Big Blend Radio’s 1st Friday ”Toast to The Arts & Parks” Show features interviews and panel discussions with National Parks Arts Foundation artists-in-residence, along with other artists connected with parks, which include artists in the world of visual and performing arts, books and poetry, music, and more.
Latest episodes
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58 min
Comedian Ben Miller – Volcano: A Science Comedy Special
What happens when a comedian walks into a volcano? In this return visit on Big Blend Radio's "Toast to the Arts & Parks" Show with the National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF), Lisa D…
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45 min
Gettysburg: Art, History & America's Stories
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show features Tanya Ortega, founder of the National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF), in a fascinating conversation about…
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40 min
Getting to Know Tanya Ortega: Art, Parks & Creative Legacy
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show features Tanya Ortega, founder of the National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF), discussing the ongoing NPAF Retrospe…
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50 min
Cracked Nut Creatives: Multimedia Art & Music at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show features members of Cracked Nut Creatives, current National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF) artists-in-residence at…
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1 h 01
Art, Heritage & Wilderness: Exploring Chaco Canyon and Aztec Ruins
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show features Tanya Ortega, founder of the National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF), who shares insights into the organiz…
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42 min
Photography, Inclusion and the Power of National Parks
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s 1st Friday “Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show features travel photographer Houston Vandergriff and his mother Katie Vandergriff, who recently served…
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31 min
Celebrating Art and Artists in America’s Southwest Desert Parks
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s "Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show celebrates the 93rd anniversaries of Death Valley National Park and Saguaro National Park, while spotlighting the…
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54 min
Art, Parks & Legacy: The NPAF Retrospective with Tanya Ortega
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show features Tanya Ortega, founder of the National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF), who joins us to discuss Big Blend Ra…
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56 min
Dancer and Choreographer Artis Olds in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show features Artis Olds, acclaimed dancer, choreographer, arts educator, and the November 2025 National Parks Arts Fo…
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57 min
Art, History & Honor: National Parks Arts Foundation
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s 1st Friday “Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show highlights the powerful connection between art, nature, and military history through the work of the N…
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1 h 16
Queen Esther on Gettysburg, Resilience, and Her Album Blackbirding
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Toast to The Arts & Parks” podcast celebrates National Arts & Humanities Month with Queen Esther, who completed a National Parks Arts Foundation…
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46 min
Tijuana Ricks and Anthony Pirro: Artists-in-Residence in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s 1st Friday “Toast to The Arts & Parks” Show features Tijuana Ricks and Anthony Pirro, who recently completed a National Parks Arts Foundation (NPA…
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37 min
Photographer William Bretzger in Gettysburg
In honor of American Artists Appreciation Month, Big Blend Radio revisits an archived interview with photographer William Bretzger, originally featured in 2017 as part of our ongoi…
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47 min
The Living Canvas: Art, Parks, and the Unfolding Human Story
Join us for a special episode of Big Blend Radio’s "Toast to The Parks & Arts" as we celebrate American Adventures Month and American Artists Appreciation Month. We're joined by ac…
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28 min
Rachel Mari Kimber’s Desert Soundscape: Birds Follow Dry Riverbed
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Toast to The Arts & Parks” podcast features a follow-up conversation with musician and composer Rachel Mari Kimber, the National Parks Arts Found…
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53 min
The Artistic Connection to National Parks
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s 1st Friday “Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show celebrates Great Outdoors Month with Tanya Ortega, acclaimed photographer and founder of the National…
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59 min
Artist Residency Programs in Hawai'i National Parks
Join this special episode of Big Blend Radio’s 1st Friday “Toast to The Parks & Arts” Show, featuring Tanya Ortega, acclaimed photographer and founder of the National Parks Arts Fo…
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50 min
Mother-Daughter Artist-in-Residence Duo in Dry Tortugas National Park
In celebration of National Parks Week, we're revisiting this Big Blend Radio interview with landscape artist and soft pastelist Beth Williams, and her daughter, Hailey Williams who…
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42 min
Pianist Hunter Noack in Haleakala National Park
Featured for National Parks Week: We revisit this 2017 Big Blend Radio interview with classical pianist Hunter Noack who shares his experience as the inaugural artist-in-residence…
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59 min
Artist Lakin Epaloose in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
Artist Lakin Epaloose joins Big Blend Radio’s 1st Friday” Toast to The Arts & Parks” Podcast to talk about his paintings, photography, fashion design, and being the latest National…