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What's PechaKucha? Find out in Batavia

PechaKucha 20x20 is coming to Batavia - and if you know what that means, you are worldly indeed.

PechaKucha, or the Japanese phrase for chitchat, unfolds in places like Chicago, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Montreal, Moscow and hundreds of other cities.

Luckily for Batavia, PechaKucha nights also take place in Champaign, where Batavia library director George Scheetz first saw one in action a couple of years ago.

Basically, during a PechaKucha Night, various presenters have exactly six minutes and 40 seconds to tell a story about any topic under the sun, accompanied by 20 slides for 20 seconds each.

It makes for an entertaining, enlightening and educational evening that Scheetz is certain will impress those who attend the Batavia Library's first PechaKucha Night at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Riverview Banquets.

"I've been to two in Chicago since seeing it in Champaign and it is so fun because you never know what you are going to get," Scheetz said. "I just felt we had to have one of these in Batavia for the people of Fox River Valley who have so many interests."

If a person is passionate about a hobby or a life's work, or a trip, or some knowledge they want to share, they are candidates for being PechaKucha presenters.

"I have seen a presenter talking about how much she loved Hula Hooping, and she turned it into a rhythmic gymnastics routine program," said Scheetz, who plans to be a presenter himself on the topic of Batavia's name and its historic significance throughout the world.

Another presentation on tap for Batavia's first venture into PechaKucha comes from Britta McKenna, who will share her experience on a spiritual pilgrimage through Spain. Other topics will feature the child adoption process and the creation of Hands for Hope, a program for dental care in poor countries, Sheetz said.

"This goes on in 864 cities around the world, and now we have the ball rolling in the Tri-Cities area," Scheetz said.

Cost to attend is $5, and food and drinks are available for additional charge.

If you miss this one, the library has already scheduled a second one for Jan. 21 at Riverview Banquets. Even more pizza

You had to wonder what might take up shop in the empty Great Harvest Bread location on Third Street in Geneva. It had been that bakery for so long, it was hard to envision what else could click in that spot a block north of State Street.

Gia Mia pizza bar provides the answer to that question. The "coming soon" signs are up in the windows with promises of fresh homemade pastas and craft beer. All of this coming through "a creative small plates" process.

Chef Brian Goewey brought Gia Mia to downtown Wheaton initially. Something tells me we're going to be glad he's spreading that pasta recipe into Geneva.

Smiling on screen

Ron Onesti looked pretty sharp on TV recently when hosting a PBS concert show featuring the IL Volo tenors.

The successful frontman of the Arcada Theatre in downtown St. Charles has done plenty of tasks for Channel 11, including having some concerts filmed at his theater.

He sounded pretty excited about being asked to be a regular host of some PBS shows. Something tells me he will figure out a way to include this in what has to be a ridiculously busy schedule.

About five years ago, Onesti told me about his business model and how he was going to go about revitalizing the Arcada, which was on the brink of becoming like many other small-town theaters - boarded up, or turned into a hardware store or restaurant.

One of his recent columns in the Daily Herald (yes, he does that, too) explained the various tasks involved in getting artists to the Arcada and treating them like royalty when they get here.

I got worn out just reading about all of the work that goes into this. Here's to hoping this guy can keep his energy rate up at 100 mph. He's done quite a bit to make St. Charles and its historic theater relevant in the music and entertainment industry.

Funny lady

If Diane McFarlin is half as funny on her regular job as she is in the role of gruff and outspoken "Dottie" in the current Steel Beam Theatre production of "Good People," then Kaneland High School is a funny place.

McFarlin is an assistant principal at the high school in addition to serving as the theatrical artistic director of the Kaneland Arts Initiative.

But she's also been at this acting gig for more than 40 years with an impressive array of acting and directing roles to her credit. "Good People" runs through Oct. 4.

Sleepy plans

Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee has now unveiled upgrades for a movie theater and restaurants. And those involved sounded pretty confident about what was taking place.

At the same time, the Chicago Premium Outlets mall in Aurora near I-88 has expanded and added stores.

On the other hand, the Charlestowne Mall upgrade in St. Charles to The Quad has moved into what seems like Plan Z.

It's an easy plan, you just add more Z's as the days go by to describe its progress. "Zzzzzzz."

dheun@sbcglobal.net

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