Although there are conflicting reports as to how many Estonians live in the Yukon - some say 3, others 11 -, there is evidence of ample interest in Estonian music in Canada’s Far North. As of the second full week of January FM stations CJUC 92.5 in the Whitehorse and CFET 106.7 in Tagish began two daily hour-long broadcasts of Estonian popular music, airing at 2 pm and 3 am. (While Whitehorse is the capital and largest city in the territory, where Estonian flag decals have been spotted on automobiles, Tagish is a bucolic community of @100 souls, and we are not sure how many estos make the village home.) Plans to broadcast on the Internet are underway and we should have further information by February.

The program, airing under the title of Estonian music and news from Northern canada is the brainchild of three men, two from Toronto. Robert Hopkins is the station manager in the Yukon, Hogtowners Peeter Kalm and Alex Kink are the program director and the music director, respectively. Material to be aired is culled from a considerable collection of CDs accumulated during recent visits to Estonia, and cover a wide range of popular music genres.

Kalm advises that their long-term plans are to include PSAs - Public Service Announcements - which focus on the activities of Estonian organizations in Canada on air. Once web broadcasting details are confirmed esto news and tunes from the frozen North can thus be enjoyed world-wide, broadcasting from what initially might seem as an unlikely location. Website information will be passed on once the URL is confirmed.

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