It's that time of year again, when wealthy philomaths from around the globe flock to Vancouver for the week-long festival of ideas known as TED Talks.

The conference, whose name began as an acronym for Technology, Entertainment and Design, features A-list celebrities on stage alongside some of the world's leading thinkers sharing their knowledge in 18-minute bites on topics ranging from neuroscience to dance.

The theme of this year's event, which begins Monday, is The Future You. Some of the key speakers include tennis superstar Serena Williams, entrepreneur and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, and chess champion Garry Kasparov.

Lesser-known but equally promising speakers include Still Alice author Lisa Genova, CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King, and comedian and science fan Chuck Nice.

Gayle King arrives at the Hollywood Film Awards at the Palladium on Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, in Los Angeles. King will be one of dozens of speakers at the 2017 TED Talks in Vancouver. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/The Associated Press)

Despite the $8,500 US price tag, the conference is sold out again this year.

For everyone else, TED is offering special screenings of select talks in cinemas around the world throughout the week. Usually, the talks are released on various platforms throughout the year.

CBC's Lisa Johnson will be attending the conference all week, reporting on some of the key speakers and ideas.