This weekend, thousands of creative people came together in Downtown Raleigh to add a spark to the streets of our state’s capital. SPARKcon is an annual arts festival that showcases over 2,000 different artists’ work in over 200 different varieties of events in downtown Raleigh. These events include categories of music, fashion, art, literary works, film, and more.
Every inch of the streets is covered with different kinds of art during the festival. Some art is displayed in tents and on tables, some art is performed for audiences to see and hear, and some art is simply drawn directly onto the street itself.
The festival was initially supposed to take place in September, but the then-approaching Hurricane Florence led organizers to decide to postpone the event for a later date. However, despite this delay, the creative community persevered and rescheduled the event for a month later, and everyone who attended SPARKcon can agree that it was worth the wait.
Each segment of SPARKcon is organized by its own creative community of volunteers. The open-source leadership structure of each segment at SPARKcon is meant to inspire and educate creative leaders through collaboration and training as they emerge into the world.
One of these emerging artists is Marissa Jerden, a fourth-year student studying geology, who has participated in the Chalk Art Contest for the artSPARK segment since she was in high school.
“It’s really important to have events like SPARKcon because they encourage people to take a break in their lives, have fun and make some art,” Jerden said. “I also think it’s super important to highlight the importance of art in a city area so focused on STEM and technology.”
The finished product of the Chalk Art Contest makes one feel like they are walking through a color-filled wonderland. With each step, a new work of chalk art could be found on the ground, some of which were intricate, to the point that some looked almost like photographs.
While the daytime events at SPARKcon took advantage of the daylight to display different works of art to attendees, the events at night took advantage of the darkness to put on unforgettable shows using components like light and fire. An event in the circusSPARK segment helped end Friday night’s festivities with a performance called “Fantasy Fire Conclave,” which featured One Tribe and the Raleigh Drum Circle.
The performance was a medieval fantasy drama, driven by the sound of drums, and consisted of intricate costumes, magical displays and fire. Every member of the audience was completely enticed by the performance, unable to turn away from the magic of the fire show and the intensity of the drums. Pamela Webb, a member of Raleigh Drum Circle, spoke on what she liked most about performing in the show.
“The fire spinners are so talented and had really cool costumes,” Webb said. “We all had costumes on, [and] the theme was Game of Thrones, fantasy-like.”
SPARKcon had something for everyone. The festival’s website encourages people to attend and find something they love by saying “Find your tribe, find your spark.” The festival was judgment-free, and everyone in attendance was there to enjoy the way other people chose to express their creativity while also expressing their own, whether it was through a comedy show, a dance performance, a fashion show, a writing workshop or something else.
Though intense winds ended up cutting the festival short by a day, even the high winds that caused the cancellation of Sunday’s festivities could not get rid of the three previous days of art and expression covering the streets of downtown Raleigh.
SPARKcon may have finished for the year, but planning for next year has already begun, and those with a love for art will patiently wait until next year’s events.
