Pecha Kucha Returns to the Midcoast, Feb 17

Jewelry, music, art, and more will be the focus of the first PechaKucha Night Midcoast Maine of 2012 Friday, Feb. 17 at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, 162 Russell Ave., Rockport. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin promptly at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door.

As always, this PechaKucha Night Midcoast Maine will offer engaging, fast-paced presentations from a diverse array of creative talents from our region. Each of the presenters will introduce his or her work and ideas to the crowd with a 20-second-per-image/20-image slideshow. An after-party upstairs with cash bar will give everyone a chance to “chit chat” (“pecha kucha” in Japanese) afterward and mingle.

The Feb. 17 event will feature presentations by painter and illustrator Lesia Sochor of Brooks; homebirth midwife Ellie Daniels of Montville; artist Leith McDonald of Rockland; Portland industrial designer and architect Patric Santerre; fine art photographer Deanna Witman of Rockland; Boothbay jeweler Christine Peters Hamilton; sculptor Robin Mandel of Cushing; and bagpipe maker Chris Pinchbeck of Hope.

To find out more about attending, presenting at, or volunteering for one of the upcoming 2012 events, contact Kelly Finlay, education coordinator at The Farnsworth Art Museum and PechaKucha Midcoast Maine team member, at 596-6457, ext. 118 or pechakuchamidcoast@gmail.com; or visit to midcoastmagnet.com/content/pecha-kucha.

PechaKucha Nights originated in Japan in 2003 as a forum for innovative designers to meet and show their work in public and has grown into a global phenomenon. At PechaKucha Nights Midcoast Maine, imaginative endeavors and personal projects are relayed through visual storytelling. The result is an informal, low-cost source of inspiration and a networking opportunity; PechaKucha also makes for a fun singles outing or event to attend with a group of friends.

The year's remaining PechaKucha Midcoast Maine events are: May 18 at Lincoln Street Center for Arts and Education, Rockland; Aug. 24 outdoors at the Camden Amphitheatre; and Nov. 16 at Thompson Community Center in Union. PechaKucha Midcoast Maine also offers very affordable sponsorships for local organizations and businesses; contact Leila Murphy at Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors at 594-8622. PechaKucha Night Midcoast Maine’s organizing partners include Midcoast Magnet, the Farnsworth Art Museum, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, Waterfall Arts and various creative community members.