Long before text messaging replaced speech, and the web took our eyeballs captive, radio existed. Not the Lady-Gaga saturated radio we know today, but a quality medium that spurred wonder and imagination through whimsical story telling. A frequency-transmitting box that presented characters and plot through voices and sound-effects. A radio where special effects only occurred when our minds conjured them. Our nation would sit still, mystified by the adventures of Sherlock Holmes or comforted by Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats.

Nostalgia aside, shiny new products are continually emerging to the market, offering revolutionary new ways to be informed and entertained whilst shuffling about in our busy lives. Multi-tasking has become an unassuming part of life as we simultaneously juggle more than one device. Stillness is increasingly shifting to be as culturally relevant as VHS tapes. In response, Chicago Public Radio is presenting a de-cluttered night of entertainment to celebrate the art of story telling and listening at the Third Coast Filmless Festival.

This audible gathering invites the public to collectively sit in the dark, drinking in the stories and documentaries created by acclaimed producers and artists. Created by Chicago Public Radio in 2000, Third Coast International Audio Festival is the organization and engine behind the festivities. Run by a staff of four, TCIAF declares on their website that the festival was “Inspired by the popularity of documentary film festivals in the U.S., and motivated by the lack of attention given to outstanding audio work, the organizers of the TCIAF created their own blueprint for a radio festival”.

Aside from the collection of renown radio producers,  public radio all-stars and writers, such as Ira Glass (This American Life) and Joe Richman (Radio Diaries) will be making an appearance for a live discussion on “…what makes radio so damn special” as it was so eloquently written on the Chicago Public Radio Website.

This is the tenth annual festival and will be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Saturday March 6th from 11:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m. with a mix of screenings through out the day. As always, our young, good-looking, college selves are qualified for the almighty student discount.  Pick and choose your favorites or buy a ticket for the entire day. So, grab a Pepsi-Throwback and re-explore the way entertainment used to be prior to iWorld.

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