Peoria brings back immersive light experience with free 3‑day festival

PHOENIX — Peoria is kicking off a free, three-day interactive public art experience this Thursday.

This year’s Light @ Play event will turn downtown Peoria into an open‑air gallery filled with glowing projections, illuminated sculptures and other light‑based artworks from Thursday to Saturday.

Each night features hands‑on installations for all ages. One highlight is a shadow‑dancing wall, where you step into a beam of light and watch your silhouette transform into colorful, animated art.

The event will take place around 83rd and Grand avenues.

Fun for the whole family at free immersive light art festival in Peoria

Guests can also experiment with overhead projectors, layering shapes, textures and colors to create their own evolving designs on nearby surfaces.

Another activity, light drawing, lets visitors “paint” in the air using handheld light wands that leave glowing trails captured in real time.

There are also oversized illuminated games that respond to your movement. Jump, wave or run and the artwork bursts into vibrant patterns of light.

If all that playing around works up an appetite, good news: There will be food vendors — along with “glow vendors” who will offer light-up accessories and other illuminated merchandise.

Another draw is the LED dance floor with different DJs each night.

The immersive light art project is supported in part by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, with funding from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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