If you couldn’t make the first-ever Pecha Kucha Night at Memminger Auditorium last night, you missed an amazing event pulled off by lots and lots of volunteer work, along with generous helpings from the The Culinary Institute of Charleston at TTC, the College of Charleston’s Computer Science team, PDA Green Works, and financial support from the CVB, New Carolina and the Charleston Regional Development Alliance.

Over 200 people turned out to share a beer, sample tasty bits from the young chefs, and get exposed to the thoughts, inspiration, and creativity of 9 diverse individuals who choose to work and live in Charleston – a small slice of the depth and breadth of creative talent that impacts both the quality of life and the economy of our region.

So what did we experience? A Google Earth tour of the urbanized parts of the globe; an intimate visit with a mountain man; a sustainable architecture showcase; ‘bricksellated’ public art; a story about an insouciant young Charlestonian; a roots rock reggae tour of Jamaica and it’s link to hip-hop; a French-Asian fusion bouillabaisse whipped up on site; a spoken word performance; and a short film created in the last 2 weeks just for this event… an amazingly fun, diverse, and energizing set of presentations. (Learn more about the presenters at www.pechakuchacharleston.wordpress.com.)

Special thanks go out to Robert Prioleau of Blue Ion (our emcee) and Patrick Bryant of Go To Team for their leadership and kicking off what we all hope to be the first of many events to bring the creative community together.

Keep your eyes and ears open for the next one… we already have a full slate of presenters lined up and we’re thinking January. More to come!

Photo courtesy of Diana Deaver.

A group of creative industry professionals in Charleston are staging the first-ever Pecha Kucha Night in Charleston on November 12 at 6:00 p.m.  So what the heck is Pecha Kucha and why should I care?

Pecha Kucha is a Japanese phrase that means ‘the sound of conversation’ or ‘chit chat’ and it’s a mix of show-and-tell, open-mike night and happy hour. It was originally conceived by architects in Japan who wanted an informal forum for creative people to meet, network, and share ideas without the danger of a designer run amuck with PowerPoint and microphone.  So the format allows each presenter 20 images shown for just 20 seconds each, without control of ‘forward’ or ‘back, please,’ making for a concise, 6 minutes and 40 seconds of fame for each of 8-10 presenters.  Since 2003, the concept has spread virally to over 135 cities around the world.

With so much interesting creative work going on around Charleston, in so many different arenas, it sounded like a good idea to celebrate that and see what’s happening.  The presenters confirmed for the first event are from the fields of graphic design, advertising, visual and performing arts, literature, architecture and urban planning.  And we’re working on a few more.

It’s for creativity, it’s not for profit, and all of the organizers are volunteers who have day jobs.  So no one’s going to hit you up for cash.  Oh yeah, and there will be beer, too.

So check out the invite, rsvp if you’re interested (you’ll need to in order to find out the location), and we’ll see you there.  And feel free to pass it along to anyone you think might enjoy.  Should be interesting!

We already knew Chef Mike Lata of FIG Restaurant was the epitome of Charleston inspiration, but now his message is resonating across the country. In a recent issue of Southern Living magazine, he talks about the importance of eating locally, and the fact that when he moved here ten years ago, almost no one was buying from local growers. Now, with the huge help of the Slow Food Movement making its way into Charleston, that has drastically changed.

Lata says, “Now I see it as part of the fabric of our cuisine here in Charleston. My peers inspire me daily with how they are buying locally and cooking locally.”

How can you get on board? Eat locally, frequent your farmer’s market, and get involved in your community!

See the entire article here!

Redux Art Center is teamed up with B’zar Clothing creating their own inspiration this weekend. Friday the 22^nd of August, they are hosting The Munny Show 2.0. The event was created to feature and support the diverse underground local art scene as well as give back to the local community through youth-focused art programs.

The viewing will be held at the Redux Art Center in downtown Charleston from 6 to 8 pm, followed by the auction from 8 to 9:30, then ending with a party from 9:30 to 11 pm. All proceeds will go to support the free and local education and outreach initiatives of Redux Art Center.

So, what is a Munny? Create your own! The artists involved range from graphic designers, painters, illustrators, graffiti artists, clothing and jewelry designers, as well as many other artistic voices.

Good news…we live in a walker’s paradise! Check out this website we stumbled upon…walkscore.com. Just plug in your address, and it will calculate the “walkability” of your neighborhood based on how close you are to restaurants, grocery stores, bars, coffee shops, schools, libraries, movie theaters, etc. Charleston overall scored a 94 out of 100. While that calculation was mostly based on the downtown area, check out your own neighborhood’s walkability. If it doesn’t score so high, do something to change it! You’ll help create or enhance the overall sense of community, collaboration and inspiration.

I was recently informed by another fellow Charleston Inspired supporter about the initiative of a few local heroes who are out there trying to provide post-secondary opportunities for young adults with intellectual disabilities. The organization is called College Transition Connection and what a great cause it is!

After reading some of the stats on their website, it became perfectly clear why they are focused on this effort. For example, ” research shows that students with intellectual disabilities who have some type of postsecondary experience are much more likely to obtain competitive employment, require fewer supports and earn higher wages.”

So, congrats to this organization for inspiring our next generation and providing educational opportunities for some that otherwise might have been left out.

Ever heard of Socci before? With a collective mix of skills found mostly in soccer, basketball and hackysack, Socci is now played as an individual fitness activity, social game and a competitive sport.

Without going into major details regarding how to play it (one can find that on their website, http://socci.net/), what’s interesting is that this game was created right here in the lowcountry. It’s inventor, Yani Dilling, attended Wando High School in Mount Pleasant. Now the sport is receiving national recognition and is used by Olympic Soccer Development Programs and YMCA’s across America as an ultimate soccer training game. I’m thinking if instructors picked this game up more broadly in K-12 schools across the country then students would not only gain mental and physical skills but they would also be able to compete more globally in sports like soccer… the world’s most popular sport.

Local residents and Charleston Battery players can be found playing in Marion Square downtown and on area beaches. Check it out and jump in if you ever catch them in the act. Here’s a sneak peak at the game:

Catching a flick anytime soon? Be sure to add Transformers to your list of “must sees”. Ladson-based Force Protection debuted its Buffalo Mine Protected Clearance Vehicle (MPCV) in the summer thriller as a Decepticon named Bonecrusher. Inspired by the design and reputation of the Buffalo as the most advanced mine resistant vehicle in the world, Bonecrusher is a force to be reckoned with.

Force Protection is one of several companies in the Charleston area focused on advanced security, one of the region’s five target industry clusters.

Interesting story in a recent issue of Metropolis magazine about “another” Navy Yard project…this time in Philadelphia. Like our urban redevelopment project at the old Navy Base in North Charleston, the Philadelphia project has utilized 1,000 acres (about the same size as Philly’s entire downtown) of former base property to develop a new mixed use district. The masterplan, conceived by Robert A. M. Stern Architects, calls for commercial ship building operations, a commercial center, a research park, a marina district, a historic core and the eastern end.

While a number of small and mid-size businesses set up shop at The Navy Yar (roughly 70 businesses with a total of 7,000 employees) it’s the recent move by Urban Outfitters to relocate its HQ to the site that made people stand up and take notice. The site was a perfect fit with the company’s culture and they developed an inspired campus that houses the company and sister companies (Anthropologie, Free People, etc.). Here are some pics from the article…

Very cool to see the end product take shape, and it makes the North Charleston Navy Yard/Noisette project all the more exciting as it comes to life.

Make sure you visit Charleston’s newest sustainable “community:” GoGreenCharleston.org.

It’s a great new online community for all things green and sustainable here in the Charleston area. Kudos to Chad Norman and his crew for putting together a beautiful site with great analysis and community-building features, including:

• Forums
• Google Maps Mashup of Recycling Locations in Charleston
• Frequently updated blog
• Ways to go green

Visit GoGreenCharleston.org and join the conversation.