CAMDEN — On Thursday, Oct. 24, the 17th annual PopTech conference convenes in Camden, drawing more than 600 people to the Camden Opera House and filling streets, hotels, shops and restaurants with visitors. The focus of this year's gathering is "Sparks of Brilliance," which will explore the creative instinct and its role in the 21st century. Designers, psychologists, artists, scientists, gamers, comedians and visionaries from a variety of fields will take the stage to share ideas around creativity and its role in inspiring innovation and meeting today's difficult challenges.

As in previous years, the new classes of PopTech Social Innovation Fellows and Science Fellows will also present their work at the conference, following their intensive training retreat at Point Lookout. A few days in advance of taking the stage, the Fellows will also give a presentation to an assembly of students and faculty at Camden Hills Regional High School.

On Saturday, Oct. 26, PopTech conference speaker and skateboarding legend Rodney Mullen will be at the Camden Skate Park, located at 10 Knowlton Street in Camden. The public is invited to meet the inventor of numerous skateboarding tricks, including the flatground Ollie, kickflip, heelflip, impossible, and 360-flip. The park will open at 2 p.m., and Mullen will stop by at 2:30 p.m. Children 10 years old and under who will be skateboarding need to have a parent or guardian present. Additionally, anyone under 18 who will be skateboarding needs to have a parent or guardian sign a release form at the skate park.

While the conference is only open to ticket holders, the PopTech stage presentations are streamed free-of-charge to viewers all around the world. Tune in at poptech.org/live, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Oct. 24-25, to watch the conference in real-time. Local residents and visitors can also stop by the Camden Village Green between Oct. 24 and Oct. 26 to check out "parkSPARKS," an interactive art installation from By Design involving hammocks, reclaimed float rope, mesh and local lumber from a Maine barn.

PopTech Camden 2013 will run from Oct. 24-26. For more information and a full schedule of speakers and events, visit poptech.org/camden_2013.