Called "an evening of inspiration, creativity and a mix of ideas," the inaugural Pecha Kucha Night Comox Valley covered the arts, education, biofuels, heath and more, all within one hour.
The Vancouver Island Visitor Centre hosted Volume One of the 20x20 presentation, which was originally created by an architecture firm in Tokyo 10 years ago.
The format revolves around a simple presentation where participants show 20 images, each for 20 seconds on a variety of topics.
"It's an informal, fun gathering where creative people get together and share ideas; anyone can present and speakers can present about anything," M/C Kelly Barnie said last Wednesday evening. "We're here to share passions and show projects and to uncover the unexpected."
Pecha Kucha nights are happening around the world, with the Comox Valley evening adding to the list of 700 cities where events are being held.
Kinesiologist Kaitlin Armstrong started the evening, speaking about "eating foods the way nature intended," and practising mindfulness.
Artist/sculpturist and former military social worker Kelly Gough displayed images of her pieces, and spoke about looking at different ways of self-acceptance.
"Art has become my voice to express the things when I can't use my voice," she added.
Tom Diamond used his 20 images to talk about health meditation and its role in self-healing, while University of Victoria research engineer Aaron Philippsen displayed his idea to create a seaweed-based fuel to replace gasoline.
"(Seaweed) produces yields similar to corn and has a high sugar content. You can ferment it and get a significant amount of ethanol," Philippsen explained.
"Biofuel is made from plant biomass … which requires farmland. Seaweed doesn't need farmland or irrigation, and in some cases, no fertilizer."
Sweatshop Union's Mo Moshiri spoke about education and learning and Marla Limousin of Natures Way Farm/Blue Moon Winery displayed images from her time in the arctic as a landscape architect.
"Listen to the land, and she will tell you her stories," she said.
Barnie noted she is hoping to see Pecha Kucha nights in the Valley happen four times a year, with possible options for other sessions.
For more information about future Pecha Kucha nights, visit Pecha Kucha Comox Valley on Facebook.
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