Feliks Banel, the man who puts the community in community radio, hosts a weekly program – Cascade of History (Sundays at 8 pm) – focused on history and historic preservation in the Northwest. Periodically he takes the show on the road and creates astounding LIVE remote broadcasts. Here are Feliks’…
Top 9 LIVE Remote Broadcasts of CASCADE OF HISTORY in 2025
LIVE from the original Burgermaster’s final Friday lunch rush in Seattle, WA in February 2025 https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-97
Seattle said farewell to its favorite 73-year-old restaurant near University Village, and Cascade of History was there for a three-hour live show from a booth with a commanding view of the front counter and much of the dining area. Special guests included Eugenia Woo of Historic Seattle, plus SPACE 101.1 FM favorites Mike Fuller of The Jet Set, plus Jean Godden and Julianna Ross. It was during this show – as part of a conversation with station founder Julianna – that the idea for the BLAST OFF! event marking the station’s birthday was hatched.
LIVE from the then-still-standing Ryan House in Sumner, WA in March 2025 https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-100
Cascade of History LOVES grassroots historic preservation groups, and the good people in Sumner who founded Save Historic Ryan House put up a valiant effort for close to three years. We did a live show in March when the house was still standing and the group put on a celebration of sorts. Chris Moore from the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation joined in by phone, and Allison Campbell and Dylan High and the Washington State Historical Society were there in person – plus Nick Biermann, stalwart of Save Historic Ryan House, led multiple sing-alongs of songs modified to include “Ryan House” in the lyrics.
LIVE from the Museum of Vancouver in Vancouver, BC in April 2025 https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-102-mov
Roving correspondent Ken Zick joined us in person for our first international broadcast, visiting our beloved Canadian “neighbours” (with a “u”) in a show of “Children of a Common Mother” (as the Peace Arch at Blaine, WA says) love as the unwanted trade war was getting underway. Guests included Vivianne Gosselin, director of the museum; Coll Thrush, University of British Columbia (UBC) professor and author of the new book “Wrecked: Unsettling Histories from the Graveyard of the Pacific” from University of Washington Press; plus a panel conversation with John Mackie of the Vancouver Sun; historian John Atkin; and Andy Yan, professor at Simon Fraser University (SFU).
LIVE from the street in front of the Masonic Home of Washington in Des Moines, WA in September 2025. https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-119
Yet another grassroots historic preservation group captured our attention and affection when neighbors of the stately Masonic Home of Washington in the community of Des Moines, Washington took legal action to try and stop the demolition of the historic structure. Lloyd Lytle, lead organizer, was the star of the show, plus we had fun with a Des Moines, WA vs. Des Moines, IA trivia challenge. The broadcast took place from the sidewalk and in the street from the tailgate of the Cascade of History Heritage Cruiser – listen for the sound of the METRO bus driving past!
LIVE from the Powerhouse of Yakima Valley Trolleys in Yakima, WA in June 2025 https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-112
What a thrill to get to know Ken Johnsen, the young man who 50-plus years ago stepped up and saved the old interurban line connecting Yakima, WA to nearby Selah, WA and helped import trolley cars from Portugal to create an incredible not-for-profit historical attraction. Once again, a grassroots effort attracted the Cascade of History Heritage Cruiser to a community where history was threatened – this time, as Yakima Valley Trolleys is trying to save its main line to Selah by convincing the City of Yakima to not tear it up. The live remote originated from inside the noisy powerhouse, but highlight of the night was Roving Correspondent Ken Zick’s live reports from a moving trolley out on the twilight streets of Yakima.
LIVE from Town Hall Seattle Celebrating “We Hold These Truths” in December 2025 https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-130
It was an all-star cast that took part in a timely live performance and live broadcast of Norman Corwin’s 1941 radio masterpiece celebrating – and defending – the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. The cast featured Frank Abe; Enrique Cerna; Lisa Craze Brooks; Jim Dever; Mike Fuller; Heather Hirotaka; Naomi Ishisaka; Stephanie Johnson-Toliver; John Maynard; Dave Ross; Ken Workman; Bill Yeend; and Ken Zick. Live sound effects were designed and performed by Curtis Takahashi. Live music was arranged and performed by Silas Berlin. Sound engineering for Town Hall was by Rob Witmer. Town Hall production by Lillian Cantwell. Special thanks to Aisha Shah and all the staff, volunteers and donors who support Town Hall Seattle for agreeing to host this performance – and to Mitch Etter for, once again, running the board back at the station.
LIVE from historic Coupeville Wharf on Whidbey Island, WA in July 2025 https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-117
This live remote broadcast originated from the 1905 Coupeville Wharf in historic Coupeville, WA on Whidbey Island’s Penn Cove on a cloudy and chilly summer day. Partner for this broadcast was the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, who in 2024 added Coupeville Wharf to their list of MOST ENDANGERED PLACES in the Evergreen State – partly because of the long-term threats from climate change. Lots of terrific Whidbey Island guests took part, and Moira Nadal from the Washington Trust was there, too. One of the highlights was live performances of maritime music by the incredible Shifty Sailors.
LIVE from the Memorial Stadium farewell event in Seattle, WA in June 2025 https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-114
This was our third and final broadcast from Seattle’s historic sports and culture venue, dedicated in 1947 to the memory of Seattle Public Schools’ alums who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II. Cascade of History favorites Clay Eals and Jean Sherrard (of the Seattle Times’ Now & Then column) were there, plus Northwest sports historian and collector David Eskenazi, and music historian Eric Magnuson – all of whom had been with us in the past as Cascade of History tried to explain how significant the stadium was as a living memorial. Demolition got underway not long after this bittersweet broadcast.
LIVE from the street in front of the ruins of the demolished Ryan House in Sumner, WA in July 2025. https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-118
It was part vigil, part wake, part celebration of life, and an attempt to process a serious amount of collective grief. Cascade of History pointed the Heritage Cruiser, once again, toward Sumner, Washington. It was there where we broadcast from Main Street, next to fence in front of the ruins of the Ryan House, which had been demolished in the darkness a few nights before. Guests included Nick Biermann of Save Ryan House, Nancy Ryan Dressel (descendant of the builder of the Ryan House), Tina Patton Burnett and other grassroots historic preservationists and lovers of local history who had been working for nearly two years to try to save one of the oldest structures in the Evergreen State.
