Seed of 50-Year Old Dream Soon to Bloom

Monday, May 12, 5 p.m., Outlook Inn

— by Lin McNulty —

When Adam Farish’s father first came to Orcas as the owner of the Outlook Inn in the early 1960s, one of his visions was for intellectual conferences to be held at the Inn. It would be a place to share ideas, drawing intellectual people from far-away places. “In 1964,” says Adams, “it was a hard sell at the time.”

Now some 50 years later, that dream is coming to fruition, as Adam has gone through the process of establishing TEDxOrcasIsland as a recognized independently organized event under the TED umbrella.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) recently celebrated a 30th anniversary after beginning in 1984 as a one-off event., but remained somewhat secret and not well-known until the mid-2000s. TED has since grown into a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan “ideas worth spreading.” TED talks have grown exponentially, covering a vast array of topics. They are available to watch online at TED.com.

TEDx events, while independently organized, must still pass “muster” with the TED organization. Adam began the approval process in October of this year. He was assisted by islander Fred Klein’s son, Phil, who is associated with TEDxRainier in Seattle. Norm Stamper recently was selected to give a talk at TEDxRainier.

An organization meeting is scheduled for Monday at 5 p.m., at Outlook Inn. All ideas are welcome and the meeting is open to the public as volunteers are recruited, positions created, and brains will be picked to establish the first TEDxOrcasIsland event in the Fall.

Adam will be curator of the event, but is looking for a “curation” team to assist with presentations. Adam would like to source presenters within a 25 miles radius of Orcas to keep it as a “local” event.

The docket for presenters is currently open, but Adam does have some ideas. The TEDxOrcasIsland website will soon have nomination forms for presenters (for those who would like to nominate/suggest presenters).

This promises, says Adam, to be a “concentrated learning experience  and hub/destination area for intellectuals.” Plans for a conference center building on the Eastsound waterfront have been underway by Adam for nearly six years. Why so long? “It is an area of high-concentration culturally-signifiant artifacts.”

In the meantime, TEDxOrcasIsland events will take place at the Outlook Inn. If you are at all interested in contributing, sharing ideas, or learning more, attend the meeting on Monday.