Nerd Nite is back in a very special way. For the first time in Edmonton you can attend Nerd Nite for free and it’s an all ages show!
On August 22nd, gates to the ATB Community Patio (see map at end of post) open at 7:30 and the show starts at 8:00. The first 200 people get in (for free)! It’s recommended you get to the Fringe Site early to assure yourself a spot.
This is the description of the event that you’ll find in your Fringe Theatre Adventures program (see below for the line-up):
ATB Financial Community Patio, on the Fringe Site
8:00 pm – 10:15 pm, Thursday, August 22
Nerd Nite at the Fringe . . . a fun night of nerdery, knowledge and drinks. It starts with an introduction to the history of Nerd Nite and is followed by three presenters regaling you with their ‘nerdy knowledge’ on a wide range of topics. Presentations are each 20 minutes long followed by a question period and a 10-minute break to visit and socialize with fellow nerds before delving into the next topic.
Previous Nerd Nites have included presentations from a liquid-nitrogen-wielding quantum physicist, an award-winning opera composer, a forensic anthropologist, a globetrotting luthier and a toy collector, to name but a few. Currently presenting in over 50 cities around the world, Nerd Nite has been featured in illustrious publications like the Penn Gazette, the North Adams Transcript and Mathbabe.com. In fact, the Nerd Nite motto is: It’s like the Discovery Channel with beer!
Nerd Nite: be there and be square
Presented by Nerd Nite Edmonton
Here’s our line up:
The Northern Lights and Extreme Space Weather
Prof. Ian R. Mann
The largest space storms are triggered by explosions on the sun sending billions of tons of solar plasma hurtling towards the Earth at over 2 million miles per hour! Upon arriving at Earth they can trigger space storms and extreme space weather. As recently as last July, the Earth was narrowly missed by a solar explosion which could have triggered the most extreme space weather we’ve witnessed in 150 years. Should you be afraid, or perhaps very afraid? Learn more about the dark side of the northern lights with Professor Ian Mann, as he reviews the physics of the Aurora Borealis, and the space storms associated with extreme space weather.
Bio: Prof. Ian R. Mann is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta, and was a Canada Research Chair in Space Physics from 2003-13. He is a Co-Investigator on the five satellite NASA Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission to the northern lights launched in 2007, and is a Co-Investigator on the NASA Van Allen Probes mission to the Earth’s radiation belts launched in 2012. He was selected as one of Canada’s Top-40-under-40 in 2009 by the Globe and Mail and Caldwell Partners International, and currently serves as the United Nations Co-Chair of the international Expert Group on Space Weather, as part of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) initiative on the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. He is also the Principal Investigator of the CARISMA magnetometer array (www.carisma.ca) and the www.AuroraWatch.ca real-time aurora alert project. He is active in public understanding of science on TV, radio and in print, for example co-presenting with Jay Ingram in the Discovery Channel TV feature “Where Space Meets Earth: The Cosmic Shore,” appears regularly on CBC radio such as on CBC Quirks and Quarks and on CBC Radioactive in Edmonton, and his research was recently featured in a Canadian Geographic magazine article on solar maximum.
Supernatural Creatures on Contemporary Television
Kristen Hutchinson
There has been a plethora of supernatural creatures (vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons, witches, fairies, shape shifters, and zombies) in television series in the last few years. Why is the supernatural such a prevalent topic in contemporary visual culture? Is our current fascination with the supernatural different than it has been in the past? Are these 21st century TV creatures sexier than their predecessors? Get your wooden stakes, pitchforks, and silver ready as we delve into the worlds of popular shows like True Blood, Teen Wolf, Supernatural, Hex, Lost Girl, and The Walking Dead.
Bio: Kristen Hutchinson is an art historian, artist, curator and art consultant. She received her PhD in the History of Art from University College London in 2007. She has taught courses about 21 different topics at universities and colleges in the US, Canada, and the UK. Kristen is the co-founder of fast & dirty, an Edmonton based rotating collective of artists and curators that creates exhibitions and art events for short durations in unusual environments and projects that challenge curatorial methods. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions and has published articles and reviews and given presentations on contemporary art in Canada, the UK and the US. Kristen established kh1 art consulting to help clients buy art for their homes and businesses, offer interior design services, and provide grant writing and exhibition location research for artists. She offers live online independent seminars about the supernatural, contemporary art, film, and television and also teaches weekly visual culture seminars in her Edmonton living room where she bakes delicious treats for each class. Check out her upcoming seminars: www.kh1art.ca/art-history-courses
Manufacturing the Miraculous
Ian Pidgeon
How are smart people fooled by a magic trick? Magician Ian Pidgeon will talk about the ways in which the mind can be manipulated to transform ordinary events into miracles. He will break down how, over hundreds of years, magicians have learned to capitalize on the glitches in the human brain in order to fabricate the impossible. Come watch, listen and discover how miracles are made.
Bio: Ian Pidgeon is an accomplished magician with an unusual background. With a degree in comparative religious studies, and a fascination with psychology, social theory, and illusion, Ian is both sceptic and believer. Believing that the mind chooses and creates its own reality, his performances explore the murky space between what is real and what is imagined. He most enjoys things that are both. His unique style is highly engaging, personal, and compelling. His performances are uniquely designed to draw you in, capture your imagination, and share with you a sense of mystery and excitement.
When he’s not performing as a magician, he can be found casting lots at Sense of Serenity. In addition to being a magician, Ian is also a professional tarot card reader. Like his magic, his tarot readings are about exploring myth and meaning in a way that is direct and personal. For further information check his website at IanPidgeon.com.
The location of the ATB Community Patio