The holidays are here! Pioneer 90.1 makes things more festive with a feast of holiday specials Thursday and Friday.

Thursday

9AM – Backstory: American as Apple Pie – A History of Thanksgiving – On this holiday edition of BackStory, the History Guys search for the true roots of Thanksgiving.

10AM – “Earth Eats” Thanksgiving Special – A one-hour program of planning and preparing a terrific thanksgiving meal, with some very foody musical interludes. Try something new this Thanksgiving!

11AM – Has “Thank You” Lost its Meaning? – We all say “thank you” a lot. We thank people for holding doors open for us. We thank the person who hands us our morning coffee. We thank the cashier when she hands us our change. And some people even send thank you notes to people who’ve given them a present. But if you were to keep track of now many times a day you say “thank you,” how often would you really mean it? So we ask the question: has thank you lost its meaning?

Noon – FM Odyssey Thanksgiving Special

6PM – The Last Waltz – We celebrate The Band’s Thanksgiving night 1976 farewell concert.

Friday

9AM – Roseanne Cash: Live From Zone C – Intimate acoustic set by Rosanne Cash and her husband, John Leventhal in their living room (aka Zone C). Includes exclusive live recordings of songs from throughout her career, as chosen exclusively by Twitter requests. Hosted by Lizz Winstead.

10AM – The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams – A one-hour radio special traces how Hank Williams’ “lost notebook” of unrecorded songs were found and set to music for new recordings by Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Jack White, Patty Loveless, Merle Haggard, Sheryl Crow and others.

11AM – Holiday Standard Time with Michael Feinstein – An hour-long celebration of the American holiday songbook, with rarely heard recordings from Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Louis Prima, and Donny Hathaway, and featuring Michael Feinstein performing three holiday favorites.

4PM – Christmas with the Annie Moses Band – Bringing a remarkable mix of jazz, classical and Celtic sounds, this all-sibling group will inspire you. With a breathtaking mix of holiday classics and originals performed by highly skilled Juilliard musicians.

Mara Wittman InterviewMara Wittman, Director of the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council, announced the opening of a new store in the RiverWalk Center in downtown East Grand Forks on Pioneer 90.1.  The store opens on “Black Friday” and is dedicated to the display and sale of artistic works produced by regional residents.  Mara also discussed the deadline for important grant money application and the unveiling of a large sculpture on the grounds of the Roseau Public Library.

The Northwest Minnesota Arts Council segment can be heard every Tuesday afternoon at 3:05 on Pioneer 90.1

Scott HansenA lot of very funny people come from Minnesota. The state is home to Louie Anderson, Tom Arnold, and our Senator, Al Franken. And while Scott Hansen may not be voting on cutting the federal budget, he has been named Minnesota Comedian of the year five times. He plays a benefit for the children of military families in Ada on Saturday, November 19.

Madelyn Camrud InterviewMadelyn Camrud, Greater Grand Forks community leader and supporter of the fine arts, cultural events and artistic programs was a recent guest on Pioneer 90.1.  Madelyn discussed her involvement with the North Dakota Museum of Art, and the exhibits that are sponsored by the NDMOA.

MandaLynn.mp3 Manda Lynne is a  Grand Forks singer-songwriter. Listen to her live in-studio performance from “The Mixtape” on Pioneer 90.1.