The TEDxRVA forum earlier this year was a place for local, national, and international speakers to come together and create an experience for themselves, the audience, and the greater community.

It was, in many ways, an experiment within itself.

We assembled an incredible group of community leaders who share a love for TED and a passion for Greater Richmond but had no idea what type of adventure they were in for. It was a learning experience that challenged and changed all who participated.

In the months since TEDxRVA 2013, we continue to feel the impact of this event the community created and supported. The ideas shared on the TEDxRVA stage spoke to the heart and soul that is Richmond, a place that fosters creativity and collaboration in
order to better itself. As we close out the year and gear up for TEDxRVA 2014, we want to take a moment to highlight some of the meaningful things that have occurred since March.

ZOE ROMANO, a local woman who spoke at the 2013 forum about vulnerability and the power of the unknown, went on to run the course of the Tour de France. Not only did she run more than 2,000 miles in six weeks, but she did it to raise $166,000 for the World Pediatric Project (which was far above her original goal), all while testing her limits of the unknown and inspiring countless people following her journey.

CHERYL HELLER also inspired us on the TEDxRVA stage while sharing her story of leadership of a class in New York that helped Boaz & Ruth plant a community garden that’s now flourishing. Seeds planted then spread farther than people imagined. Duron Chavis, who live blogged TEDxRVA 2013, brought the seeds to George Wythe High School in mid-October for the first TEDxRVA Adventure. Not only are gardens going up in the school’s courtyard, but thanks to sponsorship by Capital One, gardens will go up inside the classroom as well. These inside gardens are inspired by Stephen Ritz’s talk about living walls inside classrooms at TEDxManhattan. It’s TED in action and
it’s going to be delicious.

MICHAEL-BIRCH PIERCE, also a TEDxRVA 2013 speaker who is a local artist and fashion designer, teamed up with Zoe Romano to embroider shirts at a fundraiser for her Tour de France project. His TEDxRVA 2013 speech focused on art as dialogue, so it was fitting for him to use art to collaborate with a fellow TEDx speaker. Since last year’s TEDxRVA, Pierce has also booked jobs with Hugo Boss and Ellie Tahari in New York, and is in the beginning stages of developing a studio co-op and gallery space that he plans to open in the Broad Street Art District.

JOHN BLAKE is a poet who finds creativity in survival nature. As a speaker at TEDxRVA 2013, he was both in- spiring and inspired. He described TEDx gatherings as “the forecast of hope.” What a beautiful statement. He, too, has collaborated with a fellow speaker from the forum, Dr. Stephen Fong, to develop a nonprofit that implements a system they hope will improve education in our nation. As a testament to what TED is all about, when asked about his experience at TEDxRVA, Blake shared a story about an audience member and local dentist named Pete Apple- bee with Baxter Perkinson and Associates. Dr. Applebee noticed Blake was uncomfortable speaking because of his teeth, which were damaged as result of his former chemical dependency. The dentist spent many unpaid hours restoring John’s smile to the beautiful one he deserves. Physically restoring the smile of a poet who found his art in the turmoil of survival—what a lovely analogy for the beauty and hope that the TED organization provides. These acts of kindness are, as Blake so eloquently stated, “waves of a pebble in the pond of our planet.”

These are but a few of the stories that speak to the impact of the inaugural TEDxRVA on both speakers and participants. We are thrilled to announce that the second annual TEDxRVA will take place on March 28, 2014 at the Virginia Repertory’s November Theater in RVA’s Arts District. We hope that TEDxRVA will continue to be a catalyst for change and growth here in our beloved Greater Richmond, and in the world at large.