Plants are blooming, Spring Training season is here and the weather could not be more perfect. It is the time of year in the Valley when the heat of the summer is temporarily forgotten and the serene song of the sunny outdoors is as enticing as ever.
As we look for excuses to be outside, spark! Mesa’s Festival of Creativity offers an option for friends and entire families. Happening over four days when most Valley schools are on spring break, the festival brings a multitude of things for busy hands and restless minds to do.
At the free festival on Mesa Arts Center’s campus, the four Greek elements – earth, air, fire and water – will be weaved into a celebration of the arts, innovation and creativity. Live music, immersive activities, hands-on happenings and tasty foods will be in abundance.
Arrive in the afternoon to catch live bands playing in the shaded Wells Fargo Garden or stroll down the Shadow Walk to explore interactive art pieces. Play in the Sandboxes of Life, where you can “paint” with light in the sand; make music In Dark Waters by touching a large glowing sculpture that responds with music and shimmering lights; and make Water Light Graffiti by manipulating a huge panel of LED lights that respond to water sprayed on its surface. Take a break with kettle corn or snow cones, enjoy performances in the grassy lawn, or contribute your creativity to the Incredible Shrinking Mural, a colorful tapestry of shrinky dink art.
On Friday and Saturday night the festival will transform to spark! After Dark, with night-time performances and a culminating fireworks display on Saturday. Try it out any day between Wednesday, Mar. 18 and Saturday, Mar. 21; let your senses run wild! www.mesaartscenter.com/spark
By Casey Blake
