There’s a lot of good things down here in North Carolina, and one of them is happening right now: SPARKcon, “a showcase of creativity, talent and ideas of ‘the creative hub of the South,’ the Triangle NC.”

The event is a “creative potluck” made by teams of volunteers. The poetrySPARK team has put together a great bunch of readings.  There will be a big NC Writers’ Network reading Friday night, and on Saturday, a series of four themed readings. These each have two headliners, including Carolyn Beard Whitlow, Joanna Catherine Scott, and Alex Grant, and then some rabble-rousers to round things out. Count me as one of the latter—I’ll be reading during the experimental reading at 10 p.m. Fringe Poetry editorial assistant Nellie Bellows will read during the narrative/lyrical reading at 7:30.
Chris Tonelli, a poetrySPARK organizer perhaps familiar to Bostonians as well as the locals, will read during the “humor me” reading at 9:00.

FashionSPARK has drawn big crowds the past couple of years; bazaarSPARK is a Bazaar Bizarre-style artists’ marketplace that I’m excited to check out; there’s musicSPARK, artSPARK, ideaSPARK, gamingSPARK, tastySPARK (maybe the OnlyBurger truck will make an appearance?)….in other words, enough to fill up your weekend easy. If only other important stuff wasn’t happening at the same time…as it is, there’s a certain dance competition I am going to have to miss.

Here’s what SPARK has to say for itself:

A 100% volunteer effort organized with an “Open Source” approach, SPARKcon is a “creative potluck” of SPARKs or creative themes such as art, music, film, fashion, etc. Each SPARK is put together by individuals who are deeply embedded in that specific local scene. Using a combination of networking and open calls for participants, organizers create diverse and representative events to show off local talent and connect disparate creative scenes. SPARKcon grows every time a new person gets involved with a SPARK category, creating their own event, or joining in to help an existing one. It’s an open-source, “for the people, by the people” approach with an intentionally dynamic focus.

Want more? There’s plenty.