MIHS radio students will broadcast from Seafair on Aug. 5-7

It’s Seafair time once again, and Mercer Island High School (MIHS) radio broadcasters will participate in the action when the hydros and planes get their roar on while taking the spotlight at the weekend festival from Aug. 5-7.

KMIH 88.9 The Bridge, the school’s award-winning radio station, will provide exclusive coverage of the premier events, which were canceled in-person the last two years due to the pandemic. KMIH will present Log Boom Radio, a format created by the students to bring Seafair from Lake Washington to the world.

This marks the third year the student-run station has been invited to broadcast the events, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily near Genesee Park. The Bridge students — who have been preparing for the big weekend since springtime — will deliver nonstop music and entertainment, interviews and conversations with Seafair participants, live action from the unlimited hydroplane races and more.

Joe Bryant, KMIH general manager and broadcast media instructor, said of the station’s partnership with Seafair, “Our goal for Log Boom Radio is to entertain everyone attending Seafair, whether on land or in the lake, and hopefully to have many of them continue to listen to KMIH after the final heat has been run. The hands-on experience our students get broadcasting a live event of this magnitude is so valuable.”

HIGH-FLYER

Another Seafair MIHS connection will occur when marketing teacher Jen McLellan takes to the sky with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels during a scouting flight on Aug. 3. Bryant nominated McLellan — whose father is a retired U.S. Navy submarine officer — for the air show journey and the Seafair folks gave her the nod.

It won’t be a full-bore flight with the Angels’ signature tight aerial maneuvers, but McLellan will be up there with the pilots soaking up a sky-high experience. (She doesn’t think she’d be able to handle the full-tilt flight anyway.)

With a laugh and an added zip in her voice, the self-proclaimed “Navy brat” said she’s nervous, a bit frightened and excited to give it a whirl. She’s especially interested in seeing the turn points that the pilots will be looking for when they unleash their high-octane show over the weekend.

“Oh my gosh!” she said when discussing her upcoming thrill ride.

“I’ve done some YouTube videos to see what’s out there. I do see the fainting and the throwing up and so I hope I keep my dignity. There’s no guarantees,” she added. “I’m a local kid, so born and raised here, and so Seafair has been part of my life forever. Seafair is near and dear to my heart, so to be part of that is just a dream.”

When it comes to roller-coaster riding, McLellan said she’s a giggle-screamer, so she feels the need to apologize to the Angels pilots beforehand about what they might hear.

She’s not a daredevil, but has made it her personal theme to say “yes” to everything and embrace what life has to offer.

McLellan simply couldn’t pass up on flying with the Angels. “I think that’s just the definition of cool, right?” she said of the high-flyers.

COVERING THE EVENTS

While Bryant is stoked to be checking out the hydros after a two-year hiatus and broadcasting stunt pilot “Rock and Roll Airman” Will Allen’s show live from the cockpit during the Boeing Seafair Air Show, the KMIH man said he’s mostly looking forward to “spending Seafair with my students and hopefully inspiring young people to fall in love with the yearly tradition so we can keep it going for future generations to enjoy.”

Station chief engineer Jon Kasprick will handle the engineering and technical work to give the broadcast maximum clarity.

“We have a core team of around 12 students that are going above and beyond working over their summer to make Seafair sound as good as possible this year. A lot of our preparations have gone into making Seafair sound good. Like making promotions, imaging and updating our website,” said Andrew Howison, station director of operations. “Personally, I am most excited about interviewing the hydro racers.”

Annabelle Hegarty, the station’s program director, anticipates the three days being long, hot, tiring — and fun. Live broadcasting will be the crew’s main focus.

“We are hoping to cover the hydroplane races like we cover other sporting events with a play-by-play and some color commentary. We will also be interviewing as many people as we can throughout the day. This will be a great experience for all of KMIH and we will make some very valuable connections for the future,” she said.

Sophie Prock, director of staff, said this weekend by the lake will be a huge deal for her and the KMIH crew.

“Due to the pandemic, many of our staff weren’t able to experience broadcasting Seafair, including myself. I’m excited to see what Fleet Week has in store for us, and can’t wait to be able to learn more about Seafair,” she said.

People outside the Seattle area can download the KMIH app, which is available in the Apple or Google store. As an added bonus, Mercer Island School District and Island residents can receive a 20% discount on one-day passes by using the promo code KMIH2022 while purchasing tickets at www.Seafair.org.

CITY NOTES

According to the city, the events draw thousands of attendees to areas along the Lake Washington shoreline, including Mercer Island. The best locations for viewing the events locally include Aubrey Davis Park, Groveland Beach Park and areas along the north end of the island.

The United States Department of Homeland Security and Coast Guard issue unique boating regulations for boaters and swimmers in Lake Washington during Seafair. They include how to interpret Coast Guard air horn signals, no-go zones information and more. For more information on the regulations, visit https://tinyurl.com/2p837vcz