PechaKucha 20×20, is described as the “art of concise presentations.” On Friday night, Relax It’s Just Business was filled to capacity with Richland County residents eager to participate in and appreciate Mansfield’s first PechaKucha night.
PechaKucha is a global event that began in February 2003 in Tokyo. The format is simple; the speaker organizes a presentation made of twenty images, which are projected on a screen for twenty seconds apiece, advancing automatically as the speaker talks. Devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham architecture, Tokyo, the simple format was conceived in part as a reaction to the tendency of their colleagues to be verbose.
In over 700 cities the world over, creative people gather on international PechaKucha nights for a fun night of “drinking and thinking.” Open to everyone, free to discuss whatever the speaker is passionate about, the talks are a welcome forum for divergent thinkers, creative types and entrepreneurs.
Dr. Phil Mazzocco opened the evening with a heartwarming autobiography told in relation to his passion for baseball cards. Mazzocco learned lessons in friendship, business and even love over the years as a result of, or tangential to, his baseball card collection. And he delighted the audience when his closing frame described how he sold some of his cards to buy the suit for his wedding.
When asked to participate in the event Mazzocco puzzled over potential topics for a while, but eventually landed on baseball cards,
“I decided—What do I know the most about? Baseball cards, and when I started thinking about it I realized this was it,” said Mazzocco.
Steve Oleen took the approach of a business pitch for his startup WhatsInItForMe.com.
Mancunians are no longer a mystery to Mansfielders because Dr. Christian Winterbottom set the record straight. His hometown, Manchester, England is decidedly different from London; not only for the superior culinary and sporting choices, but the rich contribution to the history of music.
A mash-up of poetry and art was presented by local artist Aurelio Diaz who, in his poem said, “The only language I want to be fluent in is poetry.”
Punk rock, skateboards, community and Richland Source was a presentation from Richland Source publisher Jay Allred. It seemed part stream of consciousness, part Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, with punk as the metaphorical soundtrack and an implied defiance a la Jack Kerouac all wrapped up in Mr. Roger’s optimistic sweater–in just over six minutes, mind you.
Paul Kemerling confirmed what people have long suspected: one’s coffee choice is both judged and interpreted by baristas and is viewed as an accurate predictor of personality. He closed describing perfectly brewed, unadulterated coffee as the ideal.
Then, architect Matthew Stanfield challenged preconceived notions of society and space with his thoughts about community-minded architecture.
Co-working is one of the hottest trends for solopreneurs and other non-traditional workers and Kara Mumea, general manager and account Eexecutive at Relax, It’s Just Business explained the benefits and concepts of their new approach to work.
It was Llalan Fowler’s presentation that yielded some subsequent social media buzz. Fowler unveiled her long-held dream of opening a combination bookstore and bar. This is more than a whimsical idea; she coupled that vision with compelling research. Although not the first to conceive of a bookstore with spirits, her proposed establishment by and far has the most ingenious name—First Draught, and judging from the community’s response will no doubt be the toast of the town.
Ben Madden was in attendance Friday evening, “It was great to see such a large part of the community come out and share their ideas. I look forward to the next ones and seeing what ideas are posed.”
For those interested in participating in future PechaKucha nights contact Downtown Mansfield, Inc. for more information. And by the way, there will be three more Mansfield events.
“It was great to see such a large part of the community come out and share their ideas. I look forward to the next ones and seeing what ideas are posed,” said Ben Madden.
