Tedx Tickets

1) Suggest that the emcee spend less time on the stage. Speakers and their topics can be introduced either on the screen or by the emcee without taking so much of the spotlight. Overall, it seemed that TEDx Portland was more about Mr. Rae than the speakers themselves. 2) Suggest TEDx Portland evaluate their decision-making process. The late unannounced addition of a political candidate for what was described as a "conversation" but rather appeared to be a fawning interview was an obviously poor idea, especially a politician who had received an A rating from the NRA right after two mass shootings in the last week and a half. There should be more than one person involved in the decision to make last minute additions. 3) Lunch was supposed to be two hours but was only 1 1/2 hours. No food was allowed to be brought by the attendees but the available facilities were completely inadequate to serve that size crowd in that little time. We spent 30 minutes in line at Jack's before finding out they weren't serving food, then moving to ChaChaCha before my wife left the line to eventually find two cold hot dogs, which we ate 10 minutes before the afternoon events began. If we attend TEDx Portland again at the Moda Center, I will smuggle in my own food.

Hi there, I had a wonderful time at TEDx. I enjoyed the speakers. I didn't care for Betsy Johnson, primarily because she was a political candidate. I thought it was inappropriate for her to be there. However, I am open to listening to ideas that are different to mine. I was actually more bothered by the lack of food choices. We had an hour and a half to get food, but the lines were atrocious. There were not enough vendors. Several vendors ran out of food. Add to that, not enough choices for vegans. I ended up eating a pretzel and I wasn't sure if that was vegan or not. My hopes is that they were. There should have been more places to purchase from. There wasn't enough time either. It did not ruin my experience, however it would have been much better had I been able to eat lunch. I still give this event a 4 star rating, because I truly enjoyed the speakers and the entertainment and that was ultimately the reason I attended.

Some presentations were great, others seemed like time fillers. The afternoon band went on too long. People were exhausted before Pink Martini started. It was a huge mistake to interview Betsy Johnson. It felt like a violation of trust as this wasn’t a political event. The day should have been shorter. The length took away from the impact of the good speakers. The food service was atrocious for that size of crowd.

It was a thought provoking event with a handful of amazing speakers. Some less so. The emcee left a lot to be desired - they said “Um” constantly, lost control of the crowd, cried in an awkward / way too personal way when thanking sponsors (save that for an after party with your sponsors) and swore too much. I have never been to a live TED event - but based on the training and standard of public speaking I was surprised at how unpolished they appeared. Obviously, the Betsy Johnson add-in was a bad call so doesn’t need to be addressed further - another reason it was a bummer is the event went over time by a lot. Had that not been added we may have been able to stay to the end to see Pink Martini and the final speaker - but had to jet bc we had another obligation. So resented the Johnson appearance for that reason as well. Food lines at lunch were crazy long. Please open up more stations in the future. Overall, we would go again - lots of positives with a handful of glaring issues.

Even though TedX is a non-profit, they decided to sneak in an unaffiliated candidate for Governor to present. This individual is supported by the NRA. This is less than a week after 19 people were slaughtered at a school in TX. The decision to have this person speak was made less than 2 weeks before the event, and no one (audience, other speakers, press people) knew that this was going to happen. Bad Idea, David Rae!

TEDx decided to feature an NRA enthusiast a few days after the shooting in Uvalde. Shameful.

Bad timing for the 10th anniversary to happen at the start of a global pandemic. Bad timing to have an NRA supporting candidate for governor on the stage. So inappropriate to have Betsy Johnson, such a dark cloud on the day we looked forward to since buying tickets in 2019.

The experience wasn’t great. Sound quality was sub par. Line up was meh. I was so excited for this… and I didn’t think it was executed as well as it should have been. Won’t be attending a Ted program again in pdx.

The venue was great and the presenters were wonderful - all except Betsy Johnson- this was no place for a "political figure" ( especially in light of the recent gun carnage in Texas and she is %100 rated by the NRA- that felt insulting!) Do it again in the Moda center

I cannot believe what I experienced. This will negatively affect the TEDx Portland brand far beyond this day. What she said, how David Rae reacted to the crowd telling us we aren't going to talk about guns, how much time and energy was wasted. This was political. and it was a choice made. Absolutely inappropriate to allow her the stage. You knew what you were doing and it was wrong. And the apology was lacking real honesty of intent. My first and likely only TEDx experience. TED is about inspiration, thought leaders, community. I came in with open eyes, willing to experience vulnerably what the speakers brought to stage. I left feeling taken advantage of.

Great speakers, great food, great venue!! Loved this event and will definitely be at any future TEDx King Lincoln Bronzeville events!