Fresh Fruit on KFAI - 90.3 FM HD Minneapolis

06/03/2026

KKFAI - Fresh Air Community Radios 24 of PRIDE Programming will be Thursday, June26th and we have open submissions for interested folx from them LGBTQIAS2+ community here in the Twin Cities who are interested in hosting their own Radio Program!

Fresh Air Community Radio KFAI Celebrates Pride Month, Thursday, June 25, 2026 Bring your voice to the celebration; submit a program proposal for Pride on KFAI—featuring an immersive 24 hours of continuous programming produced and delivered by Minnesota's LGBTQIA2S+ community. 2026 Pride Programmi...

05/21/2026

Tonight May 21, Tune into Fresh Fruit, 7-8 pm CDT with Dixie and guests Benjamin Wilson, Deon Kirby, John Heimbuch,
Elora Riley and Lily Rains.

It’s Minnesota American Indian month and Benjamin Wilson (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Artistic Producer of New Native Theatre and Deon Kirby, Community Engagement Coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force will be talking about their organizations and the Two Spirit Powwow on June 23, 2026 at the Minneapolis American Indian Center.
New Native Theatre is proud to present the 5th Annual Reclaiming Our Identities Two Spirit Powwow returning to the Twin Cities in 2026. The Two Spirit Powwow is Minnesota’s only powwow honoring our Native Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ relatives.
This free, family-friendly event brings together over 500 people for a full day of dancing, drumming, regalia, craft vendors, and a community feast. It’s more than a celebration — it’s a sacred space for visibility, culture, and love.

Then I’ll be joined by John Heimbuch, Artistic Director of Walking Shadow Theatre Company and director of Topher Payne's
gay comedy Perfect Arrangement, along with performers Elora Riley who plays Mrs. Martindale and Lily Rains as Barbara Grant.

Q***r government workers try to keep up appearances during Senator McCarthy’s Lavender Scare.
It’s 1950, and the government is purging the “enemies within”. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have a great track record of rooting out Communists. Now, they’ve been tasked with identifying sexual deviants among their ranks. There’s just one problem: Both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each other’s partners as a carefully constructed cover.
Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement, this production from Walking Shadow Theatre Company blends madcap classic sitcom-style laughs with provocative drama as two “All-American” couples are forced to stare down the closet door. Perfect Arrangement runs May 30 – June 21, 2026 at the Crane Theater in Minneapolis.

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05/11/2026

Happy Birthday Fresh Fruit! Celebrating 48 years on KFAI since May 11, 1978!

Special thanks to all the hosts and engineers throughout the years! This is a list of the known ones:

Ted Faigle-Kell, Richard MacDougall aka Shannon, Mark Matthiessen aka Maya, Kirk Hoffmeier (founders), Claude Peck, Marj Schneider, Gary Peterson, Steve LaVigne, Kate Redmond,
John Sutton, Eleanor Savage, Kim Hines, John Killacky, Debbie Davis, Rob Yeager, Leigh Combs, Dixie Treichel, Aundaray Guess, John Townsend, Nick Metcalf, Roxanne Anderson, Rochelle James, Abigail Garner, Ann McNally, Women of Color Building Project, Felicia Washington Sy, Bob Tracy, Ka, Max Gries, Gender Hotdish, Norman Strizek, Pat (Patricia) Nelson, Adam Fairbanks, Katrina Plotz, Peter Gokey, Kendrick Winthrop-Davies, Andy Birkey, Keith Pederson, Jeremy Brezovan, Torsten Magnus Peterson, Shimmerlie Villagomez aka Quinn Villagomez aka Shimmer, Trevor Charon, Alfred Walking Bull, Cole Graske aka BE, Comrade Tom Vance, Malcolm Lee.

KFAI - Fresh Air Community Radio

04/16/2026

Tonight April 16, Tune into Fresh Fruit, 7-8 pm CDT with Dixie and filmmakers Keri Pickett and Dawn Mikkelson talking about their careers and recent documentary film UNCLE ROY directed by Keri about her gay uncle Roy Blakey who was a professional theatrical ice skater, trail-blazing photographer and creator of his IceStage archives with over 44, 000 items.

Keri Pickett, Pickett Pictures LLC, is an award-winning filmmaker, photographer, author and artist. Her films include Uncle Roy, Finding Her Beat, First Daughter and the Black Snake and The Fabulous Ice Age. As a photographer Keri started working for the Village Voice in the 1980s and then branched out into a multifaceted career that took her photographs into International and national museums, newspapers, books and magazines. Her book FAERIES won a Lambda Literary Award for Best Fine Art Book. Keri’s artistic interest is in family and community in her documentation of life’s commonalities in disparate communities. Her upcoming film is Ribbon Skirt Warriors (in post production).

Dawn Mikkelson, founder and executive producer of Emergence Pictures, is a multi-Emmy award winning director, producer, editor and award winning filmmaker whose work has broadcast and screened internationally. Her films include Uncle Roy, Minnesota Mean, Finding Her Beat, and Risking Light. A former television news reporter at an ABC affiliate, Dawn has taught documentary film, served as Broadcast Content Manager at PBS North in Duluth, MN and received national acclaim by NAJA (Native American Journalist Association). Dawn’s filmmaking focuses on collaborating with historically underrepresented communities. Her upcoming film is Ribbon Skirt Warriors (in post production).

plus music and announcements

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04/09/2026

UNCLE ROY (2026), a documentary film directed by Roy Blakey’s niece Keri Pickett makes its North American Premiere at the MSP Film Society Minneapolis-St Paul International Film Fest
(MSPIFF) April 10 @7:00 pm and April 11 @1:40 pm

Roy Blakey, (1930-2024), was a gay professional theatrical ice skater, trail-blazing photographer and creator of his IceStage archives with over 44, 000 items. He travelled the world with Holiday on Ice, took headshots for Broadway's stars and LGBTQ icons, such as Divine and Candy Darling, and was known as the “forefather of gay photography” with his male nudes that were highly revered in the art world. His filmmaker/photographer niece Keri Pickett traveled the world with him, lived with him in NYC and Minneapolis and became his caretaker when he developed dementia. His complete works have been donated to the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection, an archive for LGBTQ history and culture.

https://mspfilm.org/show/uncle-roy/
https://uncleroyfilm.com/

Keri Pickett, Producer, Director, Cinematographer / Dawn Mikkelsen, Producer, Editor / Me-Lee Hay, Composer

Keri Pickett and Dawn Mikkelsen will be my guests on Fresh Fruit April 16 at 7pm

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KFAI - Fresh Air Community Radio

03/19/2026

Tonight March 19, Tune into Fresh Fruit, 7-8 pm CDT with Dixie Celebrating Women’s History Month with guest Leigh Combs, former Fresh Fruit host, former Le***an Avenger, artist, and activist, and historian/librarian Jayce Wepplo talking about the 1990s activism of The Twin Cities Le***an Avengers. In the tumultuous 1990s Twin Cities q***r women’s activist and performance events included D**e Night at the Walker Art Center, The D**e March, V***a Riot Cabaret and the March on Washington.

The Le***an Avengers was started in 1992 by a group of women in New York City discussing how le***an issues were missing from AIDS activism and the LGBTQ+ movement overall. They prioritized direct action and grassroots organizing, using bold tactics to capture the attention of both spectators and the media. By 1993 Le***an Avenger chapters started up across the country, including the Twin Cities.

I’ll be playing music by ‘90s le***an alternative and punk bands, a song from the “Lucky Gift” album (2025) by Margaret Cho, Korean-American comedian, musician, actress and q***r elder and a song from the album Little Black Book (2026) by Leslie Vincent Music, q***r jazz vocalist and songwriter.

Margaret Cho's "Choligarchy" Stand-up Comedy Tour - Thursday, March 26, 2026, 7 pm at The Fillmore Minneapolis
Leslie Vincent Celebrates Vinyl Release of Little Black Book - Friday, March 27, 2026, 6 pm at Crooners Supper Club - Dunsmore Room, Minneapolis

And It’s KFAI’s Spring Membership drive! - March 16 - March 27, 2026 - Independent Community Powered Radio!
Support KFAI and Fresh Fruit, a show highlighting voices and issues from the complete Fruit Salad- Q***r 2SLGBTQIA+++.
Great pledge gifts! - Call 612-375-9030 or Go to KFAI.ORG/DONATE

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KFAI - Fresh Air Community Radio

03/17/2026

02/19/2026

Tonight February 19, Tune into Fresh Fruit, 7-8 pm CST with Dixie and guest Carlisle Evans Peck, a composer, singer-songwriter, and pianist. And celebrating Black History Month I’ll play a reading of “There is no Hierarchy of Oppressions” (1983) by Audre Lorde (1932-1992), an African American, le***an, poet, feminist, mother and activist as read by Lauren Lyons.

Carlisle Evans Peck, based in the Twin Cities, is grounded in q***r mythic storytelling somewhere at the meeting of music theater and bardic balladry. Carlisle has released four self-produced records, performed their work nationally, and composed for choirs, bands, and theater ensembles around the region.

Carlisle’s most recent album “The Lines in my Hands” release party was December 4, 2025 at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis and is now celebrating its vinyl release in February 2026. (https://carlisleevanspeck.bandcamp.com.merch)
I’ll be playing tracks from “The Lines in my Hands” and talking with Carlisle about their musical experiences and the creation of the album.

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01/15/2026

Tonight January 15, Tune into Fresh Fruit, 7-8 pm CST with Dixie for a Klaus Nomi Tribute. Tonight I’ll be talking about Nomi and playing a mixture of his studio albums and live performances.

Klaus Nomi (1944 - 1983) was born Klaus Sperber in Germany and moved to New York City in 1972. After years of performing he became noticed in the East Village art scene in 1978 and started performing in clubs all over New York City.
Nomi was a gay countertenor with a six octave vocal range,
known for his innovative musical mixture of classical opera, new wave, electronic and art-rock that included many covers of 1960s pop standards.

Nomi’s avant-garde live theatrical performances included an otherworldly persona, unusual costumes
and heavy make-up. He came into national recognition because of his performance as a back-up singer with David Bowie in 1979 on Saturday Night Live.

Nomi recorded two albums: “Nomi” (1981) and “Simple Man” (1982). While working on his third album in 1983, he was diagnosed with AIDS. Nomi passed away that year at 39, one of the first well-known q***r artists to die from HIV/AIDS.

After his death three albums were released: Encore (1983)-old and new works, In Concert (1986)-live performances, and Za Bakdaz: The Unfinished Opera (2008), an album of unfinished work. There are several compilation albums of his work, he has been paid homage internationally in fashion, on stage, film and television and his music has been covered and
remixed by various pop musicians.

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12/18/2025

Tonight December 18, Tune into Fresh Fruit, 7-8 pm CST with Dixie for an evening of audio stories and portraits from my archives highlighting LGBTQ2S+ artists that I created for KFAI's MinneCulture-10,000 Fresh Voices.

In alphabetical order stories and audio portraits include:
Adina Burke, differently abled poet, musician (2018),
Bailey “26” Cogan, trans musician, 26 Bats! (2020), Ellen Hart, crime/mystery author (2017), Jackalope Tattoo-M Nijiya, trans tattoo artist/owner (2023), John Killacky, differently abled artist, author (2022), Kim Hines, African American theater artist, author (2020), Larry Havluck, Two Spirit musician (2012), Oskar Ly, Hmong fashion designer (2019), Q***r Circus, circus art performers (2023), Venus de Mars, trans musician, artist, Venus & All the Pretty Horses (2014), Victoria Carpenter & Danny Shaheen, music duo, A Constant Cough (2020)

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