Night 10 - 5 Minutes of Glory (Special Event!)

At some point over the course of the last three-five years, the younger generation in Michigan has been getting a might bit fed up with business as usual. The political system is pretty well broken, the jobs we thought would be here are hard to find, and the outlook is grim.  But in every corner of this State, there are people that want to talk about the good things the State has to offer, the good things that they have to offer the State, and other sometimes mundane, but hilarious topics.  People want Michigan to succeed, but one voice is tough to hear through all the noise.  But what if a few hundred of them got together in some vacant building somewhere and talked about how to fix things, all while having a drink or two with their friends?  Would that get people's attention?

...Cuz tonight...is Ignite...and I'm feeling, alright...

I really don't know how I made the connection between Whitney Houston's first number one hit and a frenetic five minutes of energy, information, and applause.  But I did.  Ignite Lansing (along with the little siblings in Ann Arbor and Detroit) is built on a fairly simple premise.  Founded by some folks at O'Reilly media, the basic idea is that, If given 5 minutes to talk about anything in front of a rapt audience, what would you say? In short, the creative class' wet dream.  Or, as one of Ignite Portland's organizers called it "Attention Deficit Theater."  

...Just five stolen minutes is all that we share...

Basically, presenters get five minutes and 20 powerpoint slides in which to enlighten the general public on some topic.  But why exactly is this on a 'nightlife' blog?  Well, I can't vouch for Ann Arbor or Detroit, but in Lansing, we make it an event.  Plenty of food and beer, a professionally built and lit stage, professional sound, and 500 or so people packed into some previously vacant or underutilized building in the area.  For one night, we bring a party to your neighborhood.  Maybe you are just there for the atmosphere and afterparty.  Maybe you want to learn about ice climbing.  Perhaps you just stumbled into a ticket and were curious.  In any circumstance, you will leave enlightened and feeling better about where we are going as a State. 

...We'll be making love the whole night through...

Okay, so the Play-on-Whitney's-Words doesn't hold for long.  But hey, Ignite is a hellacious time.  And if you are actually reading this, you don't have tickets, and you want to check out Ignite Lansing 3.0, drop me a note.  I will get you in.  I know people.

Ignite Lansing 3.0 is Friday, March 5th at the Knapps' Building in downtown Lansing.  Door is 6:30.  Tickets are free, but are already gone as they sold out in record time.  Keep an eye out for 4.0.