After three reschedules and 1,164 days of planning, TEDxPortland returned for a momentous tenth edition at the Moda Center in Portland, OR on Saturday. Thousands gathered for a full day of inspiring talks and musical performances as TEDxPortland reminded everyone that the “E” in “TED” is for “Entertainment” with performances by Digable Planets, Death Cab for Cutie, Portugal. The Man, a Jimi Hendrix tribute featuring Jimi’s cousin Tyrone Hendrix (Prince, Stevie Wonder, Allen Stone) and his son Tikylo, Jimmy Russel, and Andre Zapata, and Pink Martini.
TEDx events are independently organized in the spirit of TED’s overall mission to research and discover “ideas worth spreading,” and Saturday’s TEDxPortland was “the largest indoor TEDx the world has ever seen.” The event featured 15 TED talks and five musical performances beginning at 9 a.m. with Portland spoken word artist Asia Greene-Rhodes.
Innovative children’s author Jelani Memory gave a TED talk about his A Kid’s Book About series, which was followed by a presentation by Amy Wolff, founder of the Don’t Give Up movement, and Eric Tran, Ph.D., who discussed research into possible cures for cancer utilizing the body’s own immune system. Writer Jordan Dinwiddie, who received a staggering six nominations to speak at the event, spoke on fandom versus fanaticism before event host David Rae introduced the first musical performance of the day.
“We needed to focus on the entertainment aspect of TED because we haven’t had that,” he said before warning, “It’s gonna get loud,” as Digable Planets made their way onto the stage. It was indeed dramatically louder when the funky hip-hop group launched into their first song, but the abrupt shift was welcomed by the crowd, most of whom stood up to dance. Moving lights transformed the conference into a concert, and by the third song, a large crowd had gathered around the right side of the elongated stage where the band was performing.
“That’s definitely the earliest time we ever done ‘Nickel Bag of Funk’,” Ishmael Reginald Butler said jokingly, “But we can’t tell though, y’all are rockin’ like it’s 12 midnight. I like it, man.”
Digable Planets left the audience on a high note, concluding their short but potent set with their hit “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”.
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Next, anonymous poet Atticus spoke about the possibility of success without fame and its complications in what he said would be one of the last times he appeared in public wearing a mask. After noting that in the past 40 years, the most common answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” has shifted from “astronaut,” to “YouTuber,” to “TikTok star,” the enigmatic wordsmith revealed a digital avatar of himself with a shadowed but maskless face as he pondered the power of technology to spread voices without fame.
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Host David Rae then announced a last minute addition to the program—a sit-down interview with independent political candidate Betsy Johnson, who is running for Oregon Governor. The interview began fruitfully as Johnson and Rae appealed to the middle ground between political extremes, but it soon devolved into chaos when audience members persistently yelled, imploring the interviewee to address gun control in light of the recent tragedy in Uvalde, TX.
A group shouted “Ask about guns!” in unison until the host replied, “We’re not gonna go there.” He then turned to Betsy and asked, “Do you wanna go there? We knew there would be fireworks. I’m gonna step back.”
After an awkward pause, Johnson returned to her talking points about Oregon’s poor mental health system, to which the crowd responded with boos, accusations of “dodging the question,” and calls for “fewer guns.”
Johnson remained composed despite verbal jeers from the crowd as the conversation wrapped up. Rae defended the decision to host the interview immediately after it took place, saying, “It’s been a really hard couple weeks, and I don’t understand it as a Canadian. It’s an American problem, and we’re not gonna solve it here in this conversation.” He continued, “We would talk to Tina, we would talk to Tobias [the other candidates for Oregon Governor], but we don’t have two hours to have a debate, and this isn’t KGW.”
TEDxPortland later apologized for hosting the interview in a post on social media, calling it “not the right decision.”
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The program took “a severe right hand turn” after that with a talk from Meow Wolf cofounder Vince Kadlubek about psychedelics, imagination, and creativity. Kadlubek described the unexpected success Meow Wolf has experienced as the experimental art collective has opened permanent interactive installations in Santa Fe, Las Vegas, and Denver, with recently announced locations coming to Houston and Dallas.
“I just wanna say I am proud to be in Texas and to be a safe space for diverse thought,” he said, referring to Texas’s recent controversial abortion ban.
He told the story of how Meow Wolf began with the help of Game of Thrones author George RR Martin.
“I know you don’t know me very well,” he recalled telling the writer on the phone, “but there’s this bowling alley, and if you buy it, we’re gonna do something sick.”
Kadlubek continued to discuss the power of imagination and how it is diminished with the development of an identity over time. We are not what we have done, he explained, we are what we are becoming through our decisions and actions.
He concluded by mentioning a John’s Hopkins study that showed the potential of psychedelic mushrooms as a treatment for depression and commended Oregon for leading the way in psychedelic therapy.
“Oregon, great f—king job,” he said, referring to the recent passing of Measure 109, which permits the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.
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After an emotionally heavy TED talk by Regan Parker about the need to openly discuss miscarriages and lost pregnancies, one of the most anticipated performances of the day arrived to close out the first session of the day—a tribute to Jimi Hendrix by his own flesh and blood, Portland drummer Tyrone Hendrix. The presentation incorporated photographs of Jimi shot by rock photographer and Portlander Ed Caraeff.
Accompanied by his son Tikylo, guitarist Jimmy Russel, and bassist Andre Zapata, Tyrone performed a 13-minute set of Jimi classics that opened with a psychedelic take on the national anthem performed by Jimmy Russel. The band played “Foxy Lady”, “Purple Haze”, and “All Along The Watchtower” before a backdrop of powerful photographs licensed from Caraeff’s archive. The family affair was highlighted by Tyrone and his son Tikylo, who traded solos on drums and percussion throughout the set, proving that the Hendrix family is as musical as ever. The band gathered on the X at center stage as the crowd offered a standing ovation at the end of the set.
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After a one-and-a-half hour lunch break, Session Two commenced with an acoustic trio performance by Death Cab for Cutie that included “Crooked Teeth”, “Soul Meets Body”, and a couple selections from the band’s forthcoming album, Asphalt Meadows.
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Following Death Cab for Cutie, Emily Nestor gave a nuanced presentation on romantic consent. She was the first person to come out publicly with allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein, but in her talk, she acknowledged that sexual transgressions can come from anyone, whether male or female. “No one is exempt,” she declared, including herself.
She ended her talk by offering some practical guidelines that included the following: 1) I don’t know what another person wants better than they do, 2) I cannot respond to rejection with anger or hurt because the other person might not feel safe being honest about what they want if there is backlash, 3) if there are mixed messages, then ask for consent, and 4) don’t slut- or prude-shame people for being honest about what they want.
Vitor Bastos then gave an inspiring talk in which he came out to the audience as HIV positive. He said that eliminating the threat of HIV is just a matter of eliminating the stigma surrounding the disease so that people are able to seek proper care. “It’s not science that’s in the way, it’s stigma,” he observed. He received a standing ovation at the end of his talk.
Taylor Stewart followed with a presentation addressing the history of racism in Oregon. He described his efforts to reconcile Oregon’s difficult history by recognizing lynching victim Alonzo Tucker, who was lynched in Coos Bay, OR after being falsely accused of sexual assault in 1902.
Portland’s own Portugal. The Man lightened the mood next with a captivating performance. The band’s ghostly vocals echoed through the room as psychedelic liquid projections danced on the arena’s huge LED screens. The crowd remained seated for the performance as energy dwindled, but all eyes were locked on the band as they played what they jokingly referred to as “a cozy little hometown show for us.” The band played a set that included “Live In The Moment”, “And I”, “Purple Yellow Red and Blue”, “Senseless”, and “Feel It Still”.
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Portugal. The Man also contributed to the event by helping to create three special TEDxPortland ice cream flavors with Portland’s premier gourmet ice cream shop Salt & Straw. Complimentary scoops were provided to attendees at the day’s end along with two free drinks compliments of local sponsor Rogue Brewery, who also created a celebratory “Ideas Ale” for the event.
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Stripper and writer Viva Las Vegas gave the next TED talk, focusing on sex work as a feminist industry and stripping as an art form. “Think of every art museum you’ve been to, there are nudes from every culture and period of history,” she noted. The insightful dancer was well received in Portland, which has more strip clubs per capita than anywhere else in the world.
Improv comedy troupe Broke Gravy performed next, helping to raise the energy of the crowd. Usually a trio, the group performed as a duo because one member was sick at home with COVID. Vendors distributed free cans of Rogue beer as they improvised a skit about scientists discovering black blood cells. “They’re doing most of the work!” one researcher yelled as he peered through an imaginary microscope, “And somehow they’re keeping the beat! The white ones can’t keep up.”
Rukaiyah Adams finished the day’s presentations with a difficult yet powerful discussion of Portland’s political past and present. She talked about how the city sought to reconcile the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II by establishing Portland’s Japanese Garden and noted that the city literally moved the entire Oregon Zoo to make room for the project, even as black residents were being displaced from the historic Albina neighborhood to make room for the Moda Center where she spoke.
Portland jazz ensemble Pink Martini closed the show as most audience members filtered out to enjoy complimentary beer and ice cream. Those waiting on long lines for refreshments missed out on a riveting performance from the acclaimed band led by pianist Thomas Lauderdale. Singer China Forbes dazzled the audience in a striking red dress as the band performed originals including “Hey Eugene” and “Sympathique, Je Ne Veux Pas Travailler”, which helped establish the band in Europe when it became a hit in France.
Highlights of Pink Martini’s set included a spontaneous conga line on the floor, an impassioned performance by Edna Vazquez, and a soul-stirring rendition of “Tomorrow” from Annie performed by America’s Got Talent star Jimmy Herrod. Thomas Lauderdale did not hold back his feelings on the TV show.
“When you give your performers $25 per diems, that’s not okay. When you say you’re giving away $1 million but you give $25,000 increments for however many years, that’s just f—ked up,” he said.
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TEDxPortland concluded around 5:30 p.m. after a long, enlightening, and entertaining day. Though not without hiccups, the largest indoor TEDx yet was a smashing success, and organizers indicated that plans are already in the works for year 11. Hopefully it doesn’t take 1,164 days to plan this time.