You know what they say about ballparks: If you build it, will they come? The organizers of Lopez Talks wondered if an audience would come on April 25 when they put on their first ever extravaganza at Woodmen Hall.
Meant to showcase 20 or so brave Lopezians speaking about anything they wanted – or juggling, singing, joking, or even yodeling – each in 4 minutes — the question was: would anyone come to perform or listen?
Publicity went out. Burma Shave-like signs were spread along the road (you have to be a certain age to know what these are). “Save the date” reminders were posted, KLOI radio ran ads, newspapers were contacted.
The first challenge was to corral some talent. Anything was fair game as long as there were no sales or bigotry. Right off the bat, a few people came forward. Then 10. Pretty soon, 23 people signed up, including six little girls to sing, “Let It Go.”
April 25 dawned wet and gray, the same day as Tour d’Lopez, a fierce competitor for attention. How many chairs should they set up, the organizers wondered? Too many, and the hall would look empty if the audience was sparse. Too few, and it would be madness if the audience was large.
Soon after starting, the room was packed – about 100 people, all ages, came.
The organizers knew only the titles of performances ahead of time and crossed their fingers. As it turned out, there was a great mix of serious (Dr. Claver Bundac on “Food Safety,” Nikyta Palmisani on “Planned Obsolescence,” Dan Post on the perils of eating fish caught outside Victoria, BC), funny (Lance Brittain telling banjo jokes), music (Ginni Keith playing the piccolo), stories from the past (Cheryl Harlan and Steve Horn), even hoola hoop swiveling (Davis “the Hoop” Limbach, who stayed late and helped clean up). Other presenters included: Rhea Miller, Eleanor Burke, Doug Poole, Roseamber Sumner, Chom Greacen, Marjoe Davidson, Sean O’Connell, and all the little girls who sang enthusiastically. Thank you to all of the speakers who helped to make this a wonderful, engaging community event!
The day was a rousing success. Lopez Talks, patterned after the famous Ted Talks, began as a service project of the four Lopezians who are in this year’s Leadership San Juan Islands program. They are: Bob O’Connell, Dave Sather, Liz Taylor, and Sara Waugh. Now they can graduate. Watch next year for the Second Annual Lopez Talks!
