TedxPortland 2025 brings local stars, big ideas
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
10 speakers and four performers will grace the stage at Keller Auditorium Saturday as part of the TedxPortland event series. Photo: Courtesy of TedxPortland
The 13th annual TedxPortland at Keller Auditorium this weekend features talks and performances from local celebrities and internationally-acclaimed professionals, including "Eight Seconds Rodeo" founder Ivan McClellan and retired Thorns player Christine Sinclair.
The big picture: It's one of the largest TEDx events in North America, bringing nearly 3,000 people to downtown Portland for eight jammed-packed hours of motivation and plenty of networking opportunities.
- This year's theme is "continuum" and will explore time and personal evolution.
What they're saying: "Every single moment of the day is curated to take the audience on a journey," David Paull, one of TedxPortland's volunteer organizers, told Axios. "You leave the day truly exhausted and yet energized at the same time."
Context: TedxPortland started in 2009 at The Armory, with roughly 700 attendees, according to Paull, as a way to adopt the popular speaking franchise locally and foster community.
- "It's like you're strangers when you walk in, and you're friends when you walk out," he said. "There are so few experiences you can have these days that give you that."
- The event quickly grew thanks to early support from Nike and University of Oregon, taking place in larger venues like the Portland Art Museum and Moda Center.
State of play: This year's lineup features 10 speakers and four performers — including familiar faces like cartoonist Mike Bennett, indie pop band Small Million, visual effects pioneer Brian McLean and Paralympic silver medalist Dennis Connors.
- Bennett told Axios he plans to focus his talk on how confronting fear shaped his unexpected art career. "Give yourself permission to do that weird thing you've always been afraid to do."
- Connors, an Iraqi war veteran and two-time stroke survivor, said he hopes audiences will be inspired to redefine perseverance during their lowest moments.
- "I treated my stroke as more of like a speed bump and a gift rather than something that set me back permanently," he told Axios.
Between the lines: Each speaker will take the stage for 12 to 14 minutes. The day is split into two sessions — morning and afternoon — with a lunch break and closing happy hour at Ira Keller Fountain Park.
If you go: TedxPortland is Saturday from 9am to 6pm at Keller Auditorium. Tickets range from $79 to $169.