Lexington, KY: March 2025 – StoryCorps, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of people from all backgrounds and beliefs, comes to downtown Lexington from March 20th – April 14th at Woodland Park to record interviews, in-person and virtually, as part of its Mobile Tour and Lexington’s 250th Anniversary. The StoryCorps event is sponsored by Quantrell Subaru, 250Lex and VisitLex.
YOU ARE INVITED:
Opening Day of StoryCorps in Lexington!
When: Thursday, March 20th
Time: 10:00 AM
Where: Woodland Park, Near the Stage
(601 East High Street, Lexington, KY)
Join WUKY, as we welcome StoryCorps to Lexington in Celebration of the City's 250th Anniversary.
Opening Remarks start at 10:30 AM:
· Bryan Lane, WUKY General Manager
· Mandy Higgins, Lexington History Museum
· Ian Murakami, StoryCorps
· Mayor Linda Gorton, StoryCorps Proclamation & 1st StoryCorps Recording
· Mandy Higgins & Jim Dickinson, 2nd StoryCorps Recording
· Public Tours of the StoryCorps Booth
“I am excited Lexington will be hosting StoryCorps as part of our city’s 250th anniversary celebrations,” Mayor Linda Gorton said. “Our community has a long history, and many stories to tell. Having StoryCorps here will allow so many of those stories to be recorded for others to hear, long into the future.”
Now in its 17th year, the StoryCorps Mobile Tour has facilitated thousands of meaningful conversations between people who know and care about one another. StoryCorps is committed to creating a safe recording environment and has introduced several measures to its recording process in Lexington, where participants have the option of recording in-person or via StoryCorps’ Virtual Recording Booth, a video-conferencing platform that can be accessed remotely using an internet-connected device. Participants can learn more about safety precautions for in-person recording at storycorps.org.
Reservations to record will be available at 10am on March 10th EST and can be made by calling StoryCorps’ 24-hour toll-free reservation line at 1-800-850-4406 or visiting storycorps.org.
Sign up in advance to participate.
In a StoryCorps interview, two people record a meaningful conversation with one another about who they are, what they’ve learned in life, and how they want to be remembered. A trained StoryCorps facilitator guides them through the interview process. After each 40-minute recording session, participants receive a digital copy of their interview. With participant permission, a second copy is archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for future generations to hear.
Founded in 2003 by award-winning documentary producer and MacArthur Fellow Dave Isay, StoryCorps has traveled to every corner of the country to record interviews in the organization’s effort to create a world where we listen closely to each other and recognize the beauty, grace and poetry in the lives and stories we find all around us.
“StoryCorps tells an authentic American story—that we are a people defined by small acts of courage, kindness, and heroism. Each interview reminds people that their lives matter and will not be forgotten,” said Isay. “During this pandemic, the value of preserving these stories, and of strengthening connections between people who may feel physically isolated, is more important than ever.”
In Central Kentucky, StoryCorps will partner with NPR affiliate station WUKY. WUKY will air a selection of the local interviews and create special programs around the project. StoryCorps may also share excerpts of these stories with the world through the project’s popular weekly NPR broadcasts, animated shorts, digital platforms, and best-selling books.
“The spirit of StoryCorps follows much of the philosophy that I want to instill in Lexington’s very own public radio station, WUKY... And that philosophy is public radio should be ‘of the public, by the public, for the public’.” said Bryan Lane, the new Station Manager at WUKY. “We want the people of Central Kentucky to come out and let their stories be heard and archived for future generations.”
StoryCorps is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
About StoryCorps
Founded in 2003 by Dave Isay, StoryCorps has given over half a million Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs, in towns and cities in all 50 states, the chance to record interviews about their lives. The organization preserves the recordings in its archive at the Library of Congress, the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered, and shares select stories with the public through StoryCorps’ weekly podcast, NPR broadcasts, animated shorts, digital platforms, and best-selling books. These powerful human stories reflect the vast range of American experiences, wisdom and values; engender empathy and connection; and remind us how much more we have in common than divides us. For more information visit storycorps.org, or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube at @storycorps.
WUKY's Mission
Through news, music, and stories crafted for a culturally open-minded community, 91.3 WUKY is a catalyst for creating a better, more engaged audience in Lexington and Central Kentucky.
About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally managed and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services. For more information, visit cpb.org, follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, Facebook and LinkedIn and subscribe for email updates.
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