Where did we come from, and where are we going? A pair of thought-provoking community forums in downtown Vancouver will dig deeply into these deep questions.
Today at 1 p.m., gather with your neighbors from all around the county to share “Clark County Stories: Migration Stories” at the Vancouver Community Library. Whether you’ve lived here all your life — and your family has been here for generations — or you’re a newcomer from elsewhere in the U.S.A. or around the globe, your migration tale is welcome.
Participants will visit in small groups facilitated by Donna Sinclair, adjunct professor of history at Washington State University Vancouver, or her students, and then come together in a large group to explore shared local history and change — and the universal experience of leaving home and travelling to a strange new place to make a new one. This event is free and open to everyone. Clark County Stories is the brainchild of WSUV history professor Sue Peabody, and cosponsored by the Clark County Historical Museum.
The Clark County Stories project continues this summer with 1 p.m. Saturday story workshops, including an “Everybody Has a Story” session taught by this writer on June 30; “Poems of Place” by past Clark County Poet Laureate Christopher Luna on July 28; and “Telling Stories through Family Heirlooms” by Martin Middlewood, editor of the Clark County History Annual, on Sept. 15.
Plus, save the date of Oct. 11 for “Sharing our Stories” on the WSUV campus and Oct. 18 for the opening reception for a Clark County Stories exhibit at the historical museum.
VANtalks aims to ignite
On Thursday night, you can visit our bright, shiny future at the Kiggins Theatre. That’s where the third annual VANtalks, our own forward-looking version of those famously brainy “TED Talks,” will take place. The previous two VANtalks events sold out, so don’t delay visiting VANtalks.org to pick up tickets at $15 apiece. Or, they’re $18 at the door.
“Our theme this year is `ignite,’ said organizer Kevin Hiebert. “Our aim for VANtalks is that the ideas and stories … ignite our community to think, dream and create.” Hiebert said several past VANtalks audience members — not to mention speakers — have been inspired by the event to start or grow businesses.
“It was in the audience at VANtalks that I said to myself, ‘I am going to do this’,” said Colton Tidwell, who started a social media business called Alytag after the event inspired him to move past the idea stage. “I have never forgotten that feeling, and that alone has been a consistent driving force.”
For others, the real value of VANtalks isn’t a groundbreaking way to make money — it’s groundbreaking personal or spiritual growth, or even new ways of looking at existence itself. For example, one speaker will examine our increasingly digital, virtual world and consider what it means when human beings themselves are viewed — or transformed — into pure data. Here’s the list of speakers and their subjects.
• Cosette “CoCo” Leary: “From Welfare to the White House.” Leary overcame a life of poverty and abuse to become a college graduate, motivational speaker and government intern.
• Dene Grigar: “We are 1 and We are 0: What Virtual Reality May Mean for Ourselves and Our Future.” Grigar is a professor at WSUV, where she directs the Creative Media & Digital Culture program.
• Michael V. Ivanov: “Creatures of Love.” Russian emigre Ivanov launched FlashLove, a flashmob that does good deeds and serves the community.
• Roni Sasaki: “A Leg Up on the Competition.” Sasaki is a Paralympic gold medal skiier who was born with one leg.
• Hazar Jaber: “Don’t Despair, Keep Hope Alive.” Jaber, a dentist and native of Damascus, Syria, helps lead the Syrian American Medical Society’s dental program for refugees. She’ll discuss staying positive and involved with global crises like the ongoing flood of refugees from the Middle East.
• Scott Erickson: “How We Become Us.” Erickson is a performance artist who’ll talk about the blessing of his existential crisis.
• Ryan Harter: “How Long Should a Video Be? and other Stupid Questions about Communication.” Harter, a commercial filmmaker, will discuss what he’s learned about conveying powerful ideas, personally and professionally, in ways that actually get across.
