The first Pecha Kucha Night in Cranbrook was a fascinating sell out.

Pecha Kucha Cranbrook organizer Andra Louie reported the event, held at Cranbrook’s Key City Theatre, was a sell out, with 72 attending.

“Pecha Kucha Night really showcased the wide variety and talent we have in our region. I think many people were surprised and delighted by the presentations, especially in the 20 x 20 format. It’s a fun challenge that I hope more people will want to sign up for,” Louie said.

The 20×20 format consists of a speaker taking 20 seconds to talk about an image, before another image appears that requires 20 seconds of explanation and so on until 20 images have been discussed.

On this night, eight speakers, from around the region, enlightened and entertained during their 400 second (6 2/3 minutes) presentations.

Cranbrook’s Marisa Phillips spoke about the spiritual and natural themes of her art work; Kimberley’s Paul Willis engaged with a story about the Kimberley Refugee Resettlement Group’s efforts; Chantel Delaney (Kimberley), owner of Sprout Health Market, delved into the toxic chemicals found in every day items as well as tricks of the trade to identify greenwashing; and Radium Hot Springs’ Patrick Maiani, a multi-talented and faceted person, spoke about his village, its characters, cutting the grass and thinking.

In the second half, Cranbrook’s Dave Quinn related how he, his wife and their twins sold their house and travelled for nine months to 17 different countries; Fernie’s Troy Cook, using wry, well-timed humour, recounted his trip to Michigan in 2013 where he attended the Dwarf Olympics as a freelance journalist and explored the decay of Detroit; Sandi Lavery (Cranbrook), a College of the Rockies Kinesiology instructor, shared her knowledge and expertise in healthy active living strategies, especially in children and youth and Kimberley’s Jay Robinson spoke about Sufi mysticism.

“We will host another one this summer; date to be determined,” Louie said, noting she anticipates hosting four per year.

Anyone wanting to get involved with Pecha Kucha Cranbrook can contact Andra Louie at [email protected]

Lead image: The eight presenters at the first Pecha Kucha Night in Cranbrook, with organizer Andra Louie. Ian Cobb/e-KNOW photo

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