Get Thee To PechaKucha Night Vol. 13

So, much to my chagrin (because I have Sweeney rehearsal), tonight marks the return of PechaKucha Night to Vancouver. I attended the first few evenings before heading to London, where, sadly and peculiarly, there was no PechaKucha Night. I missed it so and am stoked that it's back.

Not sure what the hell I'm talking about? Well, PechaKucha (Japanese slang for "chit-chat") Night gives 20 presenters 6 minutes and 40 seconds to talk about 20 images (each shown for 20 seconds each) - about - whatever. What's inspiring them, what's enraging them...well, anything really. John Fluevog showed pictures of cool cars that inspired him. A textile designer showed pictures of a recent trip to Italy that were inspiring her. A photographer spoke about women he photographed in the DTES. I'm pretty sure you could get up at PKN and talk about your stamp collection and as long as your slides were cool and you could keep it up for 6 and a half minutes, you'd be warmly received. Passion is really the only unifying theme.

The strict time constraints mean speakers have to really focus on what message they are trying to convey, and allows people like me with wandering attention spans to stay interested and engaged (I can listen to pretty much anyone for 6 minutes). PKN happens all over the world. I like feeling like I'm plugged in to a bigger, more global conversation.

So, if you're around tonight, get on over to the Vogue for PechaKucha Night...and I'll see you at Vol. 14 for sure.