TEDxFondduLac Will Hold “Audience-Less” Event

Media Release

For Immediate Release – June 9, 2020

TEDxFondduLac Will Hold “Audience-Less” Event, Tickets On Sale for Livestream

An annual summer event for Fond du Lac will not be canceling their show, but instead will open up their event to an even larger audience than ever before. TEDxFondduLac, going into its fourth year under the theme “CARE – Create a Ripple Effect”, has announced it will continue to hold its event in the community – just without an in-person audience. Speakers will be providing their TEDx Talks to the world from the stage of Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac, but beyond the team members and speakers themselves, all other audience members will be able to attend online. Technology is getting a large boost for this event as the livestreamed day will integrate presentations, videos, and multiple camera angles into a seamless experience that will feel like the event is happening in your own living room.

Tickets are on sale now for the livestream occurring on Saturday, August 15 starting at 8:45 a.m. through their website, www.tedxfonddulac.com. Unlike past years, the organizers have announced a significantly reduced price to attend the online event, $20 for the whole day, that can be used for a whole household.

“Our team discussed the various options ahead of us once the reality of COVID-19 began settling into our community,” reflects Sarah Spang, TEDxFondduLac’s founder and license holder. “I’m grateful we were able to determine that we could hold the event in our usual manner, complete with providing an unlimited audience the same kind of experience, and still have safety as our main priority. The TEDxFondduLac team is truly remarkable in their creativity. As this changed so many aspects of our day, we realized we could also lower the ticket price to something extremely affordable and possibly have people all over the world tuning in. This could actually be our largest event yet, even with the pandemic.”

The speakers for this event are preparing their talks as usual, readying themselves for the stage, bright lights, and new kind of audience engagement. These speakers are Wendy Babcock, Philippe Bouissou, Mary Davies, Neil Dogra, Simona Donova, Aaron Goldstein, Mohini Kumar, Manar Mohammad, Samantha Nelson, Lynn Roethke, Veronica Scott-Fulton, Rae Senarighi, Paul Sunseri, and Maria Turner.

“Our speakers are incredibly excited about this opportunity,” Spang continues. “While it isn’t quite what they thought they were signing up for months ago, they know we have worked hard to prioritize their safety while giving them the high-quality experience of spreading their ideas to the world.”

In addition to the livestream talks from these speakers, the volunteer-driven team is working to bring additional experiences to the stage to replace usual activities attendees would enjoy. These will potentially include local musicians, Q&A with speakers, and more. Information will be provided as it becomes available.

A TEDx event is organized independently of any other event, organization, or other affiliation in the spirit of TED conferences (Technology, Entertainment, and Design). This volunteer-driven initiative, operated under a license granted by the TED organization, will combine live speakers and official TED videos, as well as an interactive environment, to challenge the thinking of all those who attend. This information can also be found as it is available at www.TEDxFondduLac.com and its Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/tedxfonddulac.

Photo included: The stage at Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts before TEDxFondduLac 2019 event. Photography by Brian Kolstad.

Note to the Editor

This event was an independent, volunteer-driven event and the proper notation of “TEDxFondduLac”, as written, must be utilized in publications to adhere to TED guidelines.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, often in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED conferences, including our annual gathering in Vancouver, as well as TEDWomen, intimate TED Salons and thousands of independently organized TEDx events around the world. Videos of these talks are made available, free, on TED.com and other platforms. Audio versions of the talks from TED2019 are published to TED’s podcast TED Talks Daily, available on all podcast platforms.

TED’s open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; TEDx, which licenses thousands of individuals and groups to host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities; the Audacious Project, which surfaces and funds critical ideas that have the potential to impact millions of lives; TEDSummit, which gathers the most engaged members of the global TED community for brainstorms, discussions, performances, workshops and an eclectic program of mainstage talks; and the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED also has a growing library of original podcasts, including The TED Interview with Chris Anderson, WorkLife with Adam Grant, TED en Español and Sincerely, X.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED, on Instagram at https://instagram.com/ted and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences.

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