By Loti Woods

Whether you scored a sold out seat to the TEDxTryon event last Saturday or just heard about it, life will never be the same for many of us. Connections and relationships throughout the community were forged that will last a long time. Saturday was a day where we shared ideas and met our neighbors. And it was just the beginning of many new initiatives discussed to improve our community and our lives.

Friends were made through volunteering, speakers helped each other prepare, famers and restaurants came together to provide amazing food and businesses rallied to support a new day in our Foothills. The audience was beyond enthusiastic with their cheers and claps helping make the performers and speakers feel like royalty.

So, what if you missed the event or you were there but want to hear a talk by your

favorite speaker again? The cool thing is all the talks were videotaped and will be put on the TEDx website over the next few months for free viewing. When can I watch them, you ask? While we don’t know for sure when the videos will be posted by TEDx, they should be appearing over the next few months.

And we plan on continuing conversations within the community at future events. On

Nov. 6 there will be a community conversation open to the public free of charge at ICC entitled “A Behind the Scenes Look at Preparing for a TEDx Talk.” A number of the 2015 speakers and volunteers will be on hand to answer your questions and talk about their experiences.

So, whether you are interested in community gardens, learning more about buying

locally, student mentoring, appreciating the arts, positive life lessons or suggesting

future speakers, topics or ideas, visit our website at TEDxTryon.com to make a

suggestion. As we heard on Saturday “share your idea.” It may be the one someone

needs to hear at that very moment to make a difference.

TED is a platform for ideas worth spreading. Started in 1984 as a conference where

technology, entertainment and design converged, TED today shares ideas from a broad spectrum — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independent TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world. TEDxTryon is a locally organized event and is a special project of the Arts and Education committee of Tryon Fine Arts Center. For information visit TEDxTryon.com or 828-859-8322.