heights Fresh. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us! Especially if you can't make the plant sale, but could pick up at a later date. We have a lot more options this year, with a couple of new surprises that are very special to us." For pre-order, click here.

#ManyCulturesOneSky with SkyWatcher Leo T. Tonight: Demos and Phobos, the tiny moons of Mars. Plus, NASA's Mars Perseverance rover and spider folklore. 

2025 City Nature Challenge with Ellen Eiriksson, Citizen Science Manager at the Natural History Museum of Utah.

• April 25-28: "Join NHMU for this year's City Nature Challenge, where we track down plants and wildlife and take photos as part of the world's largest competition for documenting nature in our cities. We will be at different locations along the Jordan River for each day of the challenge." For more details, click here.

• April 26: iNaturalist for Families & Natural History Museum of Utah BioBlitz, 1:00-4:00 p.m. at NHMU Community Room, Level 2. No ticket required. "Join NHMU's Citizen Science team to learn how you and your family can use iNaturalist to photograph and learn about the wild species living in Utah. Then join us for some outdoor exploration to make your own observations around NHMU! We're hosting this event in celebration of the 10th annual City Nature Challenge, where cities around the globe work together to make as many iNaturalist observations as possible in 4 days. Your participation will help boost the observation count for Salt Lake City! Learn more about the City Nature Challenge here: nhmu.utah.edu/citizen-science/challenge."

Aldine's Urban Farm Report featuring the Castillo Family of High Life Ranch in Huntsville, Utah. 

• "Our family, David, Jenny, Zayah and Lennix Castillo, first moved to Huntsville, UT, in 2019 from the suburbs of East Layton. We wanted more room, fresher air, and had goals of becoming self-reliant. As a family, we have learned to work with animals, produce our own food, and the importance of hard work and consistency over time. We had no prior experience with farming or raising livestock. We simply wanted to raise our own protein and know exactly what is put into each animal and how it was treated." Shop High Life Ranch, where you can reserve your fall 2025 High Life Beef. 

Aldine #ontheroad at High Life Ranch in Huntsville, Utah.

How'd you like the show? Share your thoughts, suggestions and observations by calling the RadioACTive hotline: ‪(385) 800-1889‬. Or, send a voicememo to radioactive@krcl.org. Please tell us your name and neighborhood and leave a short message that may air on the show. So, keep it clean!

Guests' views, thoughts, or opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the board, staff, or members of Community Radio of Utah, KRCL 90.9fm. Tonight's RadioACTive team included:

• Executive Producer, Host: Lara Jones
• Volunteer Host: Aldine, KRCL's Punk Rock Farmer
• Producer: Connor Estes
• Audio Team: Sullivan Phetchanpheng, Connor Estes

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