This weekend's second annual Northern Spark is best described as a sunset-to-sunrise, citywide explosion of creativity. If there's an underlying purpose, it's for citizens to view their city through a right-brain lens. With more than 200 artists, 120 projects and 10 food trucks in five Minneapolis neighborhoods, navigating the festivities might seem daunting. Here is a list of highlights plucked from the seemingly innumerable to-dos. Printed guides, info tents and a smartphone app (found at 2012.northernspark.org) can also help.
ZONE A: STONE ARCH BRIDGE
Highlights: With its 45 art projects, the Stone Arch will be the de facto center of Northern Spark. The bridge will be illuminated with the Dr. Seussism "Think and Wonder, Wonder and Think," the event's 2012 mantra. The switch gets flipped at dusk Saturday.
ZONE B: DOWNTOWN
Highlights: There's a free late-night improv show at Brave New Workshop (10 p.m. Sat.) and a collage of participant-recorded messages on the observation deck of the Foshay Tower -- leave your own!
ZONE C: WALKER-HARMON PLACE
Highlights: A nighttime edition of Walker Open Field includes an acoustic campfire, glow-stick drawing and fireworks. Everything goes down at 9 p.m. Saturday and bleeds into Sunday morning.
ZONE D: MIA-MCAD-GREENWAY
Highlights: Yarn artist HOTTEA will weave an installation in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The continuing Whittier Artists in Storefronts project sets loose acoustic musicians, spoken-word artists and street performers. Magnetic lightning bugs, hand-printed lanterns, wood-fired pizza and live music invade Highpoint Center for Printmaking (6 p.m.-11 p.m Sat.).
ZONE E: UNIVERSITY
Highlights: Local bands Sleeping in the Aviary and Buffalo Moon perform a graveyard-shift concert at the Weisman Art Museum's Riverview Gallery (2 a.m.-4:30 a.m. Sun.) Nineteen other projects spill out of the Weisman, onto the Washington Avenue Bridge and over the river to the Nash Gallery and Baker Center for Dance on the West Bank.
