The city of Aurora over the weekend kicked off Lumenaura, its annual free immersive art, light and sound festival, which will run through Sunday, Oct. 26, in downtown Aurora.
The opening weekend included live music, food trucks, beer vendors and more.
The festival’s art exhibits include interactive artworks like responsive light sculptures, laser graffiti, rooftop laser shows and other installations that react to people and the environment, city officials have said.
Lori Turner of Aurora and her husband Bob Rommel on Saturday evening were going to the Paramount Theatre, but were drawn to the lighted objects and shapes they were seeing downtown at the fest.
“We didn’t come to this last year and it’s our first time walking around like this,” Lori Turner said. “It’s a beautiful way to get out of the house.”
Billed as “an inclusive experience for all,” a press release about the event spotlighted the “interactive displays that encourage movement, exploration and self-expression.”
Jon Zaghloul, communications manager for the city of Aurora, said Lumenaura includes “art installations spanning Aurora’s entire downtown district and we’re expecting tens of thousands to come between now and (Oct. 26),” he said.
Last year, Zaghloul said there were fewer installations “in a more concentrated area of the downtown,” adding that this year they are “more spread out in the downtown which will make it more exciting for people to come in.”
“These installations hail from all over the world from artists that come from the United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary, Canada and of course all across the United States,” he said. “The theme this year is Convergence – a situation where art, technology and community meet together and create a shared experience.”
He said Lumenaura is a great way to draw people downtown.
“For the city, this is a great opportunity to bring people downtown, a great opportunity to help support our local business and a huge event that attracted tens of thousands of people last year – a great chance to see this beautiful artwork and enjoy work from our public arts division,” he said.
The work of artists offering 17 different installations are on display throughout the downtown during the festival.
Bill Donofrio of Naperville said he came to Lumenaura on Saturday “because there are a lot of neat things in Aurora. They have so many great things going on.”
“We already fooled around with one of the installations there in the Water Street Mall and we’re going to try and see all of them,” he said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.