What the Heck is Pecha Kucha Kalamazoo?

I know what you're thinking "Your what hurts? What the heck is a Pecha Kucha?" If you're anything like me, your brain is scrambling to make sense out of these syllables. You're thinking, is Pecha Kucha:

• A Pokemon?
• Ancient Inca ruins?
• An indie band?
• A Peruvian indie band that dresses like Pokemon?

To get to the bottom of this, I reached out to Pecha Kucha Kalamazoo organizer, Joy. Pecha Kucha, she explained, is Japanese for "chit chat," and from what I can glean, an event is like if TED Talks and The Moth Radio Hour had a baby. A list of speakers are organized, each speaker gets 20 slides to illustrate their story, with a limit of 20 seconds of their story spent on each slide, for a total of 6-minutes 40 seconds. What do people speak about? Anything and everything. People have spoken about their jobs, conquering their fears, what it was like to watch their parent slip away with dementia. It can be instructional. It can be story-telling. Whatever the case, Pecha Kucha is an evening of learning from each other and connecting, something I think we're desperately missing in this technology age. With a cocktail hour to start the evening, attendees get plenty of time to mix, mingle, and network. Honestly, Pecha Kucha just might be the best kept secret in Kalamazoo.

What to expect:

A typical Pecha Kucha begins with a cocktail hour, and two sets of speakers separated by a 20-minute intermission. A $5 suggested donation and an open mind are all you need to attend.

Pecha Kucha Kalamazoo is organized by Intersect Studio, Maestro, and Rhino. They invite you to attend their next event, Thursday, July 25th beginning at 6:00pm with the first speaker taking the stage at 7:00pm. Space is to-be-determined, so stay tuned for more details. For those interested in participating in a future Pecha Kucha, email Kalamazoo Organizer, Joy, at pechakuchakalamazoo@gmail.com.