Now, more than ever, we need community connecting events like Ignite Phoenix, so we’re bringing it back to the stage on May 4th, 2022 (more details to come).
Ignite started as a way to connect people across the Valley’s sea of beige and concrete. It gives people a stage to share their passions without a topic or agenda, sharing the sparks that excite us so they might catch fire in someone else.
Now, Ignite can be a place to come together when we’ve been pushed apart in so many ways. It’s still a place for people to share what gives them fire and hope, but Ignite’s magic is more than just the presenters: it’s the audience. It is every person who shows up willing to challenge themselves and support people being vulnerable and sharing what they love.
The last Ignite was in 2019, before all the madness hit, and the opening talk I gave was on Kintsugi. This is the Japanese art where broken pottery is mended by filling in their cracks with gold. What emerges is something transformed. What was once damaged is now beautiful. Scars become something to cherish.
Ignite is a place to share who we’ve become, the battles we’ve fought, the things we’ve learned. It’s been an odd time and we’re all a little odder for going through it. Fortunately, Ignite is very oddity-positive.
