TED opening night will be shown in theaters

Area residents who want to see opening night of the 38th annual TED conference as it unfolds won’t have to travel to its site in Vancouver, British Columbia, this year.

Instead, for the first time, the series of informational and inspirational talks will be shown live at 7 p.m. Central time Feb. 15 at more than 600 theaters around the U.S.

Four Kansas City area theaters are included — Town Center 20 in Leawood, Cinemark 14 on the Country Club Plaza, Cinemark 20 in Merriam and Kansas City Stadium 18 at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, North. In Lawrence, the Southwind Stadium 12 will show the event, as will the Hollywood Stadium 10 in St. Joseph.

Tickets can be bought just as they are for movies at the theaters.

Separately, a roundup of talks from the conference will be rebroadcast from 2 to 6 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Many cities, including Kansas City, also hold their own TED-style events at other times, planned and coordinated independently under a free license from TED. This year’s TEDxKC is set for Aug. 19.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 2:49 PM with the headline "TED opening night will be shown in theaters."