Champaign-Urbana is having its PechaKucha Night Vol. 4 tonight (July 30), so to put you in the mood here’s a look at this past April’s Vol. 3, courtesy of organizer Christina Tapp.

Third time’s a charm! Champaign-Urbana’s PechaKucha Night Vol. 3 was held in April at the ever-so-accommodating Canopy Club. The anticipated event, held during our annual Boneyard Arts Festival, featured local spinner DJ Mertz and boasted over 350 people.

Environment designer and rockin’ emcee Andy Warfel jumpstarted the show into high gear and kept it rolling along with his trademark laid-back humor.

1. Our first presenter, Thorsten Bösch (who also happens to be, ahem, one of the PKN Chicago co-organizers) started off the night with interactive, collaborative light painting.

2. Artist, mural painter, educator, and curator Glen Davies talked about his travels with circuses and carnivals, as well as his exhibits in museums and galleries across the country.

3. Fishing With Dynamite presented on being Champaign-Urbana’s only professional comedy troupe. Best of all? They also provided hilarious entertainment for the after party!

4. Kevin Coulton, co-founder of software and trans-media design start-up Doomlaser, talked about the relationship between graphic arts and mathematics.

5. Songwriter Paul Kotheimer sang two songs—including the ever-popular “31 True Facts About My Girlfriend”—and discussed his music label Hand Made Records.

6. Andy Borbely discussed his journey from Ivy Leaguer to bar manager to whiskey connoisseur, providing his special libations at the bar (mmmmm!).

7. Joel Gillespie, representing Champaign-Urbana’s Bike Project, presented on how the organization educates and empowers the community with a welcoming space for bike repair, maintenance, and safety.

8. Architect Stewart Hicks showed us the way he thinks about the design of building and spaces—mixing the real and imaginary, combining existing structure with high-concept modern additions to create buildings that are works of art in their own right.

9. Chocophile Daniel Schreiber talked about his company, Flatlander Chocolate (one of only a handful of bean-to-bar chocolate companies in the U.S.) and discussed how eating chocolate should be treated as an event, just like sipping wine (or whiskey!).

10. Special guest presenter and fashion designer Ping Wu (from Project Runway) flew in from New York to talk about fulfilling her dream as a designer—and how her friends in Champaign-Urbana helped to foster that dream.

11. Entrepreneurial mastermind Matt Gornick discussed his commitment to building solutions based on what customers really want.

12. Sculptor—and aspiring naturalist—Chris Berti discussed ways he finds the beauty in the not-so-obvious aspects of nature and art.

Just wait until PKN Vol. 4—it’s an outdoor event, taking place OUTSIDE at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, July 30!

Photographs by Wallo Villacorta and Thorsten Bösch.

PechaKucha Night in Pordenone Vol. 4 is coming in just over a month, set to happen on September 4 at the Fiera di Pordenone. You’ll find the full list of presenters with links on the official event page.

The presentation will probably go online, but in the meantime you can get a peek at some of the cool projects from Tokyo-based design/architecture firm BAKOKO’s in this Flickr photoset, presented by Alastair Townsend at Wednesday’s PechaKucha Night in Tokyo Vol. 75. We’re in absolute love with the flat-pack temporary cafe concept you see pictured above.

And if you’re wondering why no new presentation has gone up on the site for a week or so, it’s because the person in charge of preparing them for the online PechaKucha player has had computer issues (i.e. it’s dead), and is currently working on something that can’t handle all that editing very well. Presentations will hopefully start popping up on the site again soon enough though.

PechaKucha Night in Bucaramanga Vol. 3 will be held August 10 at the Sala de Exposiciones Jorge Mantilla Caballero. We’re loving the seated individuals found on the flyer.

We’ve already mentioned the terrific venue, but here’s also a look at the flyer (one side) for Friday’s (July 30) PechaKucha Night in Cleveland Vol. 8.

PechaKucha Night in Cleveland Vol. 8 happens this Friday (July 30), and it’s taking place in the the courtyard you see pictured above, which is located in downtown Cleveland. From co-organizer Michael Christoff:

Not only do we have another great set of presenters, but we are shooting for the stars with our FIRST ever PechaKucha Night event outdoors. As if that wasn’t stressful enough, we are doing it in an amazing courtyard in the middle of Downtown Cleveland, that hasn’t been open for more than 12 years! The building owner has been incredibly supportive, and we are getting an incredible response from the local design community here.

Should make for an amazing ambiance, and here’s another look at the courtyard below (photos are courtesy of Flique Creative). And be sure to check the official event page for the list of presenters and links.

Rebecca Swan // Visual Artist // Rebecca Swan discusses the ‘C’ word // www.rebeccaswan.com

Following the look at Whangarei’s recent PechaKucha Night Vol. 3, time to start thinking about Vol. 4 — it’s already set to happen at The Old Library on September 1.

As organizer Kara Dodson tells us, PechaKucha Night is rocking Whangarei, with lots of love coming from last week’s audience at Vol. 3.

We had about 250 at the last one, complete with 2 people signing all of the presentations for those of the deaf community who were in the room. I did a presentation this time too — very exciting. We also included one off the main website too — which was excellent of course — we chose Gary Cheng’s “Transformer Apartment.”

There are a few photos from the event in this Flickr photoset, and below is a rundown of all the participating presenters.

Steve Haywood – Collaborations- My Journey
Emily Kernot – Journalism: A Definition Thereof.
Sandy-Lee Bell – Hong Kong Foodie
Richard Dean – Marine Environment Redevelopment
Cathy Tuato’o Ross – Constructing the Worlds’ Scenic Wonderland
Jasmine Fuller – Life is a Special Occasion
Gary Cheng – Transformer Apartment (off the PKN website)
Dianne Stoppard – A Selection of Photos
Karen Sidney – ‘Giants’ of NZ Film – (Merata, Barry and Don)
Kara Dodson – The Art of Andrew Clemens
Beverly Kaye – More than Meets the Eye
Mr MD Tarry, the Noted Horse Fancier and Doyen of the Equine Arts -
Thoughts and Sentiments on the Nature and Quality of Horses

Okayama had already planned out its PechaKucha Night Vol. 3 for September 8, but the opportunity came to have another another in between, and so an extra “in-between” edition is set to happen August 11 at Yebisu Ya Pro. Have a look at the official event page for the list of presenters and links.

Sometimes a PechaKucha Night is held in a tent, sometimes in a more formal setting, as seen in the photos we post here from last week’s PKN Southend-on-Sea Vol. 5, held at the Clifftown Studios. The photos are courtesy of Flickr user jimmymerris.

Organizers in Denver have enlisted the aid of a masked man — or luchador, if you will — in order to bring to you PechaKucha Night Vol. 10, happening tomorrow night (July 23) at the Denver Art Museum, or more precisely, “projected on the side of our own” Denver Art Museum. You’re welcome to bring a chair, pillow, or blanket, and food will be available from the “Little Orange Rocket” Deluxe Street Food Truck. The flyer design is by Felix Tannebaum.

We always love seeing where some of the PechaKucha Nights around the world end up happening, and as evidenced in these photos from last week’s PKN Oaxaca Vol. 6, even a tent will do. There’s more to see in the following Flickr photoset.

Bali is readying things for its upcoming PechaKucha Night Vol. 6, set to take place August 6 as part of the Sanur Village Festival. We’ve included some details about the festival, sent to us from PKN Bali organizer Arief Budiman.

Sanur Village Festival set for August 4 – 8, 2010 taking place at Segara Ayu beach and Inna Grand Bali Beach Sanur. “Saha Nuhur” is preferred for this year’s theme of the festival that literally means “the passion to visit a holy place” and later become the name of “Sanur”. With its popularity we believe that Sanur Village Festival will attract more visitors to the island of Bali this year and more importantly to map this event in the world of tourism calendar.

This year, Sanur Village Festival agenda are classic highlights of Bazaar & Food Festival, Jazz Festival, and 6th Sanur Golf Tournament as well as our most anticipated Street Parade. The International Kite Festival and Jukung Festival would definitely sensate the spectators with their artistic creations and breathtaking races. There will be another rejuvenate of our program, with the relocation of our Mass Yoga program to a serene Yoga Village.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replant, & Recovery (5R) (Action! is an important part of Sanur Village Festival 2010 . It aims to encourage the concrete actions of the people of Bali as well as all of the citizens of the earth to help extend the age of the earth. Reduce, reuse, recycle, plant back, and restore are the five simple activities which could bring miracle on earth if carried out continuously and simultaneously. Activities undertaken include tree planting neem Intaran / neem (Azaridachta indica); the planting of coral reefs; the release of hatchlings (young turtles); beach clean ups activities, and environmental exhibitions.

The next PechaKucha Night in Nagoya (Vol. 6) is still over a month away (August 27), but it’s never too early to mark your calendar. Take note also that this edition will be taking place at the Nagoya TV Tower. The list of presenters is not up yet, but keep checking the official event page for updates (or subscribe to the newsletter).

Abby Storey // Photographic Artist // Public Portraits // www.abbystorey.com

David Cook // Photographer // Misadventure

In this presentation — recorded at PechaKucha Night in Christchurch Vol. 2 — architect Richard Hayman (Dalman Architecture Ltd.) uses his 20 images to explore what architecture has meant to him.

As we recently posted, PechaKucha Night in Oaxaca Vol. 6 happens tonight (July 15) at the Instituto Cultural Oaxaca (Casa Chata). Once the event is over, check in on PKN Oaxaca’s Flickr account for photos — you’ll find plenty from previous events too, like the one above from the city’s first PKN, in this Flickr photoset.