Spark Centennial is a pilot program that aims to use the power of unforgettable experiences to grow revenue for local businesses, explore creative opportunities with shopping center owners, and spark wonder and connections among Centennial’s residents.
The City is assisting businesses in the development of unforgettable experiences to help “spark” interaction and connection in the community and bring new life to Centennial’s shopping centers. Check out these ongoing adventures! The City plans to offer more in the near future.
How to Participate
“With My Gnomies” is active at University Towne Center (7460 S University Blvd, Centennial, CO 80122) throughout December 2020. To join in the fun, bring your cell phone to text with our friends, the Gnomies, who will send you on a short “gnomadic” adventure. Along the way, you will window shop for the best local products and unique experience gifts you won’t find anywhere else. This entire game can be experienced outdoors, however, for the safety of all players please wear a mask and maintain distance from those outside your household.
How to Play // Four Easy and Fun Steps
- PLAY // Activate the GNOMIE adventure game by texting “PLAY” to the number carved in the stone at the GNOMIE home. The mission: help the GNOMIES collect all the creative sparks.
- SHOP // Find unique gifts at our artist-designed GNOMIE homes. The GNOMIES’ selection of limited edition local adventures and gifts will make you this season’s best gift-giver!
- LAUGH // Share a chuckle with the GNOMIES while they send you from place-to-place, finding all the creative sparks. Make sure to bring your quaranTEAM to be LOLing all the way.
- REVEL // Unlock the magical light show at the GNOMIE home after you’ve collected all the creative sparks. Get ready to dance and celebrate.
Current Events
2020-2021
The Spark program focuses on empowering local businesses to connect with the creative community to build their customer experience offerings in a way that sparks new engagement, interest, and sustainability to their customer base.
Businesses at the University Towne Center located at University Boulevard and Dry Creek Road, are participating in a COVID-friendly holiday kickoff project to build awareness around the 2021 Spark program. Participating businesses include Rolling Smoke Bar-B-Que, Cakeheads Bakery, Professionally Faded Barbershop, and others.
“With My Gnomies”, led by creative and placemaking strategist Brian Corrigan, is a gnomadic adventure and holiday community commerce experience. Creative products and adventures implemented by participating Centennial businesses and organizations are featured in a special artist-driven holiday window display at University Towne Center. The displays include a smart-phone based puzzle that leads shoppers through a multi-stop tour of surrounding retailers. A secret light show is activated at the original window display when participants complete the journey.
This project seeks to animate vacant storefronts, enable window shopping sales through QR code technology, support entrepreneurial activity, grow existing businesses, strengthen community connectivity and identity, and spark curiosity in the future of our shopping centers.
This Holiday kickoff project will be on display through December 2020. All residents and businesses are welcome to visit (while being socially distanced and masked!) the displays, participate in adventures, and purchase available products.
A special thanks to the artists collaborating on this project: Linda Klein, Scottie Burgess, Hepp Maccoy, Carl Carrell, Frankie Toan, Katy Zimmerman and Matthew Taylor.