Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 0 54 PechaKucha Launched in Tokyo in February 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture, as "a one-off " event—a way to control architects' tendency to talk way too long—the event and its unique format spread to Europe the following year. As of April 2019, PK Nights have been held in more than 1142 cites worldwide and have been attended by more than three million people. One key to the success of the format is that it is "bottom-up" rather than top-down." Because there is a set format, anyone with a good story to tell and good visuals, including children and adults who have never presented before an audience, can make a compelling presentation. at means the community hears from neighbors and friends who might never speak in any other venue. In many ways, Montana cities are perfect settings for PechaKucha. ere is a constant influx of talented and diverse people from all over the world, but the towns are small enough that it is likely that attendees will be acquainted with at least one or two of the presenters. In Montana, PKs now are presented only in Bozeman (which just held its 33d night in November and Ka- lispell), which has been the site of seven events. But the PK format also has been widely adopted by other orga- nizations, including Montana high schools and colleges. If you're interested in attending a PechaKucha Night in another part of the country or the world, check out the calendar of upcoming events at: pechakucha.com/calendar. In PK Bozeman, over the past eight years, the topics have included donating a left kidney, a musical homage to dirty penguins and a Japanese exchange student's hilarious expe- rience visiting a U.S. fast-food restaurant for the first time. ere have been plenty of adventure stories as well, from jumping off cliffs in a wingsuit to a dramatic retelling of the dramatic climb of Grand Teton in 1923 by three inexpe- rienced and unprepared University of Montana summer school students. PK Bozeman now routinely attracts 750-800 people for the two nights, certainly one of the largest audiences for a city of its size. Rick Reese's story had all the ingredients for a great PK: the amazing climb up the Grand Teton by three inexperi- enced students—and a great local angle. A noted alpinist and founder of the Great Yellowstone Coalition, Rick took part in a famous rescue on the Grand Teton in 1967. Rick had the foresight to interview and record (in 1980) Bozeman resident David Delap's memories of the extraor- dinary ascent. He played pieces of the audio during his presentation. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE STORY: PechaKucha by LARRY STERNE P ECHAKUCHA (PEH-CHAK-CHA) A TRANSLITERATION OF THE JAPANESE TERM FOR CHIT-CHAT, offers anyone with a passion or a vision—designers, artists, inventors, architects, adventurers, entrepreneurs—an opportunity to share their ideas with the community during a fast- paced, friendly social get-together. ere's just one catch—presenters have only 20 slides x 20 seconds each, a total of six minutes, 40 seconds! P R O N O U N C E D ( P E H - C H A K - C H A )

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