Press Release: Open Your Mind to New Ideas at Raleigh Event

Ignite Raleigh to be held at Lincoln Theatre August 5, 2009

For Immediate Release

(Raleigh, NC: July 9, 2009) The air in Downtown Raleigh will be filled with fast-paced, high-minded ideas as Ignite Raleigh comes to the Lincoln Theatre on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 7pm. This free event, organized by Triangle startup company, OurHashtag, LLC, will bring together hundreds of members of the Raleigh community to ponder these revolutionary ideas and cheer on the community chosen speakers.

Ignite Raleigh is about ideas and ideas can change the world. And it takes less than five minutes to spread one. Each presenter gets five minutes on stage to present their idea with 20 slides that rotate automatically after 15 seconds. These are not sales pitches, but educational presentations around a single idea.

Ignite events were originally conceived as technology variety shows, but they have grown into communities. Ignite was started in Seattle in 2006 by Brady Forrest, O’Reilly conference chair and technology writer, and Bre Pettis, entrepreneur. Since then hundreds of 5 minute talks have been given across the world. There are thriving Ignite communities in Seattle, Boulder, Portland, Paris, and NYC.

Wayne Sutton, partner in OurHashtag and one of the organizers of Ignite Raleigh, wanted to have this event in our area because it is unlike any other event we have seen. “Ignite Raleigh will really bring the community together for this one evening, and beyond. This will highlight talented individuals and the diversity of ideas in the Raleigh area. We are excited to see the presentations and look forward to the conversations after tonight that will fuel continued community growth and more events like Ignite Raleigh.”

Ignite Raleigh will include presentations from members of the Triangle community. The event organizers have already selected two featured presenters, include Ryan P. Allis, Co-Founder and CEO of iContact, an email marketing company, and Shawn Rocco, photojournalist with the News & Observer. There will be two other featured presenters selected by the organizers. Ten other presenters will be selected by community vote. 34 topics, 363 voters and 1,476 votes have already been submitted at Voting.IgniteRaleigh.com. Voting ends on July 20 at 11:59 P.M. EST.

The fun-filled night will also include musical entertainment. Already on schedule to perform are North Carolina-based comedy duo, Rhettt and Link. These musicians, filmmakers and “Internetainers” are best known in this area for the BBQ song. As more performers are confirmed, we will add them here.

Free Tickets are available at IgniteRaleigh.Eventbrite.com.

For more information about Ignite Raleigh:
Email: contact AT igniteraleigh DOT com
Twitter: @IgniteRaleigh
Phone: 980-939-8956

About Ignite Raleigh:
Ignite Raleigh is a community-driven event about ideas. The first in an ongoing series of Ignite Raleigh events is Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 7pm at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Lincoln Theatre. This free event, organized by Triangle startup OurHashtag, LLC, will bring together hundreds of members of the Raleigh community to ponder these revolutionary ideas and cheer on the community chosen speakers. Each presenter gets five minutes on stage to present their idea with 20 slides that rotate automatically after 15 seconds. These are not sales pitches, but educational presentations around a single idea. For more information about Ignite Raleigh, go to IgniteRaleigh.com.

About OurHashtag, LLC:
OurHashtag, LLC brings together community, marketing, business and technology to provide platforms for connection and engagement, both online and off-line. The core team of partners Wayne Sutton, Kipp Bodnar, Jeff Cohen and Ryan Boyles bring experience, knowledge and thought leadership in their respective disciplines. For more information about OurHashtag, go to OurHashtag.com.