On Wednesday, March 25th PechaKucha will be presenting “Kapow Bellingham” at the Mount Baker Theatre and there will be beer. LOTS of beer.
First, what is PechaKucha? The Cascadia Weekly describes it well
PechaKucha is a simple format where presenters show 20 images, each for 20 seconds, and the images advance automatically. The format was devised by a Japanese architecture firm in 2003 because “architects talk too much.” Currently, PechaKucha Nights happen in more than 700 cities around the world where anyone can share their ideas, work, thoughts or just about anything. The March 25 event marks Bellingham’s sixth annual PechaKucha Night.
Kapow is a design competition intended to spur creative problem solving in order to revitalize a city. Bellingham is often known as the “City of Subdued Excitement.” The competition will rattle the cages of our collective “subduedness” and spur creative problem solving, while priming your creative juices with beer. There are many under utilized places in Bellingham and creative problem solving will be used by the competitors to suggest ways we can better use our city’s spaces.
Everything from a giant hamster wheel to a graffiti inspired basketball competition in an alley was submitted. 50 designs were submitted and these were whittled down to 10 finalists. Kapow finalists will present on Wednesday March 25th.
The goal of the competition is to engage our community in designing inexpensive, individual projects that make small places more lively and enjoyable. These design ideas should help to reflect our unique community identity, attract people, activate inactive spaces, provide amenities and promote people’s health, happiness, and well-being.
Show up at 530pm (sharp!) for pints from the downtown Bellingham Tap Trail breweries and get to meet the competition designers. Aslan, Boundary, Chuckanut, Kulshan and Wander will be there to welcome you to the event with pints. Don’t have a map yet? We’ll have a bunch there for you to pick up!
- Who: Bellingham’s Breweries, Designers and Good people
- What: PechaKucha Kapow Pre-Party
- When: Wednesday, March 25th, 530pm (sharp!)
- Where: Mount Baker Theatre
- Suggested donation: $10
There you have it: Beer, design and a look the future of our city. Bellingham is growing. More breweries are on the way and the better we design our city the better it will be for the people and the beer in it! We’ll see you at 530pm at the Mount Baker Theatre for The PechaKucha Kapow Pre-Party. Don’t forget to wear a super hero costume!