The word "environment" has rapidly become an all-encompassing term to reflect the world we live in and the world we create. Pecha Kucha Night Tacoma No. 005 - to be held Tuesday, April 20 in downtown's Bone Dry Shoe Building - will feature speakers sharing their views and reflections of that environment from the perspectives of art, landscape, architecture, and books, as part of what the five PK organizers like to call, "eARTh" night.

Pecha Kucha?

The idea of Pecha Kucha is simple: Invite creative professionals working across a variety of fields to present 20 slides for 20 seconds each on whatever topic the speaker pleases on a certain subject. This format keeps presentations concise, interest levels up, and gives more people the chance to show their work and speak about their interests.

Pecha Kucha resembles a potluck - but instead of a warm dish, guests bring a hot idea to share. "Pecha kucha" comes from the Japanese, meaning the sound of conversation. Since 2003, this show-and-tell conversational platform has spread to more than 299 cities around the world.

The presenters for Pecha Kucha Night Tacoma No. 005 include environmental building designer Tessa Smith, gardening blog Sprouting Off creator Lisa Lindholm, Pam Hathaway from the Cupping Hands Wilderness Sanctuary on the Cle Elum River, pilot green TV show Mission: Sustainable co-hosts Megan Hilfer and Nathan Friend, jewelry artist/green real estate agent Jessica Alexander, Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager author Langdon Cook, artist Steve Lawler, Earth Dwell Ltd. owner Bly Windstorm, Recovery 1 resource recovery, recycling and research facility representative Steve Lawler, artist and SOTA instructor Terri Placentia. Typically 70 to 100 people attend Pecha Kucha Tacoma events.

I tossed a couple question at one of Pecha Kucha Tacoma's founders - BCRA Architectural Designer Marianne Wombacher.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: Was Pecha Kucha your idea?

MARIANNE WOMBACHER: Hardly ... Kate Burnham and Andy Hartung of McGranahan Architects and Chauncey Drinon and myself from BCRA, and Cheryl Rucker, held the first Pecha Kucha Night Tacoma June 3, 2009.

Pecha Kucha Night is devised and shared by Klein Dytham architecture. We have a handshake agreement with them and the guidelines that they set up for us were pretty loose; they gave us a lot of freedom to organize our city's event to fit us.  The only requirement is the 20 x 20 format, 20 images 20 seconds per image and we are required to have to have at least three events per year to remain an active city.  When we decided to start a Pecha Kucha Night here in Tacoma we wanted to keep this event free to the public so that it could be accessible to anyone who would like to participate both as a presenter and a viewer, so we are always looking for a venue willing to host the event for free or a drastically reduced cost since any cost incurred is out of our pockets.  We are so passionate about Tacoma and its art and feel that the Pecha Kucha Night format is a great forum to share the amazing things that happen here. 

VOLCANO: Why host the event at the Bone Dry Shoe Building?

WOMBACHER: We like the idea of the Pecha Kucha Nights to take place in a different place each time because we feel that there are so many hidden jewels in Tacoma where an event like this can happen. We chose the Bone Dry Shoe Building this time around because it was free and we felt that it fit into our theme of eARTh since it's a building that has been renovated and it's on the Historic Registry.  The space that the event is being held in was a former retail space and it is currently pretty raw and open, but perfect for a Pecha Kucha Night.  All we need is a mic, people and images to make it work.  Most of the time there is no rhyme or reason to the venue.   

VOLCANO: Why do you believe Pecha Kucha's popularity rose so quick?

WOMBACHER: It's quite entertaining. For me there are so many things that I want to know about and this give me a chance to learn about a lot of different things in a very short amount of time. The event is set in a social setting and to me it feels like a gallery opening. The evening starts at 5:30 p.m. with drinks and mingling and slides start at 6 p.m. We divide the presentations in half and have an intermission to encourage discussions and then wrap up the evening with the remaining presenters. The whole evening usually wraps up about 8:30.

VOLCANO: It's all about time. ...

WOMBACHER: The timed aspect is a key element that make the event a success.  The time is so limited that only the highlights can be addressed and there is no time for lulls or anxiety. For those that are super passionate about what they are talking about don't have time to get too caught up in the details and structure of a typical presentation.  I also find that the timing element creates energy in the room that the audience get caught up in. The energy that happens live is pretty cool.

[Bone Dry Shoe Building, Pech Kucha Night Tacoma, Vol. 005, Tuesday, April 20, 5:30 p.m., no cover, 2111 Pacific Ave., Tacoma]