April 30, 2024 – Message to the Membership
Posted on April 30, 2024 in Message to the Membership
Well hello again. It’s been a while. I hope you managed well through one of the mildest and warmest winters we’ve had for a while (with the odd blizzard or two excepted).
I have for the most part, although that Swinging With the Stars gig I did at the end of January blew out my hip. I’ve been doing physio in the hopes that I’ll be back to normal soon. Any day now… (I’ve been saying that for the past two months.) Things don’t bounce back quite the same way as they did say a decade or two ago.
Given the way that this year is flying by (how can it be May already??) I thought I’d better put out a heads up about a new (hopefully annual) event we’re launching this June. You may have already seen some Save the Date posts on social media in reference to it.
To celebrate our 10th annual Popcorn and Entrepreneurship Series, presented by TBD (it could be you, if you’re interested… for real, call us!), we’re going to provide a screening of all nine previous Popcorn and Entrepreneurship movies at an event on June 26, 2024. We’re billing it as ‘Popped… a P and E Showcase’ presented by TBD (again, see above).
This unique animal is being held at TCU Place and is kicking off a couple of things. Firstly, in homage to our 10th Popcorn – or P and E, either of which is a term of endearment for us around here – we’re going to unveil who the Star, or should I say MEGA Star, is for this year’s event, which is taking place on August 28, 2024 at its usual locale, Remai Modern and Persephone Theatre.
We will also make tickets to this year’s Popcorn event exclusively available to attendees of Popped…. a P and E Showcase before they go on sale to the general public. How’s that for added enticement?
The way things are going, we might one up our record sellout for our golf tournament, which happened on the first day, by selling out Popcorn and Entrepreneurship before it goes on sale to the public! Like technically in less than a day. Get your head wrapped around that for a minute.
As for Popped… a P and E Showcase, let me illustrate what it’s all about. The first and most obvious is that it’s going to provide you the opportunity to revisit an old favourite, or perhaps take in one of the Popcorn gems that you happened to miss. Each of the nine documentaries is a masterpiece in its own right. Several of the previous stars have committed their attendance at this inaugural event as well.
As mentioned, Popped… a P and E Showcase is taking place at TCU Place, where we have four galleries booked. Three of the galleries will be set up as theatres, with each of the theatres showing three movies. The fourth will be a common area with food and beverage stations and a stage for live programming. We will have two brief intermissions: the first between the first and second screenings, and the second between the second and third screenings. (I realize it’s hard to absorb, but I hope you’re grasping the concept. You might have to read it a couple of times like I had to.)
The evening will begin with cocktails, food, and networking, before the screening of the first three movies, which begins at 6 pm. During the first intermission we’re having the key figures involved in Driven – the Ken Achs Story, our Popcorn masterpiece from 2018, contribute to a live component of our programming.
On the stage in the fourth venue, the common area where the food and drink will be available, Ken Achs and his wife Colleen Wilson will have a discussion with the movie’s Director, Kolby Kostyniuk. Among the topics they’ll cover is how the movie impacted their business and business relationships in the ensuing six years. Kolby will endeavour to uncover the value the production brought to Ken, Colleen and Mid-West Developments, (which, coincidentally is celebrating its 60th anniversary days before Popped… a P and E Showcase).
This will be followed by the second screening featuring the next three movies. The food that was available at the start of the evening, and during the first intermission, will be replaced by dessert options for you to round out your palate during the second intermission.
Then, before the final set of movie screenings, the MEGA Star of the 2024 Popcorn and Entrepreneurship Series will be unveiled in each of the three theatres, followed by the last three movies. The conclusion of the movies will occur approximately at 8:35 pm, at which time more networking can ensue, or patrons can opt to make it an early night and head home.
It’s taken me a roundabout way to get to the second of the two things this event kicks off, as was alluded to so long ago, in the fifth paragraph above. We hope this event will spawn and evolve into an actual film festival in subsequent years. The intention is to have business, commercial (as in commerce, not advertisements) and industry media being the primary focus.
That, however, is the story for another day. For now, we’re focused on Popped…. a P and E Showcase. And we hope that you are too.
Let’s make it a date! We’ll see you at TCU Place on June 26th!
Until next time, be safe, be smart, be considerate, be well, but most of all, be kind.
Keith Moen
Executive Director