Fishbon Event Lab (Dr. MegaVolt, Man Meets Lightning & Potluck)

This week we're in for an extra special treat. Burning Man legend Dr. Austin Richards (AKA Dr. MegaVolt) has performed in some of the iconic festival's most unforgettable moments. Fortunately he lives in Santa Barbara and his wife and collaborator Victoria Charters is working on a mega documentary about their work that she agreed to talk about this Wednesday. "Dr MegaVolt, Man Meets Lightning" is a documentary about Tesla coils and high-voltage phenomena from the point of view of Dr. Austin Richards, a Ph.D. in physics who has been performing in a metal Faraday suit with Tesla coils since March 1997. The film follows the journey of a young man who did what every mother tells her child not to do. He plays with electricity. Through this play he makes a discovery which delights his friends. He builds a giant Tesla Coil, then a Faraday suit and is able to interact with the high-voltage arcs unharmed. He is the first person in the world to achieve this. His friends encourage him to participate in the Burning Man Festival in Nevada, and a cult hero is born. The coil has been tested in the Pescadrome parking lot and was almost the centerpiece of our New Year's Eve event a few years ago, but got shut down by fearful neighbors. Come find out what all the fuss was about this Wednesday. Don't miss it.