Aurora Offers Feast For The Senses

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Dallas Arts District is transforming into a feast for the senses on Friday evening as Aurora returns to North Texas. The event is billed as "a celebration of light, video and sound."

Aurora features 19 blocks of art installations, including three museums like you have never seen them before. The artwork will be stunning, and take on many forms -- such as lights and video projected into the night using the sides of large buildings as a canvas.

WATCH CBS ll Special: A Celebration of Light, Video and Sound

There will also be a musical jam session. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own instruments and join in on the fun.

The district is divided into six zones. The easiest way to navigate Aurora is with the event's free smartphone app. It also offers an interactive guided tour. Just stand in front of an art installation, click on the map and learn about what you are seeing, and the artist who made it.

There are about 80 exhibits to explore in total along with food, drink and music.

Aurora is held every other year. This is just the third time that the event is taking place. The family-friendly gathering is free to walk and explore. It begins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night and runs through 2:00 a.m. early Saturday, with the best stuff coming to life after dark. Check out the Aurora website for more information.

Aurora's founders envision it as a signature event for Dallas, something that could really put it on the map with other festivals in big cities. The event is growing, too. There were about 30,000 people in attendance for the last installment, after just 1,000 people came to the first one. "It's home-grown," said co-founder Joshua King. "It's had just an amazing growth rate."

"It's a really unique thing," added King. "There's not a whole lot of these going on all across the globe. We started this in 2010, and new media and fine art is really exploding, is really kind of getting its roots set."