So when is IgniteBainbridge IV?

We started the year with every intention of proceeding as usual with a May 2015 Ignite Bainbridge performance. Then it became clear that the organizers from the past few years (primarily Leslie and Jason from OfficeXpats, and Linna from The Callaham Group) could not commit again to the time needed. We approached another organization and proposed our participation and support if they would take on general management, but it didn’t work out. So the short answer to “When is Ignite Bainbridge IV?” is “we don’t know; we’re skipping it for 2015.”

Then Elizabeth (Beth) Robson called. For context, Beth was THE ONE who brought the idea of Ignite to Bainbridge, at a brainstorm meeting at OfficeXpats. She knew the creator of the Ignite format and had participated in an Ignite Seattle. She was our first Emcee.

Now Beth has a new idea that Ignite Bainbridge could support, or that could reinvent Ignite Bainbridge, if we choose it. Her vision is EarthArt Bainbridge, a program to explore how art inspires us to understand our impact on the natural world and encourage us to take action on climate change. Announced on Earth Day 2015, EarthArt Bainbridge will engage with partners to plan and produce a full month of coordinated community-wide events celebrating Earth Day 2016. Think “art workshops, displays, performances, guest presenters” and community discussions about all that.

(By the way, the first public EarthArt event is happening on June 4th, 2015, 6:30pm, at OfficeXpats. We are gathering to watch some videos on “geo-engineering” as a response to climate change.)

And that brings us back to Ignite Bainbridge. What if Ignite Bainbridge IV had a central theme of “Reinventing Earth Day,” just when we need it the most? All of us wanting to participate could contribute our own 5-minute illustrated visions for what Earth Day becomes and what it could accomplish. What if we held it in the week leading up to Earth Day 2016, (April 22, which falls on Friday) as one of the leading events of EarthArt Bainbridge? What if we even called it “Ignite Earth Day?”

None of this is set in stone, and if a reliable organization comes forward to shepherd in an Ignite Bainbridge performance prior to Earth Day 2016, that would be wonderful. But it does set up an inspiring partnership and vision, and Ignite is nothing if not inspiring.

So what do you think? Could a modern re-invention of Earth Day have the potential to accomplish as much or more than the amazing impact it had when it was the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970? Reach out to us with your thoughts, or sign up for the newsletter (see top right) to be kept in the loop. You can also keep tabs on Earth Art Bainbridge through this Facebook page.