JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The One Spark crowd funding festival kicks off off Wednesday, but before you head downtown there is a lot to know.
So much in fact the One Spark event guide is almost 60 pages long.
For those of you who missed out last year, you probably have a lot of questions like "What is One Spark?" "How do I vote for people?" "Why vote?"
"This event is really to get people to realize their ideas and move that project forward. It's going to be a great time, but make it a great time and help these creators out," said One Spark Cco-founder Dennis Eusebio.
One Spark is a five-day festival downtown where creators share their ideas with you. More than 630 projects are up for your vote in five categories: art, innovation, music, science and technology.
Voting gives you the power to help someone's idea succeed.
"You are the reason these creators move forward with their projects," said Eusebio.
There's more than $3.5 million in funding opportunities this year and five different ways to win.
Creators will receive a percentage of the $200,000 crowd fund, based on how many votes they get.
An additional $10,000 will be awarded to creators who receive the most votes in each category.
The third way to get money is from the expert juries. They will award $10,000 to their five favorite projects.
You can also donate any amount of your own money to your favorite projects.
And finally, One Spark will give $10,000 to the creator who gets the most individual contributions.
"For people attending the event remember, you are the ones who determine who gets the money and what percentage of the money, so it's very important for people to register and check-in," said Eusebio.
There are two easy steps to check-in and vote:
First, you register.
You can either set up an account online at BeOneSpark.com or register in-person with your picture ID at one of the 11 voting kiosks located around the One Spark venue.
Then check-in. You can use the One Spark app to text your vote, go to a kiosk or you could do everything from your computer at home.
"Come to opening ceremony 6 p.m. Hemming Plaza if you make it there, I promise you think you'll come back every single day you'll make the time," said Eusebio.
Check-in, voting and contributing starts at 11 a.m. Wednesday and closes at 3 p.m. on Sunday.