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MARQUETTE -- To some people, the term "TED Talks" brings a smile and a flood of praise, but to most people, it draws only a blank stare.

Well, a version of TED Talks is coming to the Marquette Regional History Center on Saturday, March 31.

What are TED Talks exactly? They originated in California back in 1984 as a series of lectures and presentations that focused primarily on technology, education and design (Hence, TED). Since 1990, the sessions have been yearly events in both California and Edinburgh, UK. They've drawn speakers as diverse as former President Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Bono.

Nowadays, the topics are more diverse. They might deal with anything from the creative process in composing music, to setting up an innovative tutoring program for underprivileged students, to urging you to take 30 days out of your life to do something you normally would never consider. And just about any other topic that might open your eyes, inspire you, and encourage you to innovate.

"The primary focus of TED is to be on the cutting edge of what's happening and what lies ahead," says Jason Schneider, the lead organizer of the TEDx Talk in Marquette. The TEDx Talks are associated with TED, but they are independently organized and allow the phenomenon to spread into more communities across the United States.

Eleven hundred of the TED Talks are now posted on the Internet, and they've drawn more than 500 million views so far.

The TEDx Talk in Marquette, titled "Building U.P. Communities," will be a four-hour session featuring thirteen presenters. Among them: the Terminal Orchestra, a group of punk musicians who've formed a unique orchestra; Rich Branstrom, an artist who recycles junk into works of art; Dave Ollila, the inventer and founder of Viosport; and Joe Lubig, the forward-thinking Associate Dean of Teacher Education at NMU.

"I want people to slow down and recognize that everything you experience and every person you come into contact with," Lubig explains, "it all matters, immediately and in the future. We can't be looking at life as just isolated moments."

The speakers have a maximum of 18 minutes to make their points, and then they give way to the next presenter.

Schneider, who's a Marquette City Commissioner and former Peace Corps volunteer, empahsizes that the TED Talks and the TEDx Talks are not lectures and they're not sales pitches. They're intended to fire up the imagination, and they're all about the future.

"I enjoy stirring things up a bit," he says. "It's a valuable way to get ideas out there and get conversations started about them."

Only one other TEDx Talk has been held so far in Michigan; that was in Detroit. The Marquette talk, incidentally, is nearly sold-out. One of the distributors, Everyday Wines (906-225-5470), at last report, had a few remaining tickets.

Curious about TED Talks? Check them online: http://www.ted.com/talks