For three days in the first week of May, TED2017 will bring three unique broadcasts of highlights from the TED2017 Conference to Damariscotta’s Lincoln Theater featuring TED Talks by Atul Gawande, Gary Kasparov, Gayle King, Serena Williams and more.

So, who is this TED, and why is he always talking? TED Talks are pithy, brief—no more than 18 minutes long—mini-lectures by dynamic speakers who are leading thinkers and doers in pretty much all fields of human intellectual and artistic endeavor, presented to a live audience, recorded, and made available to watch on the TED website, www.ted.com, and to listen to on the NPR TED Radio Hour:  www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour). They are a 21st  century form of continuing education for people with tight schedules and short attention spans: always interesting, often challenging and edifying, and frequently uplifting.

TED—an acronym for Technology, Entertainment, and Design—began as an annual conference in Silicon Valley, in the early 1980s. In the early 1990s the original three areas of focus were broadened to include science, philosophy, music and the arts, religion and spirituality, philanthropy, politics, and others. The TED Talks idea spread beyond the annual conference, via TEDx, so that live TED Talks now take place year-round and internationally.

The annual week-long TED Conference continues as the vital center of the TED world. Convened annually in Vancouver, British Columbia, the upcoming TED2017 Conference is where heavy-hitting speakers, innovators in the world of science, the arts, and the humanities will give the Talks. And where the annual TED Prize winner, for the most creative, bold idea to spark global change, is named, and given a $1 million award. By investing in a powerful idea every year, the TED prize hopes to accelerate progress toward solving some of the world’s most pressing problems.

This year, the annual conference has been opened to the world beyond its 1,500 attendees, via the TED Cinema Experience. The conference, taking place April 24-28, 2017 is being captured live. The opening night, including six to seven talks and performances, the awarding of the 2017 TED Prize, and highlights from the week-long conference’s speakers will be brought to cinema audiences around the world in three separate cinema presentations.

In our part of the world, the 2017 TED Cinema Experience will take place at the Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta, in three unique presentations:

Wednesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. Opening night: talks by choreographer Huang Yi; cellist Joshua Roman; futurist Anab Jain; cyberspace analyst Laura Galante; artist Titus Kaphar; chess Grandmaster Gary Kasparov; productivity guru Tim Ferriss; the band OK Go; and religious leader Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.

Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m. TED Prize Event: talks by tennis star Serena Williams; physician/author Atul Gawande; journalist Gayle King; dancers Jon Boogz and Lil Buck; physician Raj Panjabi; special appearance by a surprise guest, who is a “world figure.” Then the climactic awarding of the $1 million TED Prize.

Sunday, May 7 at 2 p.m.  Highlights Exclusive: This exclusive show, created just for cinema audiences, highlights the best moments from the TED2017 conference. The program will include a new interview with Elon Musk about what an exciting future looks like, among other inspiring and insightful TED Talks and performances from the week. None of the presenters will have been seen in the previous two cinema events. Further information about TED2017 speakers can be found here: https://ted2017.ted.com/speakers.

 Each session runs approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes and is considered to have a PG rating. Tickets for each event are $20 Adults/ $18 LT member/ $5 Youth 18 and under – with a 10% discount if purchasing a package for all three screenings and are available through the Lincoln Theater office at 2 Theater Street in Damariscotta (open Tue-Thu, 10 am to 1 pm), via phone at 207-563 3424, or in person starting one hour prior to each screening.