POTSDAM — SUNY Potsdam will host the LoKo Arts Festival of Lights at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, on the Academic Quad. The free public event will feature live music, illuminated art installations, hands-on activities and a drone show. It will serve as the culminating public event for the launch of Deeply Rooted, Future Focused: The Campaign for Potsdam.

Registration is encouraged but not required. To RSVP, visit the SUNY Potsdam Festival of Lights event page.

Satterlee Hall, the Academic Quad and Minerva Plaza will feature architectural lighting, illuminated trees and light-based art installations.

Local rock cover band SFM, featuring Benjamin Todd, Marcus Alvarez, Matt Gayle ’06 and Ben Lacy, will perform live. A drone show set to music from the Crane School of Music archives is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Food and beverages, including alcoholic drinks, will be available for purchase in a warming room in the Gibson Gallery. Festival merchandise will also be available. Guests may bring camp chairs or picnic blankets.

The festival will feature original light-based artwork by regional artists. Installations include Lainie L. Calhoun-Bouchey’s “Finding Your Crowd: 3D Edition,” a collection of illuminated jellyfish; Sherry Barkley’s “Glass Blooms,” made from illuminated repurposed glass; and Laura Garnero’s “Girlypop,” an interactive installation featuring color and light.

Artist Liza Paige ’12 will debut “Night Vision,” an installation that transforms an upcycled desk scene into an illuminated line drawing and interactive photo experience. SLC Arts, represented by Erica Kelso, will also contribute an installation.

Children participating in the North Country Children’s Museum’s Glow-in-the-Dark Art Program are creating a collaborative artwork for the festival. The program introduces students in kindergarten through fifth grade to glow-in-the-dark, ultraviolet and LED art, projections, holograms and glow painting.

Additional activities will include glow-in-the-dark mini-golf from Glocade, a LoKo Arts tent where visitors can create designs with glow sticks and connectors, free light-up items and dancers wearing illuminated wings.

The festival is part of LoKo Arts’ 15th anniversary year, which carries the 2026-27 theme “Illumination.”

The project is supported by Kathryn (Kofoed) ’54 and Donald Lougheed (Hon. ’54).

Free parking will be available in Lots 1, 11 and 12. A campus map is available at potsdam.edu/admissions/visit/maps.

About LoKo Arts

Founded in 2012, LoKo Arts is SUNY Potsdam’s year-round arts initiative. Its programming includes artist residencies, performances, exhibitions, workshops, educational outreach and community collaborations. The academic year culminates in the LoKo Arts Festival, a multiday celebration of the arts.

The 2027 festival is scheduled for April 27 through May 2, 2027. All LoKo Arts programs and events are free and open to the public. The initiative is supported by Kathryn (Kofoed) ’54 and Donald Lougheed (Hon. ’54.

For more information, visit www.potsdam.edu/loko.