“The reality is we’re making it up as we go,” said Downtown Vision Inc. board Chair Debbie Buckland, describing the organization taking over the festival side of One Spark.
They aren’t exactly starting from scratch, however.
The group has presented 147 Art Walks on the first Wednesday of each month in the past almost 13 years.
But Wednesday’s will be different, as “Spark Walk” incorporates a much scaled-down version of One Spark.
The event’s time will be extended (noon to 10 p.m. instead of 5-9 p.m.) and the footprint will be enlarged to include a showcase for 66 entrepreneurs along Laura Street and inside the Jacksonville Landing.
A food truck village will be set up in the parking lot at Regions Bank and the Jacksonville Sharks Arena Football League team will present a sports area with a rock climbing wall and other attractions at Adams and Laura streets, said Hana Ashchi, DVI marketing and events coordinator.
Bands will perform beginning at noon on two stages at Hemming Park and two stages at the Landing.
“It won’t be quiet,” said Ashchi.
Also presented from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. will be Spark Walk After Dark in The Elbow entertainment district, along East Bay and Ocean streets.
The city is fully behind the transition, said Jake Gordon, DVI CEO.
City Council approved an ordinance allowing alcoholic beverages to be consumed in the Art Walk area and The Elbow during the festival. And the Downtown Investment Authority gave DVI a $25,000 grant to help fund Spark Walk.
Gordon said DVI was involved with the festival months before the Jan. 11 shake-up at One Spark that led to the resignations of co-founder and CEO Elton Rivas and all but one staff member.
The original theme for April’s Art Walk was “Start the Spark,” a prelude to the fourth-edition of One Spark scheduled to start the next day. It quickly evolved into a separation of the street party and entrepreneurial sides of the event.
“We were invited to participate in One Spark at its transition point,” said Gordon. “We’re moving forward with the strong foundation of Art Walk. Doing this helps Downtown and that’s our mission.”
The property tax funding the agency receives and Art Walk’s track record give DVI the resources and reputation needed to present the street party element of One Spark.
“DVI is a Downtown business and we provide services to the city. One Spark, as a private entity, had none of that,” Gordon said.
Creator Innovation Day, the new business development side of One Spark, will be presented Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.
Curated by the nonprofit Jacksonville Community of Entrepreneurs and One Spark Ventures, the daylong conference will be open to the public.
It will feature exhibits, panel discussions and speakers covering topics related to starting a business and marketing an idea to investors.
Quang Pham, founder and CEO of Jacksonville-based Espero Pharmaceuticals, will be the keynote speaker. He secured $5 million in venture capital to establish in 2000 MyDrugRep.com, a drug database and healthcare information website.
In addition, a select group of entrepreneurs juried by One Spark Ventures will make private presentations to venture capitalists.
Gordon said transforming One Spark into two distinct events should be an improvement for both sides of the equation.
“We think the festival will be just as good and it can be better on the business side,” he said.
Gordon also said Spark Walk will be a learning experience, but the changes to the monthly street festival to accommodate changes to One Spark will be limited to those that will debut Wednesday.
He said there have been discussions of moving the 2017 street festival element of One Spark to a Friday or Saturday night. But that’s something he would not consider because Art Walk has been embraced by the community for more than a decade.
“Art Walk is on Wednesday. I’m not moving it,” Gordon said.
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