Kids & Family

TEDx Is Coming To Concord

Introducing TEDxWaldenPond2.0

The following press release was provided on behalf of TEDxWaldenPond.

Local resident "Twinkle" Marie Manning received the TEDx license for Concord two weeks ago. At that time the TED team asked if she would participate in their upcoming TEDxCity2.0 project to occur worldwide on Oct. 13. She agreed and immediately partnered with Emerson Umbrella to host the event and Pierre Chiha to film it.

"We try to offer our community a broad range of options to our community, and this is exactly what we think people want to see. Concord tried it’s own version of these talks several years ago and we filled the high school auditorium. We hope to do the same at the Umbrella," said Jerry Wedge, executive director of Emerson Umbrella.

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The TEDx program are independently organized events that emulate the larger TED Conferences. Manning has been a fan of TED and TEDx for years and is excited to be the official Organizer for this event. She admits that it takes a lot of work to pull together an event of this scale in a very short six-week time frame. A professional television and event producer, she quickly knew who to rally as her support team.

Chiha will professionally record the evening's activities and upload each presentation to the TED site for worldwide exposure. Manning recruited Cynthia Ellis as her Director of Marketing for TEDxWaldenPond2.0. Ellis is fielding calls from local businesses wanting to support the event. Tony Gallo, experienced marketing and branding expert, is the emcee for the evening. The team also has a plethora of volunteers helping that night.

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TEDxWaldenPond will be an annual event here in Concord.

The theme of this year is Urban Inspiration, envisioning our communities' future. Of this event, Manning says,

"We are proud of our history. Centuries of great people came before us. Many with actions and ideals that shaped not only our towns, but the USA and the world. What can we, those of us alive today, do that those who come after us will be proud of? Every action creates a reaction. What can we set in motion that will positively affect future generations? TEDxWaldenPond2.0 is designed to help answer these questions."

TED events combine the screening of TED Talks, live local speakers and entertainers. The initial list of speakers and entertainers has been released: David Ropeik, Polly Peterson, Siri Smedvig, Jonathan and Katharine Glass, Prema Bhakti Band, Adele Fleet Bacow, Dr. Deborah Diamond, Jackie Woodside, Jillian Vorce, Drew Scott Pearlman and Anna Huckabee Tull. Tull will perform a new song composed especially for the event.

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