After five years of PechaKucha gatherings, one debate rages on. Do you pronounce it “Pecha” like “You Betcha” or do you pronounce it “Pe-CHAW” like a cat sneeze? The words are Japanese for “chit chat” in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each; six minutes and 40 seconds in total. (Hint: if you have gone to every PK since the first one debuted at the Eric Hopkins gallery in Rockland, you tend to ‘Muricanize the word.)

In any case, PechaKucha Night Midcoast will be celebrating its fifth year of bringing creative minds together for lightning-fast presentations, networking and fun with its 20th volume at the Rockport Opera House Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. A one-hour reception for this special event will be held at the Center for Mane Contemporary Art starting at 6 p.m.

“The reception is going to be an hour long instead of a half hour because it’s an extra-special occasion,” said Blue. “We’ll have an open bar of wine and Prosecco and catered little bites from Megunticook Market.”

Hanna DeHoff will be the MC this event, which goes full circle, because she was the person to initially bring the concept to the Midcoast.

“We’ve really gotten more organized,” said Maggi Blue, PechaKucha Night Midcoast Maine organizer. “After showcasing 400 amazingly talented individuals over the last five years, we have a solid process for gathering and curating our presenters. As a committee, it's our job to balance the fine arts presenters with non-fine arts. It’s become such a popular event, we are lucky that we are often full with our presenters two events out."

Here’s a little more information about the following presenters.

Jim Dugan, photographer jimdugan.com
A commercial photographer and web designer by trade, Jim will be sharing a new, personal body of work of kaleidoscopic imagery.

Greg Marley, wild mushroom expert mushrooms4health.com
Greg is Midcoast Maine’s mushroom expert—and has taught classes to many in the area—generously sharing the whereabouts of some of the area’s best, hidden troves of mushroom growth. Greg is involved in the Midcoast community choir and also works on behalf of teen suicide prevention.

Lindsay Pinchbeck, art educator sweettreearts.org
Lindsay has a heart of gold and is a great advocate for the arts in our community. She’s incredibly collaborative and her authenticity and enthusiasm are infectious! Her husband, Chris Pinchbeck, is a photographer and makes bagpipes—and Lindsay, in addition to running Sweet Tree Arts, does a lot of volunteer work and is the mother of two young kids.

Daniel Quintanilla, filmmaker
mainemedia.edu/instructors/photo/daniel-quintanilla
Daniel is equally at home in Mexico and the United States and is fluent in Spanish and English. He is an accomplished documentary filmmaker and editor ( Language of America), as well as an animator and all around digital materials creator.

Seth Silverton, director of The Wood Chop School thewoodchopschool.com
With a larger than life presence, Seth spent many years hustling as an investment banker in New York City—till he moved his family to Maine and became an advocate for the use of alternative energies and the exploration of sustainable energy sources.

Andrew Stewart, director of Hope Elephants hopeelephants.org
Known to most as the owner of the Hope General Store, Andrew has recently put the business up for sale to be the director of Hope Elephants.  Andrew has worked with Rosie and Opal as an Asst. Elephant handler since their arrival to Maine and is now doing outreach and education for them full-time.

David Troup, karate instructor, rocklandkaratedo.com
David is a man of many talents: He does marketing and communications at the Farnsworth, is a professional actor (you’ve likely seen him in some of Everyman Rep’s productions), in addition to this, he is a skilled karate practitioner. Sensei David received his third dan from the late Soke Takayoshi Nagamine (1945 - 2012), 10th Dan Hanshisei.

David Vickery, artist http://www.dvickery.com/
A long-time resident of Cushing, this understated painter is anything but short on talent. His landscapes are quiet and elegant, and Vickery also enjoys noticing how nature and culture collide.

Tickets are $5 and will only be sold at the door.

To find out more about presenting or volunteering, email pechakuchamidcoast@gmail.com. PechaKucha Night Midcoast Maine also offers very affordable sponsorships for local organizations and businesses; contact Jana Herbener at the above email for more information.

PechaKucha Night Midcoast Maine’s organizing partners include Midcoast Magnet, Farnsworth Art Museum, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, Strand Theatre, Waterfall Arts, and various creative community members, including Amanda Austin, Maggi Blue, Lorna Crichton, Jane Farthing, Kelly Finlay, Kathleen Gass, Truth Hawk, Jana Herbener and Jennifer McIntosh.