2018 Imagine RIT set for April 28

‌

A. Sue Weisler

Some 30,000 people are expected on the RIT campus April 28 for Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival.

Kick off the beloved Rochester festival season in the best way imaginable.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 28, and the 2018 Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival.

The nationally acclaimed festival, now in its 11th year, returns with nearly 400 examples of innovation and creativity, all showcased through interactive exhibitions, demonstrations and live performances.

This year’s festival kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday, April 27, with Dr. Munson’s Performing Arts Competition. In a new twist on this pre-festival event, undergraduate and graduate students are invited to showcase their talents in dance, vocal or instrumental music or drama. The competition is set for Ingle Auditorium, where a panel of judges will score each performance on artistry, technique, audience engagement and stage presence. Winners will receive a commemorative plaque and a chance to perform at the festival’s opening ceremony at 10 a.m. April 28.

Highlights of Saturday’s festival include:

• Smart Baby Jumper: Connect your smart phone to this baby jumper—a nursery staple—and customize your baby’s experience with song selection, light and music control and more.
• Vertical Farming: a method to grow edible crops with limited water, no sunlight or soil.
• A variety of student-created video games, such as Crazy Platez (a Rochester-themed game inspired by Grand Theft Auto 1 and Crazy Taxi) and Fragile Equilibrium, a game about life.

More than 30,000 people are expected to visit the RIT campus for the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A variety of food, entertainment and children’s activities combine to make the event a fun, family-friendly environment.

Juniper Networks and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que are the Premier Sponsors of Imagine RIT. Rochester Regional Health is sponsoring Dr. Munson’s Performing Arts Challenge; Media Sponsor is D&C Digital, and the Silver Sponsor is Coca-Cola.