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Downtown Pleasanton will light up next Saturday evening with IGNITE!, the third annual extravaganza where art meets innovation.
The family community event takes place from 5-9 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Firehouse Arts Center, filling its grounds and surrounding streets. Last year, 3,000 people attended.
Pleasanton recreation manager Tamara Whitney recalled the event and after dark seeing “pops” of light up and down Division and Railroad avenues as people wore giveaways that lit up the night. The evening includes an illuminated attire parade.
“You had this fun flair of almost whimsy, kind of like the Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade but without the large floats,” Whitney said.
The event is not a street festival, she added.
“It’s our strong intention to meld art and technology in innovative ways,” Whitney said. “We have a great lineup of performances, from different cultures, and also unique ways to create art.”
One highlight will be a performance by electronic music pioneer, North Wind, which “sculpts” the sounds created on a keyboard through hand gestures and body movements into a full-fledged EDM — electronic dance music — experience. In addition, Quattrosound will bring its innovative fusion of classical, jazz and Latin rhythms to the stage.
“With Quattrosound, music turns into visions,” Whitney explained.
Local cultural groups will include Te Mana O Te Ra, a Tahitian dance group; Rasatmika Arts Dance Ensemble, performing East Indian Classical Dance; and Pleasanton’s own High School Music Collaborative.
“Highlights of vendors include the Pleasanton Art League, Cubes and Things featuring their Polyhedra Party, and the Pleasanton Library sharing their Robots on the Loose and Virtual Reality experience,” Whitney said.
IGNITE! is planned as a signature event in Pleasanton, a collaboration by the city, Museum on Main, Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council, Pleasanton Downtown Association and Pleasanton Unified School District to combine art and innovation — and technology — as a nod to what is happening right here.
“Technology is literally and figuratively right in our backyard, which is home to many tech companies and their employees,” Whitney said.
A list of entertainment, vendors and volunteer opportunities is available at www.firehousearts.org/programs/ignite.