Bozeman ski-maker Eric Newman will talk about the fascinating science of ski design and Marjorie Smith will inform us of the precarious future of Funafuti, the capital of the world’s fourth smallest nation, Wednesday, February 10th and Thursday, February 11th at the 18th PechaKucha Night at the Ellen Theatre. Actor, director and Bozeman personality Cara Wilder will emcee.
The always-eclectic group of presenters also includes Michael Koster who will dispel the notion that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks in his presentation about advances in neuroplasticity, and Randy Carpenter who will present on “Gallatin Valley’s Future: How We Grow Will Make All the Difference.” Ryan Cassavaugh and Keith Suta will offer complementary presentations on the history of radio drama and real, live radio drama here in Bozeman. Renn Meuwissen will give us a very humorous look at “Monty Python and the Holy Coconut,” and Tom Hayes will present an inside look at the Big Sky Wind Drinkers. On a more serious, but also inspiring topic, Becky Franks, who runs a local cancer support group and Linda Wortman, a former flight attendant, lung cancer survivor and early advocate against smoking on airlines, will talk about what keeps them going in the face of great challenges. Finally, filmmaker Daniel Glick will describe how he risked everything to make a documentary that changed his life. All presentations will be featured both nights. Doors open at 6:30pm, with the first presentation starting at 7:20pm. Pecha Kucha (peh-chak-cha) offers anyone with a passion or a vision–designers, artists, inventors, architects, adventurers, entrepreneurs–an opportunity to share their ideas with the community during a fast-paced, friendly social get-together. There’s just one catch–presenters have only 20 slides x 20 seconds each, a total of 6 minutes, 40 seconds! Pecha Kucha (sounds like chit-chat in Japanese) was created 12 years ago by a Tokyo architectural firm. Events are now held in more than 800 cities around the world. More information is available on Facebook at pecha-kucha-bozeman or by e-mailing pechakuchabozeman@gmail.com.
You are encouraged to come early to socialize. There will be a 20-minute intermission. Advance tickets ($7 plus $1 restoration fee) are available online at theellentheatre.com/. Tickets also are available at the box office and at the door for $8 ($5 for students), space permitting. •
