See through different lenses Saturday at TEDxCoeur d'Alene

By DEVIN WEEKS

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — OK, Coeur d'Alene — it's time to get "Comfortably Uncomfortable."

From LGBTQ+ issues to suicide to cystic fibrosis to exhaustion in the veterinary industry, the fourth annual TEDxCoeur d'Alene is inviting everyone to get in on the conversation.

"Whenever you’re looking to have growth and development and looking into the future, you kind of have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable, having those really difficult but important conversations," Nick Swope, TEDxCoeur d'Alene co-organizer, said Monday.

"A different lens of viewpoint is something we like to bring up," he said. "It's a space where people can have those uncomfortable conversations. It's a really great environment to make that happen."

TEDx (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together. This year's TEDxCoeur d'Alene will feature 12 talks, live performances and several exciting live experiences.

Among this year's speakers is Blanco, a street artist and anthropologist from Brooklyn who works in a Smithsonian museum.

"Not only is his artwork visually capturing, but it always has a thought-provoking lens," Swope said.

The other speakers are: teacher, writer, suicide mental health activist Saprina Schueller; mom-on-a-mission, translator, organizer Rebecca Schroeder; LGBTQ champion, soul-seeker, teacher Juli Stratton; scientist, mother, self-directed learner Jacqueline M. Kory-Westlund; veterinarian, adventurer, nurturer Melanie Bowden; musicians and composers Phil and Angela Lamb (Mountains in the Sea); coach, experiential entrepreneur Joshua Dahlstrom; operations director, data analyst, strategist Arthur Price; arts administrator, creative place-maker, communitarian, dreamer Blair Williams; and pianist, composer Seth Lowman.

"For this theme, we wanted to highlight the good things that bring about some uncomfortable conversations or thoughts," said TEDxCoeur d'Alene director of awesomeness Cassidy Bones. "Those are the things that make us grow."

This year will be the biggest event yet, Bones said. 

"It’s been really cool to massively increase our audience year after year," she said. "I think that TEDx is one of the coolest organizations to have ever been created, and is especially needed in the really polarizing times we live in. It's just really cool to watch Coeur d'Alene come together and really hear people out and spark good, productive conversation. If one person goes away with their mind on fire for something new, that's amazing and all we can ask."

Swope said his favorite part of this event is that it's a place "where people can go for an entire day, long enough to detach and unplug from what's going on and dive into an array of new ideas."

"It's a varied audience, from students, professionals, doctors, tech," he said. "Everybody's in this same space, so you can connect with the people around you."

TEDxCoeur d'Alene will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Kroc Center, 1765 W. Golf Course Road.

General tickets are $55. Super supporter tickets are $99 and include premium seating, catered lunch on-site in a special location, more access to the speakers, a TEDx shirt and a super supporter mystery prize.

Info: Official@tedxcoeurdalene.com or www.tedxcda.com