See the image gallery on our Flickr SPARKcon group.
If yo’re not a member of this group- join in! And don’t forget about our photo contest.
Also see the grafSPARK images on blog.gamil.
Updates will be posted on our photo page:
From so many perspectives this was the best SPARKcon yet! hanks to all of the support and help from the entire community to make SPARKcon become a better and better reflection of the abilities of local talent. Please check the news section of this page for stories, images and videos. We’ll get them up as soon as we get ‘em!
What did you think of SPARKcon 2008? What Events did you participate in? Let us, other SPARKcon attendees and future SPARKcon attendees know!
Well we couldn’t have hoped for anything better so far! This has been an incredible few days. Check out the graffitiSPARK towers Sunday, join the international Day of Peace meditation at 12, yogaSPARK in Moore Square, the ideaSPARK results at 2pm at the Urban Design Center, and the filmSPARK in the park tonight at 8 pm.
Also - submit your photos or videos into our contests.
We’ve also go a lot of great press coverage. Please pass on links if you don’t see them here yet.
SPARK on!
The weekend is finally here! download a map from the right sidebar and check out all, or as many as you can manage… fun events happening downtown!
The week of SPARKcon has arrived!
The organizers will host one final meeting Tuesday September 16, at 6pm at Designbox. All involved are encouraged to attend. This will be the final, last chance, no turning back opportunity to voice any last minute questions or concerns.
Everyone get ready!
SPARKcon is right around the corner!
Join the potluck-style creative festival that showcases and promotes local talent. This year has more and more interesting stuff to show than ever! For those who want a voice in their future, don’t forget to register for ideaSPARK!
Following are a few highlights of the talent showing off in this year’s event:
Casey Porn will be leading the charge of more than 400 streetpainters - the biggest crowd yet!
Acrobatic Yoga Saturday Evening @ Moore Square
PoetrySlam with Dassan Ahanu - competition of 10 artists. They perform and the audience votes! Saturday night @ Moore Square
Dance Lessons in Breakdancing, Capoeira Angola, and House dances. Saturday @ Metro
Live screenprinting with Garrett French. Customize your own shirt, and shop from more than 30 local artisans. BazaarSPARK Saturday@ Moore Square
Breakdancing competition with Schizophrenic Octopus Friday night @ Loft 132.
Local filmmaker Godfrey Cheshire will Emcee filmSPARK showcasing local films Sunday evening @ Moore Square
Storytellers session with musician Kenny Roby and writer Terry Anderson. Friday night @ Slims.
Live graffiti in the park with Matt Curran, Bart Cusick, and others - including an open wall for DIY artist. Saturday @ Moore Square
“Kidphoon” scavenger hunt throughout SPARKcon, Marbles Museum, and Bugfest. Saturday @ Marbles.
Opera Company of NC will perform Saturday @Moore Square.
Hoola Hooping with Caroleena and Limbo with Get Traction will add to a whole day of active fun and excitement all day Saturday in Moore Square
ideaSPARK Unconference to both recognize problems and then create practical solutions in teams. Friday @ Urban Design Center
Erotic Poetry with jazz by Pam Saulsby, storySPARK after Dark. Saturday night @ Metro.
G.D. Gearino, Will Rokos, William Conescu, and Jay Price, all local authors/writers, present their work. storySPARK. Saturday @ Moore Square.
Kickoff at “Local Beer - Local Band” and leading into a whole weekend of music across many different genres from Indie music to Bluegrass. Thursday night @Tir na Nog
Visual Art Exchange’s ImageSlam of more than 100 local artists on the big screen. Saturday evening @Moore Square.
bugfest @ Museum of Natural Sciences - take the Raleigh Rickshaw there! Saturday
Local fashion, body art and music combined! Local fashion designers and body artists have teamed up with local musicians for the ever popular fashion show. Friday evening @ Moore Square.
Art Factory featuring local emerging artists selling works under $300. Saturday @ Pour House
Chicago’s Stacy Kid will bring top notch House Music to Raleigh. musicSPARK Saturday Night @ Solas
ArtSPARK Gallery, Saturday @ the future site of the Foundation Bar, 213 Fayetteville St
photo and video contest featuring …you! post your pics and videos for prizes!
bikeSPARK featuring…you! Join one of three rides around town, or learn how to build a bike up from scratch.
There’s so much more that’s not on the list above…but you get the idea. More info at
http://www.sparkcon.com
—
SPARKcon is a potluck-style creative festival that showcases and promotes local talent. It’s “potluck-style” because we don’t program what goes into it. We just provide a stage for those who want to show what they’ve got or facilitate those who want to contribute their unique perspective to improving our environment. Either way it’s our goal to nurture the innovative spirit of the Triangle, and enable it to be the Creative Hub of the South.
In the past 3 years the Triangle has seen a lot of change. It’s been enough that all of us at SPARKcon had to ask ourselves, “why do we need another voice for change?” Well after some hard analysis of the bigger developments, we also see bigger challenges for local artists, entrepreneurs, and technical thinkers to flourish in its midst. A convincing argument came from Bob Geary who at one point exclaimed “we need SPARKcon now more than ever!”
Renewed with a focus to reach out further to local groups of creative folks, we retooled our “open source” approach to amplify new participation and new leaders to emerge from our creative community. From Hoola Hoopers to Acrobatic Yoga Artists to Erotic Storytellers, this year’s SPARKcon has dramatically added to its program of local talent that you might not have known. Of course the VAE Street Painting Festival will be in full swing, and the events of local bands/local beers, fashion/body art show, multi-faceted art performances and film series will anchor each of the evenings with the latest of the local scene. This year we have also linked up our popular shopping Bazaar and live graffiti walls with Bugfest to make an overwhelming Saturday.
We’ve been learning a lot from feedback on the community workshops and how to give them “bigger teeth.” Reaching out to the technical thinkers among us, we decided to apply the lessons of Barcamps and have our workshops follow an “unconference” format. On Friday (Sep19) registrants ($5 fee) will each suggest an issue that needs to be addressed. The group will vote on which ones to solve and small, diverse groups will then break out to create concrete solutions and hopefully initial prototypes. Final presentations are made Sunday afternoon. SPARKcon leaders will subsequently work with each team to outline ways to implement these solutions.
SPARKcon is completely grass-roots! It’s not a city program, a non-profit, or an economic development stunt. It’s an ever-growing group of passionate local people showcasing their talents and having a say in our community. SPARKcon is organized by more than 40 talented individuals of the community with hundreds of volunteers.
We have dozens of local sponsors but would like to especially thank:
Raleigh Convention Center
Visual Art Exchange
Gamil Design
News & Observer
Raleigh City Planning
Main organizers are:
Gab Smith
Ty Beddingfield
Aly Khalifa
Special thanks goes to Greg Ettenson who has been an outstanding central coordinator for all of SPARKcon.
The artSPARK Gallery will open at 12 noon on Friday September 19 to receive the public. Hours for the SPARKcon weekend will be:
Fri 9/19 - 12n - 8p
Sat 9/20 - 12n - 10p
Sun 9/21 - 12n - 8p
The Gallery is located at 213 Fayetteville St. We have secured two spaces, one on the top floor, and the other in the Foundation Space underground! Be sure to check out the artSPARK page for details on reception performances and other updates!
Hey there! It’s time to get your Spark On!
SPARKcon is a potluck-style creative festival that showcases and promotes local talent. It’s “potluck-style” because we don’t program what goes into it. We just provide a stage for those who want to show what they’ve got or facilitate those who want to contribute their unique perspective to improving our environment. Either way it’s our goal to nurture the innovative spirit of the Triangle, and enable it to be the Creative Hub of the South.
In the past 3 years the Triangle has seen a lot of change. It’s been enough that all of us at SPARKcon had to ask ourselves, “why do we need another voice for change?” Well after some hard analysis of the bigger developments, we also see bigger challenges for local artists, entrepreneurs, and technical thinkers to flourish in its midst. A convincing argument came from Bob Geary who at one point exclaimed “we need SPARKcon now more than ever!”
Renewed with a focus to reach out further to local groups of creative folks, we retooled our “open source” approach to amplify new participation and new leaders to emerge from our creative community. From Hoola Hoopers to Acrobatic Yoga Artists to Erotic Storytellers, this year’s SPARKcon has dramatically added to its program of local talent that you might not have known. Of course the VAE Street Painting Festival will be in full swing, and the events of local bands/local beers, fashion/body art show, multi-faceted art performances and film series will anchor each of the evenings with the latest of the local scene. This year we have also linked up our popular shopping Bazaar and live graffiti walls with Bugfest to make an overwhelming Saturday.
We’ve been learning a lot from feedback on the community workshops and how to give them “bigger teeth.” Reaching out to the technical thinkers among us, we decided to apply the lessons of Barcamps and have our workshops follow an “unconference” format. On Friday (Sep19) registrants ($5 fee) will each suggest an issue that needs to be addressed. The group will vote on which ones to solve and small, diverse groups will then break out to create concrete solutions and hopefully initial prototypes. Final presentations are made Sunday afternoon. SPARKcon leaders will subsequently work with each team to outline ways to implement these solutions.
Following are a few more highlights of this year’s event:
artSPARK: ImageSlam featuring works from various local artists displayed on the big screen in Moore Sq. Sat Sep 20. SPARKcon open gallery located at 213 Fayetteville St. featuring artwork (paintings, photography, sculpture, furniture, etc) from local artists/designers
fashionSPARK: “Wear what you are” showcase of 12 local fashion designers along with body art by local piercers and tattoo artists that takes over Moore Square Friday night. Local boutiques showcasing a fashionSPARK designer through custom window displays the week leading up the show.
musicSPARK: Over 2 dozen muscians at 4 different venues around downtown Raleigh spanning 4 days of SPARKcon. Join the kickoff party at Local Beers/Local Bands night Thu Sep 18.
bazaarSPARK: SPARKcon’s answer to ”what if the mall was cool.” bazaarSPARK brings over 30 local artisans, crafts people, and small business together to surprise the triangle with what the artisan market scene has to offer.
storySPARK: celebration of the exciting and provocative stories that make up the human fabric. Features live poetry readings, 3 professional storytellers, N&O correspondent, and the stories behind 2 of Raleigh’s best know musicians.
yogaSPARK: showcase featuring the physical, mental, and creative benefits of yoga through 8 hours of classes, workshops, discussions, and meditation. Learn from a dozen of the triangles best yogi’s and meditation instructors. Join yogaSPARK and “1% for Peace” on Sunday to celebrate the International Day of Peace with a public moment of silence, and group mediation.
healthSPARK: learn from alternative health professionals about new ways to think about body health.
youthSPARK: offers activities in collaboration with other SPARKs to promote creative exploration early on. The first annual “Kidphoon” scavenger hunt will take kids and their parents on a journey through SPARKcon, Marbles museum, BugFest, and downtown Raleigh.
goundSPARK: The 10th annual groundSPARK streetpainting festival brings out over 400 artists from all over the Triangle to transform one block of E Martin St into a work o art in 24hrs. Come out to paint, vote on your fave’s, and get involved with the Scrap Exchange.
graffitiSPARK: tapping into the graffiti culture of Raleigh, grafSPARK gives these 8 artists 3 towers, 100 cans of paint, and over 500 square feet of blank canvas to create their urban works. graf art produced at SPARKcon will be on display at the Visual Art Exchange in November 2008.
filmSPARK: Attracting local indy filmmakers, animation students, motion graphic artists, and the like, filmSPARK provides the environment to showcase these works to the community on the big screen in Moore Square Sunday night 8pm. Enjoy 2 hours of local creativity from the comfort of your lawn chair.
danceSPARK: Instruction and participation of various dance styles around town. Includes a breakdancing competition!
bugSPARK: The NC Museum of Natural Sciences hosts BugFest in downtown Raleigh. Atracting close to 20,000 visitors, bugfest and SPARKcon have teamed up to bring the first ever beehive wig contest!
ideaSPARK: A platform for community action, ideaSPARK is SPARKcon’s workshop component that will address specific community issues through a unique “unconference” style approach on Fri Sep 19. Limited to the first 100 registrants.
http://www.sparkcon.com
SPARKcon is completely grass-roots! It’s not a city program, a non-profit, or an economic development stunt. It’s an ever-growing group of passionate local people showcasing their talents and having a say in our community. SPARKcon is organized by more than 40 talented individuals of the community with hundreds of volunteers. We have dozens of local sponsors but would like to especially thank:
Raleigh Convention Center
Visual Art Exchange
Gamil Design
News & Observer
Raleigh City Planning
Main organizers are:
Gab Smith
Ty Beddingfield
Aly Khalifa
Special thanks goes to Greg Ettenson who has been an outstanding central coordinator for all of SPARKcon.
—No intend to offend: just email us back with REMOVE in subject header—
Due to the recent increase in interest, the deadline for submissions for this years filmSPARK will be extended to September 1, 2008. You may download the filmSPARK call form on this page.
Now get those DVD burner’s going!
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