In 2009 a small, but dedicated group of volunteers, fueled by their commitment to ideas worth spreading, created an event to showcase local thinkers who are changing the world. With little to work with other than their energy, passion, and determination, this team packed out The Orange Peel, with hundreds more turned away at the door.

TEDxAsheville was on the map. But is it possible to capture lighting in a bottle twice?

On August 29, locals and visitors filled The Orange Peel in a sold-out show to hear talks from a CNN Hero, a man who has lived in the woods since he was 16.

The speakers challenged the audience to embrace possibilities, reject limitations, unleash creativity, and live the life of purpose that each of us knows is waiting.

Unlike 2009, this year’s conference was a ticketed event. 2010′s $25 admission fee, charged solely to cover costs of the event, in no way dampened the enthusiasm of local idea-philes, who sold out the event days in advance, proving that in Asheville, big ideas can compete with cool indie bands for mindspace.

The TEDxAsheville 2010 Lineup

Breah Parker: “Drawing on the Spirit Within”

Eustace Conway: “Traditional Lifestyles in the 21st Century”

Jeff Schmitt: “My Adventures on the Road to Wellness”

Angela Shelton: “Squish, the Heart of the Matter”

Doc Hendley: “Extraordinarily Ordinary”

Laurey Masterton: “Bees, Bikes, and Cooking for Survival”

James Navé: “The Imaginative Storm into the Creative Form”

River Guerguerian: “Ancient Technologies”

John Miles: “Innerprenuership–Happiness in the Workplace”

Billy Jonas: “The Art of War: A Neo-Tribal Operetta In Three Parts”

Check out the TEDxAsheville Flickr gallery here.

***

The energy of TEDxAsheville 2010 continues with two new efforts.

TEDxNextGenerationAsheville Executive Director Ashley Cooper and TEDxAsheville Technical Director Brett McCall joined forces to create a series of salon events. Follow TEDxAsheville on Facebook for more details!

And TEDxAsheville’s Head of Marketing and Publicity is creating her own TED-inspired community project: The Community Restorative Garden Initiative, an alternative sentencing program where local judges can send nonviolent youth offenders to work on a sustainable, locally focused farm and educational facility.

Where there are great ideas, there is the spirit of TEDx. Thank you for supporting our TEDxAsheville events!

• Ticket & Photo ID: Each attendee will need to bring a print-out copy of their ticket (pdf is attached to confirmation e-mail), along with a photo ID

• If you want to use the ScanLife Technology to network, you will need to download their app at 2dscan.com

• Bring your old cell phones and computers to be recycled–you can get entered into a raffle to win an iPod.

• Droid User: Download TEDxAsheville 2010 Program App at Android Market

• Plan to stick around for the After Conference Mixer–you won’t want to miss it!

Let’s face it, nothing can really take the place of actually being at TEDxAsheville 2010. So many of the qualities that make TEDxAsheville a unique event really have to be experienced first hand.

But Asheville can be a “last-minute” kind of town, and some of you, for whatever reason, will keep putting off getting your ticket… until it’s too late. (in fact, by the time you read this, it might already be too late). But we get it—hey, sometimes, we’re that guy. We wouldn’t leave you hanging. So we are partnering with a couple of local businesses to offer you the next best thing–webstream viewing of the conference.

TEDxAsheville 2010 will feature two official offsite viewing locations: Posana Cafe (downtown) and The Doubletree Biltmore Hotel on Hendersonville Road. Seating is limited in both locations—please contact them directly for more info.  There is no charge for either of the webstream events.

Posana Cafe: 1 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801, (828) 505-3969

Doubletree Biltmore Hotel: 115 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC 28803, (828) 274-1800

Both locations will stream the four-and-a-half hour conference live, from approximately 5 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Please note that the webstream may not begin exactly at five, and that there are two half-hour breaks in conference content.

If that doesn’t grab you, hold a viewing party in your home. We will be streaming the conference off of our website, as well at the Citizen-Times and Mountains Express sites.

“WOW!!! Our future looks so bright in the eyes of these people.” TEDxAsheville Technical Director Brett McCall at the TEDxNGA technical run-through

The above quote should be enough to convince you to be at TEDxAshevilleNextGeneration 2010, but in case you’ve missed the buzz, here’s the scoop…

TEDxNextGenerationAsheville (TEDxNGA) is an interactive, multi-media event being held on August 28th, 2010 at the Orange Peel that will spotlight some of the region’s most creative young people and their “ideas worth spreading.”

At TEDxNGA, a dynamic group of 12-19 year olds will present their ideas for the future to an audience ready to be inspired at Asheville’s first ever TEDx event for youth. This event is an opportunity for Asheville’s young people to stand tall and share their biggest dreams, demonstrate their most audacious ideas and join together to make positive change in our world.

A recent Asheville Citizen-Times headline described the event by saying “Ideas conference TEDx aims to inspire Asheville’s next generation.” Talks will focus on fixing our food system, gaming the educational system, youth leadership in our communities, and social justice through music.  To hear these and other amazing, thought-provoking ideas from the next generation, plan on being at TEDxNGA 2010.

For tickets information, email: tickets@TEDxNGA.com

What do you get if you take some of the most creative, idea-driven people around, stoke them up on 4 + hours of ideas that are changing the world and then turn them loose to network and have a little fun? The TEDxAsheville 2010 After Conference Mixer!

Rub elbows with presenters, organizers, fellows, and volunteers–as well as others who share your passion for “locally grown ideas worth spreading.” The mixer will follow immediately after the conference, so plan on sticking around The Orange Peel to participate in this amazing opportunity to connect, brainstorm, and share with others who believe in the power of ideas to change the world.

TEDxASheville is as much a community of ideas as an event. Come be a part of this community–we need your big idea! Get you ticket today.

TEDxAsheville’s (little) sister, TEDxNextGenerationAsheville is doing an excellent job and commanding serious press in the process. Let’s cheer on our bright youth. TEDxNextGeneratonAsheville will premier at The Orange Peel on Saturday, August 28.

Ideas conference TEDx aims to inspire Asheville’s next generation

An upcoming ideas conference here in Asheville will put the spotlight on young people, their passions and action that may come of that caring.

It’s called TEDx Next Generation Asheville, and it will be 3-7 p.m. Aug. 28 at The Orange Peel. The event will feature a group of 11 speakers, who will talk about everything from preventing bullying to spurring social justice through music.

“The push of this event is to give our young people a platform to share their ideas,” says Ashley Cooper, creative executive director of the nonprofit organization. “Our hope is to invite the public to see how much these young people have to contribute in terms of their insight, wisdom and creativity.”

The theme of the event will center on how to turn all that youthful passion into action. Cooper says people who come should be prepared to get engaged. There will be audience discussion sessions and interactive booths to keep the discussion going, she says, and there will be an emphasis on having fun.

“This isn’t teens getting up and acting like adults,” Cooper says. “These kids want to integrate fun into what they’re doing.”

Cooper is a former school counselor turned activist and community organizer who has her own life and family coaching business. She sees the event as an invigorating new model for education.

“The way that TED marries passionate people with people who can build on those ideas is a great formula for learning,” says Cooper, who would like to see a TEDx youth day held at every school in Buncombe County.

TEDx Next Generation Asheville will be held the day before the adult version of the local conference, TEDx Asheville, which was held for the first time last year. Both conferences are a locally organized version of the popular California-based conference held each year known simply as TED, which stands for technology, entertainment and design.

TEDx Next Generation is a free event, but you have to have a ticket to get in, and the organization wants people to register so they can stay connected. To get a ticket, send an e-mail to tickets@tedxnga.com.

This is the opinion of Jason Sandford. Contact him at 232-5851 or jsandford@citizen-times.com. Find Ashvegas updates online at CITIZEN-TIMES.com/ashvegas and the full blog at www.ashvegas.com.

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010308210036