The first World Art Day Festival and “Art In The Park In The Dark” will be held Saturday, April 15, from 3 to 10 pm, in Demuth Park. This new, free, family-friendly event is presented by the City of Palm Springs and Shann Carr’s Desert Whimsy, and will take place in Demuth Park on Mesquite Avenue between the pickleball courts and the playground.
The event is part of a global celebration of World Art Day, in honor of Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday. The daytime portion of the event, produced by Palm Springs Parks and Recreation Department, includes a student art gallery, open chalk walk drawing, interactive art classes, food vendors, and community performances from 3 to 6 p.m. Art In The Park In The Dark is the late-night part of the Festival from 6 to 10 p.m. filled with lasers, a lighted bike parade, flaggers, interactive glow art, and live painting. The whole day is a hands-on experience that is free and appropriate for all ages.
“Anyone who’s been in my backyard knows I love anything that glows and that was the inspiration for this celebration,” said Shann Carr, Art in the Park in the Dark producer and founder of Desert Whimsy, a new local events company. “We’re thrilled to piggyback on the City’s World Art Day Festival by showcasing a wonderland of solar lights, glowing art projects, colorful outfits, an illuminated bike parade, a nighttime art gallery, flaggers spinning UV reactive fabrics, and solar-lit vendor booths. Plus, we’ll top it all off with a series of world-class laser shows that must be seen to be believed. The final laser show will be set to a magical sound bath!”
Attendees are encouraged to participate in the City of Palm Springs’ World Art Day Festival from 3-6 pm, and then stay as the lights come on during the twilight hours. Participants are encouraged to bring a blacklight flashlight and wear a black or white t-shirt to become a walking canvas for artistic creations. Glow sticks, neon, blacklight fabrics, twinkly lights, and any other light-up accessories are highly encouraged.
Event sponsors include Renova Energy, Hot Purple Energy, Flat Black Shop, Bobo Design Studio, and Blick Art Materials, bringing together the art and solar themes of the event perfectly. April 15th also happens to be the day that Californians buying solar will step into the “Net Metering 3” arrangement with the utility companies.
DAYTIME – ACTIVITIES STARTING AT 3PM INCLUDE:
ALL DAY TUNES – 3-10 p.m. – DJ Galaxy will thread the daytime and night events together with feel-good music as community groups fill the day stage with live performances.
ART, BOOTHS AND PROGRAMS – 3-10 p.m. – Join local businesses, art programs, and local artists in an interactive and informational dialogue to bring awareness about the amazing things in the valley for the whole family. Be sure to stroll around the Palm Springs student art gallery. (Food vendors 3-6 p.m.)
CHALK WALK ART CONTEST – 3-5:30 pm – Come create amazing artwork that will be viewed all day! Winners will be chosen by our Recreation and Public Arts Commission. Winners announced at 5:30 p.m.
LITTLE DAVINCI ART STATION – 3-10 pm – All day into the night paint station, where everyone will be able to put their creative imagination to work. Pieces can be taken home with you or donated to the Recreation Department to be sold to raise money for our next World Art Day Festival!
COMMUNITY PERFORMANCES – 3-7 p.m. – Watch our talented local performers. Check out the JOJDHUC Drum Squad and Drill Team at 4 pm, Palm Springs Hula at 5 pm, and Dance with Lindsay at 6 pm. Bring a chair or blanket.
LIVE LARGE SCALE PAINTING – 3-6 p.m. – Watch 15 talented artists create live art! Experience the process and take a dive into how artists create their very own masterpieces!
NIGHTTIME – ART IN THE DARK IN THE PARK ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
PUBLIC ART DEDICATION – 6 p.m. – Palm Springs Public Arts Commission and Mayor Grace Garner will dedicate 7 new pieces of art in Demuth Park. Photo Opportunity.
LASER WONDERLAND – 8:15 – 9:40 p.m. – World-renowned Laseronics artist, Kyle Garner, will project the first of 5 intimate laser shows that will spark the night with excitement. The first coincides with the lighted bike parade and the soundtrack to the night’s final laser show will be an immersive crystal-bowls sound bath by Compassionate Sound Healers.
LIGHTED BIKE PARADE AND CONTEST – 8:15 p.m. – All ages are invited to join an illuminated bike parade through the park, and get a little help lighting their bikes at a “Maker Booth” hosted by valley cyclists.