Taking The Stage

I have very little experience in the realm of public speaking, though I do love attempting to engage an audience. A month back Sean Verret from FEAT Canada (no this has nothing to do with jones fractures thankfully) contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in presenting at The Centennial Theatre, which is only a block away from my house.

FEAT standing for "Fascinating Expedition and Adventure Talks" and was first held in South Africa one year ago. In all honesty the premise of it scared the crap outta me and I instantly dreamed up a dozen reasons to say no. This of course meant that I had to force myself to get past my fears and step up. I've had an undertone of excited stress ever since, and on this coming Tuesday November 15th I'll take the stage with eight other presenters. Here's the official write up, I hope you can make it out.

Inaugural FEAT Canada comes to Vancouver's North Shore

FEAT, an evening of adventure sport-themed talks, has crossed continents and the Atlantic Ocean to land in Canada for the first time. The first FEAT Canada evening will take place as a part of the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF) Fall Speaker Series in mid-November.

Fascinating Expedition & Adventure Talks (FEAT) was first held in South Africa a year ago. In this time there have been three FEAT events, presented in the cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town. Created by adventure racer Lisa de Speville, FEAT invites speakers from a range of adventure disciplines to talk on recent accomplishments and expeditions. It’s a fast-paced, slideshow-based presentation format where each speaker has only seven minutes to tell their story. Far removed from a formal speaking platform, FEAT is social and fun and the audience is encouraged to interact with speakers; ooohhhs, aaaahhhs and laughter colour the theatre.

FEAT Canada’s line-up of nine speakers includes Jen Olson, Kevin Vallely, Megan Rose, Nicki Rehn, Paul Gleeson, Philip McKernan, Scott Frandsen, Gary Robbins, and Sebastian Salas. They’ll speak of adventurers and expeditions in the disciplines of rowing, cycling, mountain climbing, ultra-distance running, skiing and mountain biking.

“It's fantastic to have so many great speakers from the lower mainland, Vancouver Island and Alberta,” says Verret, who has enthusiastically leapt into the adventure of presenting FEAT Canada. “We truly are lucky to put together a line up rich in record holders, adventurers and motivators. The night will be a magical and inspirational.”

FEAT Canada will be held on Tuesday, 15 November 2011 at The Centennial Theatre in Lonsdale, North Vancouver, British Columbia. Tickets are $15 and they can be booked by contacting (604) 984-4484. or online here

FEAT Canada is made possible by the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF; www.vimff.org) 

You’ll find FEAT Canada on the web at www.featcanada.ca. There’s the speaker line up as well as links to videos of talks from the FEAT South Africa events. FEAT is also on Twitter (@FEATCanada) and Facebook (FEATSA).

CONTACT: Sean Verret, sean@featcanada.ca, 604-365-7326

GR