Jackie Downing of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven discusses the Great Give 2026! The Great Give, now in its 17th year, raises over $4.4 million annually for more than 500 local nonprofits. The fundraiser also offers over $200K in matching funds.

The Great Give takes place Wednesday, May 6th and Thursday May 7th.

Advance gifts can be made for The Great Give beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, May 1.

Donation pages will remain open until 8:00 a.m. on Monday, May 11.

The Great Give
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WPKN radio host Joseph Celli interviews guitarist/composer Julian Lage as he discusses his early training, guitarists that influenced him and that he admires as well as several of his Blue Note releases. Lage, a child prodigy, presents several cuts of his music including the solo Day & Age, his quartet recording with Bill Frisell and a cut from his newest release Scenes From Above.

“Mr. Lage sounded almost miraculous …. A guitarist of extravagant technique, he made each solo feel like an onrushing discovery, reeling off lines and phrases while neatly sidestepping cliché. And for all the self-possession in his playing, it felt tempered by an introspective humility, ….” Nate Chinen (NY Times, 4/18/12)

For the first edition of “Rockers Arena” of the new year, the Night Nurse, Amy Wachtel, invited her long-time friend, Jamaican percussionist Larry McDonald to sit in with her and shoot the breeze.

They spent much of the time reviewing Larry’s long and illustrious career, including time with Taj Mahal and his almost 30 years with Gil Scot-Heron.

The loquacious octogenarian is currently a member of the Legendary/Legacy JA ska band, the Skatalites, touring regularly world-wide. Larry Mac, as he is affectionately called, is also a part of the NYC Ska Orchestra, Dave Hillyard & the Rocksteady Seven, Sub-Atomic Sound System, and an on-going project he co-leads with sax player Anant Pradhan.

Rockers Arena with the Night Nurse can be heard first and third Fridays, 12noon-3pm on WPKN.