Big Daily Blend

Big Blend Radio Network

The Big Daily Blend podcast celebrates holidays and observances, music and pop culture, historic happenings, and even new legislature. Check the episode notes for music playlists, and related articles, recipes, puzzles, and more.

  1. 2d ago

    Greensboro, North Carolina: History, Hospitality & Where Cornwallis Lost the War

    On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Jo Goes Everywhere!" Podcast, travel writer Jo Clark takes us to Greensboro, North Carolina — the third-largest city in the state and home to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, site of one of the most consequential battles of the Revolutionary War. A good episode to honor America 250! Jo digs into Greensboro's roots, from the Saura and Keyauwee peoples who lived there first, to the German, Welsh, English Quaker, and Scotch-Irish settlers who followed, to the city's surprising reputation as the "second-holiest city in America."  Then the Revolution arrives: on March 15, 1781, General Nathanael Greene's Continental Army met Lord Cornwallis's British troops at Guilford Courthouse. Cornwallis technically won the battle — but at such a staggering cost in men that it helped set up his eventual defeat at Yorktown. Along the way, Jo tells the story of the Hoskins family, who fled war-torn Pennsylvania for a fresh start in Greensboro, only to have the British commandeer their farm and turn their home into a field hospital just three years later.  Jo also shares Greensboro's literary and broadcast history (hometown ties to O. Henry and Edward R. Murrow), plus where to eat, drink, and stay if you visit today, including Sàigòn Cuisine, Machete, Lewis and Elm, the O. Henry Hotel, Fainting Goat Spirits, and Angels Bed & Breakfast. Read Jo's full article: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/guilford-courthouse-national-military-park  Plan Your Visit to Greensboro - Jo's Greensboro Travel Guide:  https://recipestravelculture.com/greensboro-1781-battlefield-to-jeansboro/  - Guilford Courthouse National Military Park: https://www.nps.gov/guco/index.htm  Follow More of Jo: -  https://www.haveglasswilltravel.com/  - https://recipestravelculture.com/  - Jo Goes Everywhere! Podcast: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/jo-goes-everywhere-podcast  - Jo Goes Everywhere! Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/jo-goes-everywhere-magazine

  2. Sep 6

    American Jukebox with Johnny Schaefer: Celebrating Classical & Orchestral Music

    Celebrate Classical Music Month with this edition of Big Blend Radio's American Jukebox! Every first Sunday, award-winning singer-songwriter Johnny Schaefer joins Lisa D. Smith to explore the music, artists, and stories that celebrate America's rich musical heritage as part of the nationwide America 250 celebration. This month's playlist turns to classical and orchestral music, tracing its deep and often invisible influence on American film, culture, and songwriting. Johnny and Lisa discuss composers including Florence Price, Michael Kamen, Morten Lauridsen, Bobby McFerrin, Philip Glass, Gustav Holst, and Mason Williams, weaving in personal connections to choral music, opera, and the marching bands that shaped their own musical lives. 🎵 Hear the music! The complete American Jukebox experience—including all seven featured pieces—is available on Mixcloud and you can hear it here: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/american-jukebox-classical-music  🎧 Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2pXIFSYr13TaCkpXhEsyUg?si=219ff3b46cb44f03  🎻 Related Episodes: World of Opera: https://toast-the-arts.podbean.com/e/world-of-opera/  Marching Bands: https://toast-the-arts.podbean.com/e/marching-bands/  🎵 Johnny Schaefer: https://hearjohnny.com/  New episodes air every first Sunday as Johnny and Lisa continue celebrating the songs, artists, and stories that define America's musical legacy through the America 250 celebration leading up to July 4, 2027. Explore all episodes: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/t/american-jukebox

  3. Sep 3

    Early Fall in California's Sequoia Country: Dark Skies, Trails & Tulare County Harvest Season

    Fall is teasing us across the country, and California's Sequoia Country — home to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Sequoia National Forest, the Giant Sequoia National Monument, and the welcoming communities of Tulare County — is right on the edge of the season's first cool breeze. In this episode of Big Blend Radio's "California Sequoia Country" Podcast, Sequoia Tourism Council members Suzanne Bianco (Visit Visalia) and Holly Streit (Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks), talk pumpkins, changing leaves, dark skies, and the harvest season events that make fall one of the best times to visit. Suzanne shares the local countdown to fall starting with Vintage Press's stuffed pumpkin dish in Visalia, and points listeners to cooler-weather hikes at Kaweah Oaks Preserve, Mooney Grove Park, and the Woodlake Botanical Garden loop around Bravo Lake and more. Holly talks changing colors in the giant forest, the importance of dark skies for migrating birds and bats, and previews the Sequoia Parks Conservancy's Dark Sky Festival (September 11–13) which will features a keynote from the scientist behind Wowsabout, the Jim Henson Company's preschool special exploring Sequoia National Park and the science of awe. The conversation covers shuttle schedules (Memorial Day–Labor Day), the foothill hikes at Potwisha and Paradise Creek, and giant forest trails including Congress Trail and the North Grove Loop. Then it's on to fall festivities: the Tulare County Fair, Visalia's Taste of Downtown (October 7) and Taste the Arts Festival, First Friday art walks, mixed-media artist Toni Best's gourd art, and early holiday-shopping tips through the Sequoia Parks Conservancy. 🌲 Plan Your Visit: https://www.discoverthesequoias.com/  🌲 NPS Sequoia & Kings Canyon: https://www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm  🌲 Sequoia Parks Conservancy: https://www.sequoiaparksconservancy.org/  🎧 New episodes of California Sequoia Country air every first Thursday on Big Blend Radio. Follow the Show: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/california-s-sequoia-country-podcast  📖 Explore Big Blend Radio's "California's Sequoia Country" Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/california-s-sequoia-country-magazine

About

The Big Daily Blend podcast celebrates holidays and observances, music and pop culture, historic happenings, and even new legislature. Check the episode notes for music playlists, and related articles, recipes, puzzles, and more.