From Friday to Sunday, about 2,000 performers, vendors, artists and volunteers will meet on Fayetteville Street for the 8th annual SPARKcon festival.
SPARKcon is an “interdisciplinary creativity, art and design festival” and is produced each year by Visual Art Exchange, a nonprofit “creativity incubator,” according to the festival’s official website.
Sarah Powers, executive director of Visual Art Exchange, said the build-up to this year’s event was more exciting than ever.
“We had more than 35,000 people come out to SPARKcon last year,” Powers said. “We have grown every year, so we’re expecting even more people.”
Powers said using the open source approach for SPARKcon ensured an event that will run purely on community creativity.
“Open source basically means that anyone and everyone can contribute, anything can happen,” Powers said. “We really don’t say no to any idea, we just sort of let it happen. You can learn so much about what’s going on in the Triangle by inviting community members into the planning process.”
Each individual or group that proposes an idea for the next year’s event is given the tools and leadership training required to make their SPARK happen. The executive committee, nicknamed the “Bobbleheads” because of the committee’s inability to say no, gives what it can to the individual SPARKs, but is allotted a budget of $50,000 and must use that money for logistical needs, including security, permits and various rentals. Powers said the success or failure of the ideas lies with the individuals, who are required to do all the planning, find volunteers and manage the booth or activity at SPARKcon.
“This can seem a little harsh at times, but it’s proven to be really effective in getting the programs off the ground and into the community,” Powers said. “circusSPARK, for example, now holds trainings and classes for people who are interested in acrobatics and juggling and stuff. It encourages lasting relationships with the area.”
The SPARKcon planning process begins the week after the previous conference ends. It is an effort to get the ball rolling while enthusiasm levels are still high, Powers said.
“We really hit the ground running last year,” Powers said. “We hit so hard that we were able to create a total of 200 SPARKcon sub-events for this year’s main event. We have 700 street painters coming out to add a huge hands-on initiative. This part means a lot to me because I’m an artist. We’re essentially taking over downtown Raleigh and covering it with art.”
Now in its eighth year, SPARKcon will include 20 venues on and around Fayetteville Street. Attractions include fashion shows, chalk drawings in the street, short-film screenings and food trucks. Arts and crafts vendors will set up shop in the bazaarSPARK section in front of the State Capitol on Fayetteville Street.
SPARKcon offers a full schedule of events from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
“Our aim is to expose different talents and bring them together,” Powers said. “Letting creative people make things happen is still the centerpiece of it all, even after eight years.”
