Reason #1: Biker Jim’s Dogs is back to serve up pre-Ignite Denver food in front of the Oriental Theater! Gotta get you some. They even have a vegan dog in addition to the standard reindeer, elk, or beef. Tasty.
Dogs & caramelized onions
Reason #2: Afterparty music by Dandu! Pretty chill, will be perfect for a Thursday night.
Bonus reason #3! Our MC is the brilliant and funny Kat Atwell. (No pressure, Kat.)
Here’s her opening Spark from Ignite Denver #20 for a little preview of what you can expect on Thursday night!
For this Tuesday Two, we decided to go old-school and show you our humble beginnings: The first two videos uploaded to our YouTube channel! It’s always good to reflect back as we move forward, and we certainly appreciate how far we’ve come in the almost six years since Ignite Denver 5. Well, maybe we haven’t come that far…. Our speakers are still fantastic and irreverent, our crowds are still a bit rowdy (a few drinks can do that to you), and it’s still just 20 slides in 5 minutes. We also still have a great community in Denver who supports the craziness, three times a year.
With that in mind, here’s where it all started – on our YouTube channel, at least.
An Bui – How To Pick Up Chicks – Tips From A Totally Hetero Woman
Not everyone is comfortable around computers. In fact, it might be safe to say that most people have a certain amount of anxiety around these little communication devices that are ever-present in our lives. Sometimes things go wrong. Luckily, we’ve had a couple of people give Sparks at Ignite Denver about what you can try when you need to fix your computer – or what to say when you need to communicate to someone else what’s going on.
Eric Fickes – I Wish You Weren’t So Dumb About Computers – Ignite Denver 9
Jacob Anderson – 10 Things Every Computer Repair Person Wished You Knew (Or Tried) – Ignite Denver 20
Do you have something to tell us? Submit a Spark of your own for Ignite Denver 21!
Ignite Denver #19 took place in a snowstorm in February. The skies opened up once again over Ignite Denver #20 in early June, soaking the street but not the pre-show eats of Biker Jim’s Dogs. A couple of well-placed oversize umbrellas kept the dogs & buyers dry.
The festivities began inside with a full lineup of speakers:
And our wonderful Master of Ceremonies, Kat Atwell, started the evening by telling us what Ignite Denver is about, and her experience as a performer.
Kat really likes these dancers. She is not one of those dancers.
The A Side started with Daniel Stones, delivering a message about raising his children
The one on the right is not one of Dan’s children.
Helene Kwong then entertained with stories about her time in San Francisco as a hot dog vendor.
Your karma ran over my hot dogma.
Joanne Burke Peterson then told us how to delay procrastinating. (See what I did there?)
More monkeys. You’re welcome.
And Elizabeth Boese showed us how to do what you love and love what you do.
We all love Nyan Cat, right?
Gabriel DiCristofaro rounded out the night’s opening by telling us about the reptile brain and black marbles therein.
We were taught the tools for coping in the world by Shelsea Ochoa
Love is all you need. And a few other tools.
The evening’s speakers concluded with Kerstin Caldwell explaining just how fucking brilliant we really are.
I was a musician. Who were you?
The only way we could keep the night rolling after such an engaging group of speakers was to rely on the energy and potency of the parlor rock of Kotorino.
Kotorino
After ten talks (plus Kat!) and two bands, we left the Oriental Theater a little wiser, a little more tipsy (it’s ok, we had designated drivers), and with many songs in our hearts. The rain had cleared and Ignite Denver would sleep until November 5, 2015, when we’ll meet back at the Oriental for Ignite Denver 21.
The Spark presenters at Ignite Denver are the reason so many people come out to the events, time after time. However, we also have talented and thoughtful MCs like Jared Ewy and Kat Atwell who start our evenings off right and keep the proceedings rolling along all night.
Come see Kat on Thursday, June 11th (that’s the day after tomorrow!! Buy tickets!) as she leads us through another fantastic Ignite Denver. Make sure to bring your appetite for good food and good music, as we’ll have Biker Jim’s Dogs serving up tasty grub before/during the show and Kotorino serving up gorgeous tunes at the afterparty!
In this season of graduations, we pause to look back at Sparks that have the theme of education at their heart.
First up, Jeff Macco explains why we should treat college like a job, and not like school:
Next, Meg Jamison advocates for changing how we teach kids in order to provide the skills they will need to be innovators, not just memorizers:
There are two and a half weeks left until Ignite Denver 20, so get your tickets early and save money! See you Thursday June 11th at the Oriental Theater.
Well, one Spark about quitting, one Spark about not quitting. Because it’s always good to have options.
First up, from Ignite Denver #8, Eric Fickes shows you how to quit your job and be your own boss:
Next up, Tim Nicklas makes the case for “intrapraneurship” – innovating within the company you currently work for:
You can also buy a ticket now for Ignite Denver #20 on Thursday, June 11th to hear Ravi Raman explain why you should quit your job to travel the world!
Submitted a spark but still a little nervous about getting onstage in front of hundreds of people? Fear not! The Ignite Denver crew has you covered with our final presenter workshop before Ignite Denver #20 this coming Monday, May 18th. The subject is “Giving A Good Presentation” and will take place at 6pm downtown at the ReadyTalk offices at 1900 16th St, Suite #600. We hope to see you there! And if for some reason you can’t make it, check out our Tips for Presenters page, which includes this video “Why and How to Give an Ignite Talk”:
In the run-up to ID#19 we had a feature called the Friday Five where we showcased videos from past Ignite Denver events. As we draw closer to Ignite Denver #20, we wanted to do the same thing, but on a smaller scale. Five videos a week (sometimes ten!) is a lot. We admit it. So, the Tuesday Two was born! Or is born today. Happy birthday, Tuesday Two.
Ignite Denver has two pieces of wonderful news for your mouth and ears! (I don’t know why that sounds dirty, but we’ll just let that slide)
#1 – Our confirmed food truck for Ignite Denver #20 on Thursday, June 11th is BIKER JIM’S GOURMET DOGS! Yes, the local legend will be gracing our taste buds with their wares! Along with their famous hot dogs – elk jalapeño, beef, vegan and others – they will be serving chips and sodas and condiments for the dogs. Come hungry!
#2 – National touring band Kotorino is returning to Denver to play the Ignite Denver #20 after party! We met the band during their 3-day stint in town back in late January/early February and thankfully convinced them to come back next month for our event. While the full band will play the after party, lead vocalists Jeff and Ellia’s side project Charming Disaster will grace the stage during intermission.
Educational speakers, gourmet hot dogs, and art jazz folk music. This is going to be the best Ignite Denver yet! You don’t want to miss this.
Early bird tickets are on sale now for only $5! Student tickets are only $3. Prices go up on June 6th, so don’t wait! We sold out in February and expect to do the same in June.
See you at the Oriental Theater on Thursday, June 11th!
