The joy of the season emanates from our storefront studio through live events as well as from 104.1 FM and KZSM.org. We celebrated the season throughout the month of December. We collected toys for the kids at Southside Community Center for our 5th Annual Toy Drive. We watched as the space under the Christmas tree in our window gradually filled up with toys, and by Dec. 13, we were able to deliver 180 toys. We’re grateful to everyone who came by with toys; special thanks to the San Marcos Unitarian Universalist Fellowship for sharing their own toy drive with us.
On Dec. 12, we celebrated our last Kissing Alley concert of 2024 with a holiday concert at Price Center, featuring performers from the San Marcos school district, including theater and choir groups from Crockett Elementary, jazz ensembles from Miller Middle School and San Marcos High and their Honor String Quartet. Performers and the audience enjoyed an evening filled with talent, festive music and imaginative Christmas outfits.
For the 5K Jingle Bell run on Dec. 14, we broadcast the holiday playlist the organizers created to inspire the runners. Members of the Volkswagen Club parked along the route and blasted the music from their car radios.
On Dec. 17, friends of the talk show “Bookmarked” gathered for the second year in a row for a live reading of an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol,” complete with sound effects. The reading will air again at 4 p.m. on Christmas eve, Dec. 24.
On Dec. 18, “It’s What’s New” showcased original Christmas music sent to KZSM. The show offers airtime to any music that meets FCC guidelines, and selections pour in from all over the U.S. and beyond. For the holiday, we featured “Christmas Here to Stay” by The Living Pins, “Jack Frost Nipping at Your Nose” by Nightime Asylum and “The Working Reindeer Blues” by Janky Jomo, along with other selections. The Puerto Rican band Metal Punch included a shout-out to KZSM in “Holiday Cheer Unleashed,” their anthem to Santa in the mosh pit. You can hear the “It’s What’s New” Holiday special on Christmas day at its regularly scheduled time, 7 to 9 p.m.
Throughout Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, enjoy a special selection of holiday music and features from our archives, bringing you the joy of the season from your true community radio station.
