Why you should go to Ignite Boulder

Most of us, as much as we love celebrity scientists and nerdos alike, won’t attend TED conferences. Fortunately we don’t have to travel far to see enlightening presentations that touch on subjects from the benefits of coworking spaces to self-motivated weight loss. It’s all right here, and it’s called Ignite Boulder.

The next event, held a few times a year, is on May 15 at 6 pm. Ignite brings together speakers each with five minutes and 20 slides to present ideas that inspire and, hopefully, provoke conversation. As I saw at Ignite Boulder 20 last February, it’s not an easy task—especially since the slides progress automatically every 15 seconds.

One talk about customer service, corporate models, and how “the customer is not always right,” teetered off track as the slides changed. The subject being discussed out of context with the projected images.

But these moments are few and far apart. The majority of the night is filled with some of the strongest Boulder County voices, who they themselves never knew they could be. (Applications for speakers are open to anyone!)

The best talk came from openly gay presenter Ash Beckham who received a standing ovation for her comically poignant and sincere motion to remove the pejorative use of “gay” from our lexicon. Beckham’s quips managed to both entertain and move. And afterwards, the audience went for drinks at a nearby pub, discussing topics seldom thought about in an informative way.