We’re excited to announce a new effort for SPARKcon 2009 – a Yearbook! Beth and Britt are looking for your best 10-20 photos from each SPARK. Based on the quality and quantity of images, we can figure out the layout and amount of pages. Our intention is to give everyone a chance to relive their best experiences at SPARKcon, and in many cases, see some of the things they missed. We hope to use this book as a fundraiser for next year’s events.

The simplest way to get us images is to mail a CD to:
SPARKcon
323 W Martin St
Raleigh NC 27601

If you email us at contact@sparkcon.com we’ll know to look for it.

Please put each photographer’s name in the actual file name, so that we are sure to credit everyone properly.

Please note: in order to clear us with copyright laws, these images must be owned by a photographer who has signed a Photographer’s Release. Any performers depicted must also have a signed Talent Release.

Look for a “yearbook signing party” coming down the road… SPARK on!

Speaking for the rest of the Bobbleheads, we were amazed by how consistently everyone “got it” this year. All of you seemed to be right on the same page with the same vision, which just gave all of us even more energy. This unified voice seemed to even carry over to every tweet, article and interview that we saw. We’re truly lucky to be living in an environment filled with such positive, creative and community-minded people like all of you. And it’s operating at a level I haven’t seen anywhere else.

There is a symphony of chatter going on about what to do next year. We ask that you write these ideas down as soon as you can – before we forget. As organizers, it might be best if you can write suggestions as comments to this post. However we can read posts on the public site (“feedback” page), or on the facebook group.

If you have any interesting stories or favorite vignettes of the event, please share those as well. Otherwise tag your photos with SPARKcon in flickr or tell us where else you put them.

We will be scheduling a meeting in the next few weeks to try to visit with all of you again and capture all of your thoughts. Be on the lookout and come prepared to celebrate!

Thank you again and Spark on!

Aly

Please note: we hope to have all of you at the kickoff meeting at 6 on Thursday to pick up badges, have a drink, and support the keynote speaker and Pecha Kucha event.

For tonight we just want to go through final logistics:

1. overall plan of the event, with rain plans
2. confirmation of every act in your SPARK as per the published schedule, and turning in all talent release forms
3. your final volunteer needs
4. any outstanding facilities needs
5. your official photographer and videographer names, and turning in all photo/video release forms
6. scheduling a recap meeting *with a SPARKcon yearbook event*

Spark on!

Aly

Super Small Dances on Saturday at 2pm:

Footnotes Tap Ensemble will not perform as part of Super Small Dances; Code f.a.d. Company will be the only group in this informal show.

Super Small Dances on Sunday at 6pm is canceled. Raleigh Ensemble Players will instead present a 7pm show in their space.

Main-stage Dances:

A selection of short dances by Footnotes Tap Ensemble, nosi Dance Theatre, Code f.a.d. Company, and Acroentertainment will be presented on the main-stage on Saturday night, in between segments of the artSPARK image slam. Stay tuned for the exact schedule of performers!

Given the growing nature of SPARKcon,  photography of the event will be organized differently this year.  Cheryl Gottschall and Bryan Regan will be our Overall Photographers. Their purpose will be to capture a few great shots of the whole event. As a result,  they will not be documenting each and every work,  artist or event in SPARKcon. We are asking each SPARK to reach out to their local community and recruit their own SPARK photographers. These photographers need to fill out the Photographer’s Release Form and submit their raw photos to each SPARK team. Each SPARK team is in turn, responsible for getting these photos to the Bobbleheads so we can create a central bank of them.

In our agreement,  SPARKcon is trading special access to these events in exchange for rights to their images for SPARKcon purposes only. Of course the photographers retain ownership of their work and can do what they like with the images as well. SPARKcon will also request that each SPARK post at leat a few images to the SPARKcon flickr group.

We do ask all SPARKcon photos are tagged with sparkcon and ____SPARK whenever uploaded to sites like flickr. This will make for some fun web-fed interactive visualizations during the event.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

RALEIGH (August 31, 2009) DanceSPARK has expanded into a much larger program this year that encourages appreciation as much as participation. From ballroom dancing classes in the street, to outdoor hoola hooping to stage performances and an entire 2 day dance academy of lessons, this year’s danceSPARK will try to get everyone into dance one way or another. DanceSPARK has been organized by Autumn Mist through a large network of dancers and instructors throughout the Triangle. Following is the lineup:

Ballroom Dancing in the Street
Juan Matta of Arthur Murray Dance Studio will lead three 35 minute dance sessions outside on Fayetteville Street from 5 to 7pm on Saturday Sep 19. The dances will be: Salsa, Swing and Tango. Bring your dancing shoes and enjoy the fall air!

Hoops in the Air
Come join Hoop instructor Caroleena and get that body wiggling to a drum circle! Caroleena will bring hoops to share  – a favorite for kids and those who love to strengthen their core.

Dance Academy at Raleigh Ensemble Players

Join in the fun! Children and adults are invited to participate in a variety of free dance classes offered through the danceSPARK Dance Academy. See the below schedule for class descriptions, including any skill-level or age restrictions. Many classes are open to students with no previous dance experience! We encourage you to arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of each class as space is limited and participants will be admitted in order of arrival. Here is the schedule:

9am-10am: Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement by Bob Boyd

10:15am-11:45am: Modern Dance Technique by Autumn Mist Belk
12pm-1:15pm: Jazz Dance Technique by Gerren Mobley

4:15pm-5:30pm: InterPlay by Ginny Going & Tom Henderson

Super Small Dances

Super Small Dances is a series of small-scale dance concerts produced in REP’s upstairs studio space. Code f.a.d. Company and Footnotes Tap Ensemble present selections from their repertory, including a sneak preview of Code f.a.d. Company’s newest evening-length work Indulge. Each concert in approximately an hour long, and includes time for audience questions at the end of the show. Space is limited in the REP space, we encourage audience members to arrive 15-20 minutes prior to show-time to secure a seat. Schedule at Raleigh Ensemble Players Theater:

Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 2pm

Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 6pm

Main Stage Dances
danceSPARK presents a variety of dance entertainment on the SPARKcon main-stage. Prior to the Poetry Slam, enjoy a short selection of dance and acrobatics performed by Acroentertainment, nosi DANCE theatre, Footnotes Tap Ensemble, and Code f.a.d. Company.

About the Performers

Acroentertainment combines balance, acrobatics, and juggling with creative body movement. Founded in 2007, what started as a whimsical collaboration project between Kaci Torres and Katie Magee, began to attract attention. Sharing an enthusiasm for street performing and a desire for play and physical activity, Acroentertainment evolved. With their roots in partner yoga, gymnastics, and circus fundamentals, Acroentertainment explores oppositional forces in balance and expressive body position while maintaining a lively, entertaining atmosphere. Acroentertainment is currently based in Raleigh, NC.

Code f.a.d. Company (where f.a.d. in an acronym for film—art—dance) is a group of artists committed to combining film, visual art, and dance into precisely designed performance experiences. Artistic Director Autumn Mist Belk is a choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and graphic designer and has previously shown her choreography and visual artwork in venues across the southeastern United States. Belk earned her B.A. in dance and studio art from the University of Alabama and her M.F.A. in dance from the University of Maryland. In addition to leading Code f.a.d. Company, Belk serves as the Assistant Director of the Dance Program at NC State University, where she teaches improvisation, modern and post-modern dance technique, and acrobatic conditioning. For more information on Code f.a.d. Company, including the October premiere of the evening-length dance and film work Indulge, visit codefadcompany.org.

Footnotes Tap Ensemble (FTE), a non-profit professional tap company, was founded by Robin Vail and Mimi Benjamin in 2002. The Ensemble’s mission is to promote, educate and perform this truly unique American dance art through annual Ensemble Concerts, Community Concerts and Tap Workshops. FTE continues to gain recognition through out the Triangle and the tap community for its varied and highly acclaimed repertoire and affordable workshops teaching “classic tap.” Footnotes has commissioned works from Michelle Dorrance, Josh Hilberman, Robert Perera, Dorothy Wasserman, Lane Alexander and Gene Medler; Director of the highly acclaimed North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble (NCYTE).

About SPARKcon:

SPARKcon showcases local creative talent in the NC Triangle. For four days, Raleigh’s Fayetteville St, public spaces, clubs and stages will be filled with art, music, dance, film, fashion, design, proposals, and more.

Celebrating local cultural richness and empowering action through an open-source approach to collaboration and cross-pollination, SPARKcon is not a funded city program or an economic development stunt. It’s completely grassroots and by the people for the people! Join us as we explore the creative spirit of the Triangle!

Contact information:

Autumn Mist

autumnmistarts@gmail.com

Members:

• Matt Tendam (mtendam77@gmail.com)
• Todd Delk (Todd.Delk@kimley-horn.com)
• Ryan Cummings (rcdec@earthlink.net)
• Michael Gilchrist (mrg123@earthlink.net)

The greenSPARK team has been working since our kick-off meeting on 7/2/09 to put the following ideas into motion, with the appropriate event tie-in and contact person in parentheses:

·Recycling stations (eventwide – Matt Tendam)

We are acquiring bins/cans/etc. to provide 4-6 recycling stations around the Fayetteville Street event venue, including a composting bin for food waste near the tastySPARK and bazaarSPARK locations. VOLUNTEERS WILL BE NEEDED DURING THE EVENT. volunteers will be needed to ensure that waste is properly separated and non compostable items are not collected in the compost bins. A brief training session prior to the event will be necessary as well. City of Raleigh will provide recycling bins and collection services. McGill Environmental Services will collect and process compostable materials. McGill has offered to waive their processing fee of $20/ton given some advertisement will be available. We are still working on procuring a large roll off container for mass collection of compostable materials.

·Printing and brochures (eventwide – Matt Tendam)

We hope to help Bobbleheads with using post-consumer/sustainable forests paper and eco-friendly inks for any event media. We are looking for in-kind donations of these products. I need a deadline as to when these materials will be needed.

·Reusable water bottles (eventwide, tastySPARK – Todd Delk)

We want to have reusable water bottles for sale (price or suggested donation) and 4-6 water-filling stations at event in lieu of sale of bottled water. We are searching for sponsor that can contribute/donate/front ordering 300-500 water bottles with SPARKcon and sponsor logo. This feature needs to be advertised as available at event and for participants can buy bottle or bring your favorite from home

·Water filling stations (eventwide, tastySPARK – Todd Delk)

We organizing to have 4-6 water stations around event using 2 large water coolers per station with ice and tap water. We are investigating a water cooler sponsor like LeBleu as option as well. VOLUNTEERS WILL BE NEEDED TO HELP KEEP STATIONS FILLED and we are looking for in-kind ice sponsor.

·Alternative transportation (eventwide – Todd Delk)

• Bike Valet – Efforts to secure bike racks has transitioned to approaching parking deck to provide space for a “bike valet” area (VOLUNTEERS TO STAFF WILL BE NEEDED)
• spokeSPARK (online submission) – Commenter suggested we create display space and have camera set-up to display photo collage of area’s fashionable bicycle and cyclists.
• Transit – We are looking for promotions with and highlighting getting to/from SPARKcon via CAT, TTA and R-Line
• Some kind of tie-in with Raleigh Rickshaw, Segway Store

·Reusable shopping bags (bazaarSPARK – Michael Gilchrist) – We are looking for in-kind donation of reusable shopping bags to support vendors at event.

·Relay for Light/Stationary Bike Power Generator(s) (healthSPARK?, groundSPARK?, artSPARK?, main stage? – Todd Delk)

We hope to SOMEHOW acquire/build stationary bike generator(s) to provide power as carbon offset for event. Discussion of single bike possibilities include powering the message board, tent lights, lights for artSPARK pod; multiple bike possibilities (maybe for next year) include night lighting for groundSPARK artists based on people signing up for shifts.

* NC Green Power Raffle (Ryan Cummings)

A raffle will be held with proceeds from the ticket sales being given to NC Green Power to fund their alternative energy projects. We are still trying to procure prizes but initial efforts have been made to find a bike made of recycled parts as the main prize. We are looking for other in-kind donations of eco-friendly products and services to raffle off.

·Other ideas tossed around: eco-friendly make-up for fashionSPARK, bio-diesel generators for main stage, cooperative farming highlighted at bazaarSPARK

Please post the information here at plan.sparkcon.com and email it to dave@visualartexchange.org

For organizational reasons please title your posts
xxxSPARK EVENT INFO: then event title here

*NOTE If you are doing multiple events, please give separate info for each event.

TITLE OF EVENT
not the spark name…should be the actual event name (like “Street Painting Festival”)

DATE(s) OF EVENT

STARTING AND END TIMES OF EVENT

LOCATION OF EVENT

EVENT DESCRIPTION
Paragraph or two about what will happen for the event.
Each event will have it’s own page, so you can explain the whole event as you wish.

SPONSORS

MANAGEMENT/PRODUCTION CREDITS

TALENT CREDITS
• individual/group/brand names of the talent showcasing their work
• how they are participating if appropriate (example, in fashionSPARK, there will be designers, hair and makeup stylists – let us know who is doing what)
• short bio of talent or production if appropriate

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR EVENT INFO—as complete as possible— by FRIDAY AUG 14th

If you prefer to download a word doc with the above info to fill in… DOWNLOAD HERE

We had a great ideaSPARK session all weekend and created a concept and prototype website for Raleigh360 to “create a culture of localism.” We hope to pitch this website to city leaders on how to encourage local businesses to hire local talent for their projects. It ends up being just in time to make it for Raleigh’s own public input process for their website!

Beth has already made a slideshow movie of fashionSPARK. We eagerly await Cheryl and others to submit their thousands of images as well as Eric and Alex to get their dozens of hours of footage in. We’ll have them posted on the main site under the “news” section.

Don’t forget to submit your SPARKcon documentation for the photo contest or video contest!

Please submit any feedback or links to chatter about SPARKcon as comments on our website so we can continue to build this great effort. Thank you everyone!

Aly, Gab, Ty and Greg