Annual SparkCon begins Thursday

SparkCon, an annual event called "a grassroots explosion of creativity" by Jeff Pettus, the visual arts director for the N.C. Arts Council, lasts until Monday morning.

Since its beginning in 2006, SparkCon has been an annual four-day event, and this year it is from September 16-19 on Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh.

The festival is comprised of several smaller festivals called "sparks," which showcase local talent in 16 areas, among them being music, food, and even graffiti. There are 175 events total that will display the talent of approximately 1700 performers, many of which are N.C. State students, according to the SparkCon website.

Aly Khalifa, the co-founder of SparkCon, said last year the event attracted over 15,000 people, and this year he hopes the number will double.

"If you look at the web traffic that we've received, it's double that of last year," Khalifa said. "Hopefully, that will mean 30,000 people will attend. But you never know how many people will show up to a party."

Along with the increase in the number of performers and attendees, SparkCon has seen an increase in the number of volunteers. Khalifa said he expects hundreds of volunteers, with at least 50 of them being N.C. State students.

Carlee Mallard, organizer of ideaSpark, said she is hoping for increased attendance because of new types of events.

According to Mallard, ideaSpark, the original spark, brings in speakers to discuss topics that pertain to the artistic community. These topics, which range from creativity to the sharing of knowledge, are meant to be in line with the mission of SparkCon as a whole.

Last year, ideaSpark centered around a series of short presentations that together made up an entire event called PechaKucha. Each of the 13 presentations will be 6 minutes and 40 seconds in length and the audience will have an opportunity to meet the presenters after the event. Mallard said these seminars are highly informative and beneficial.

"These seminars are a great resource for the public and for the performers," Mallard said. "The main idea is really about using knowledge in the community to help each other and help the city grow."

The seminars will be held at Neptune's on Martin Street, and the 250 tickets available are already sold out. However, Mallard encourages non-ticket holders to still attend since the doors will be open at 7:15 p.m. in case there are no-shows. She also said there will be another PechaKucha on Dec. 2. for those who wish to attend but are unable to do so this weekend.

Other events that will be hosted include concerts by local bands like Son of Sam, The Knockout Roses, and The Maniacs, as well as design and fashion shows. Events last from about 9 a.m. Thursday morning to 2 a.m. Monday morning. According to the site, some of the events are free, while others require a small cover charge. A complete day-to-day schedule is available on their website.

The event is a program that is run through Visual Arts Exchange, an organization dedicated to supporting local artists, and is sponsored by over 90 local businesses, organizations and investors, including the N.C. Arts Council.

One of the sponsors, the Raleigh City Museum, has been celebrating the arrival of SparkCon since Sept. 3 by hosting a 30-exhibit design exposition displaying local talent in architecture and graphic design, according to the SparkCon website.

Khalifa said the main idea behind SparkCon is to involve the community in the arts and to foster a connection between the community and local artists.

"Get to know your local artists. That's the whole idea," Khalifa said. "We want you to know who your local game designers are. We want you to know who your local musicians and visual artists are. This is a chance to really get to know them and it will enable you to strike out on your own."

For more information, visit www.sparkcon.com.