First annual TEDxBellingham kicks off Tuesday at the Pickford

Tickets for this Tuesday’s TEDxBellingham at the Pickford Film Center are already sold out, but you’re welcome to join the webcast viewing party in Syre Auditorium at Whatcom Community College.

The theme of volunteer-run TEDxBellingham, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 5 at 1318 Bay Street, is “Here by Choice.” The event features seventeen local speakers giving short talks about “our unique sense of place, and each individual’s Here by Choice life,” according to its Facebook page. Talks will range from a just few minutes to eighteen minutes long. Here's the first video entered into the #HereByChoice contest to promote TEDxBellingham.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3_pxDInHv0

Live viewing parties will be held at WWU, WCC, Downtown Bellingham, and in Ferndale.

• Western Washington University: Viking Union MPR, 516 High Street
• Whatcom Community College: Syre Auditorium, 237 W. Kellogg Road
• Downtown: The Upfront Theater, 1208 Bay Street
• Ferndale: The Silver Reef Casino Event Center, 4876 Haxton Way

Speakers on Tuesday include Swil Kanim, the Bellingham violinist who performed at WCC on Tuesday last week as part of Dreams Unlimited.

If you’d prefer to watch at home, you can tune in to the live webcast at http://live.tedxbellingham.com from your home computer, laptop, or mobile device. In a month or so, the talks will be uploaded to YouTube so you can catch up or revisit the talks.

TEDxBellingham organizer David Wiggs was interviewed last Monday, Nov. 4 on Progressive Talk Radio KBAI AM 930. The 23-minute spot on The Joe Show included how the event is supported and how it came together. He talked about sponsors for the event, about the different speakers you’ll see, and why he wanted to organize it in the first place.

“We are fortunate to live in a very special place, with incredibly talented people, and I look forward to seeing, hearing and feeling how each speaker interprets our Here by Choice theme," Wiggs said in an official Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism press release.

Earlier this year, another independently-organized TEDx event was held at Western Washington University on June 1.

TEDx events are required to include two pre-recorded TED talks from other events, so the two talks are in the schedule for Tuesday. See a list of all the recorded talks on the TED website.

The schedule for Tuesday, from the TEDxBellingham Facebook page: ACT ONE: 10:00-12:00 PM SWIL KANIM - The Gift of Presence PAUL AKERS - Creating an Innovative Culture RHONDA GOTHBERG - Creating a Life of Plenty:40 Acres and a Milk Goat JASMINE WILHELM - She Rises: A Story of Grace PHYLLIS SHACTER - Not Here by Choice TED TALK 1 THE GALLUS BROTHERS - Performance TOM MALTERRE, MS, CN - Broccoli: The DNA Whisperer ACT TWO: 1:15-3:00 PM GALEN EMANUELE - Improv to be a Better Human Being DUSTIN MORROW - Better Living Through Music SANDI DOUGHTON - Shake, Rattle - and Rebound TED TALK 2 COLLEEN HAGGERTY - Forgiving the Unforgivable ROBBYN PETERS BENNETT - Violence - A Family Tradition NASEEM RAKHA - Remember to Live 3:00 PM - Break ACT THREE: 3:30-5:00 PM MARK KING - Three Reasons to Take on a Big Project SCOTT SONNON - How We Suppress Genius and Create Learning Disability DANIEL KIRKPATRICK - Making Education Matter HEATHER McKENDRY - Dark is the New Light CELESTE MERGENS - What Are We Not Asking? Simple Solutions for Global Impact