“Stories create community and enable us to see through the eyes of other people,” said famous photographer, writer, and storyteller Peter Forbes. That saying was evident this past Thursday night as the local PechaKucha (PK) chapter held their annual outdoor event in the parking lot of the Ghostlight Theatre. Over 150 audience members gathered on a perfect fall evening to hear stories and support the storytellers who presented tales from their lives in this unique storytelling format.
The evening featured stories from first time PK presenters to seasoned storytellers from Benton Harbor and St. Joe, who all have just over 6 minutes to present a full story to a live audience with timed slides being projected behind them. The stories ranged from tales of family, feminism, furniture design and faith with the common theme of transparency and vulnerability.
At a PechaKucha event, presenters take the stage and show 20 slides with 20 seconds of commentary for each image. Pecha Kucha, which translates to chit chat in Japanese, began in Roppongi, Japan in 2003 as a way for designers to meet and share ideas. The format quickly spread to cities worldwide with a local PechaKucha St Joe Benton Harbor (PKSJBH) chapter starting in 2015.
“We host 4 events a year, that’s in the handshake agreement with PechaKucha Global (based in Tokyo) that you make when you become an official ‘PK city’. Also in that agreement is a little-known fact that PK is to be held within that city border. So, the fact that we alternate between Benton Harbor and St Joseph is technically against the rules. We did it anyway. When we explained that we live in a unified community overcoming a complex history of too many divisions, they understood and we are able to continue what we do in both cities: bring people together for a night of entertainment, learning, networking & inspiration. Watching presenters tell their stories, with different topics, backgrounds and experiences is what I love most about PechaKucha,” says Lana DeFrancesco, PechaKucha City Organizer.
The first event was held at The Livery with subsequent events held at creative spaces like a hangar at the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport, the patio at The Whitcomb, and traditionally creative local spaces such as The Box Factory and the Hanson Theater. By the sixth event in 2016 organizers got an idea to do an outdoor show in the arts district. It was such a success that it has repeated every fall.
“In Sept of 2016 we hosted Volume 6 on the Friday before Artoberfest, outdoors at the Livery with a giant screen affixed to the rooftop, projected against the historic Livery building. Being the creatively inspired event that it is, partnering with the Benton Harbor Arts Association and the Livery was a joy. Epic, frankly. It was one of our largest productions ever and likewise, one of our largest audiences,” recalls Lana.
Eventually the event moved to the Ghostlight Theater parking lot because the logistics of producing two big events, Artoberfest during the day and PK at night, proved to be disruptive to the musical performances and the audience experience. In 2021, after COVID closures ended, they brought back the outdoor fall event at The Ghostlight, which proved to be a successful space.
Over the years the event has grown and evolved in its variety of presenters, stories and venues. However, its ability to bring people together, to learn about each other remains consistent.
“PechaKucha is produced for the community by passion. That’s it. We love what PechaKucha is, what it can do for individuals and for the community, which is to listen, learn and have fun in the process. The venues may change, volunteers come and go, but the purpose of PechaKucha will always be a space to prop people up so that they can share their passions, whatever they may be,” says Lana.
Sponsored by the Krasl Art Center, the PKSJBH production team also includes Nathan Margoni, Ronnika Williams, Mark Strauss, Matthew Bizoe and Jamie Balkin. The next PK will take place this winter, follow their Facebook page to see when the next event is posted. To learn more about how to be a presenter email pechakuchasjbh@gmail.com. To see past presentations and hear some of the stories from people in our community visit https://www.pechakucha.com/communities/st-joseph.
By Julee Laurent
MOTM Contributor
