Food and gross-outs at Whistler’s first Pecha Kucha

On Sunday April 18 Whistler hosted its first PechaKuchaNight.

Event curator Aki Kaltenbach invited me to join her group of presenters, alongside Hana, the founder of TwoGirlsForking, “Living the Dream” photographer Carin Smolinski, sexy stitchophile Michelle Lee, who is equally passionate about suturing rotting gums as sewing gorgeous wedding dresses, accidental sexpert (and the star of 72 hour Filmmaker Showdown finalist “Missing”) Grant Stoddard and Leslie Anthony, herpetologist and editor of Skier Magazine.

It was a random, eclectic event, that gave people 20 seconds per image to talk about their passions… and reminded me what a beautiful quirky world it is that we live in.

1 PKN — Once upon a time, there was a girl who grew up eating peas that came from the frozen food section. (Photo by Brooke McDonald.)

I talked about Slow Food Cycle Sunday, and how it sprang from a desire to eat something I recognised… and how its success, I think, lies in the fact that we all have a deep longing to turn left at McDonalds.

11PKN — They invited people to ride their bicycles along a 50 km stretch of flat valley pavement where 2nd and 3rd generation family farmers would open their gates and invite people to pedal back to the land. (Photo by Dave Steers)

Food shouldn’t necessarily be a commodity. And when we turn everything, right down to a slice of potato, into a commodity, we forfeit so many things – at the top of the list, community and connection. The Slow Cycle Sunday ride is about taking it back.