A.G. Gancarski
One of the most significant events in Jacksonville’s public sphere is the One Spark festival, now in its third year. The event takes place this year from April 7-12, and is a draw locally and across the region. It is one of the events that the Alvin Brown administration is most closely identified with, and today’s event highlighted the myriad partnerships that have made One Spark work the last couple of years.
This year’s One Spark festival will be yet another smorgasbord of creative projects. 555 of them, to be exact, in 71 venues throughout Downtown Jacksonville. A feature of this year’s event, according to Elton Rivas, the CEO of One Spark, will be an interactive “simple, straightforward, and easy to use” app that festival attendees can use throughout the event.
Mayor Brown’s remarks were uniformly positive, highlighting the “whole team working together” to make One Spark happen.
“One Spark puts our city on the global stage,” said the Mayor. “It helps spur downtown momentum” and “empowers Jacksonville.”
“I’m happy as Mayor that the Brown Administration was here from Day 1” of One Spark, the Mayor added.
Continuing the positive theme: Aundra Wallace, the CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority.
“Last year exceeded expectations,” he said, adding that in One Spark, “we have an event that draws people to Downtown Jacksonville.”
“Downtown is safe,” Wallace added. “It’s the place to be.”
One Spark is a huge draw every day during its run. A representative of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said, regarding the inevitable traffic frustrations, that the “solution is patience.” Festival attendees are strongly advised to use mass transit options to get to and from the event, including the Skyway, which sees its most robust traffic during One Spark.
