As I noted in my New Orleans Advocate piece that appears in Sunday’s edition, LUNE Fete has ambitions that go beyond giving people a visual thrill when it sets up around the city Nov. 29-Dec. 5. In this, the event’s second go-round, organizers from the Arts Council of New Orleans hope to repeat some of that downtown dazzle but also hopes to expand beyond Lafayette Square.

Jen Lewin’s “The Pool” will move the eye candy from the facade of Gallier Hall to the grounds of Lafayette Square, where visitors can get all interactive with the series of glowing, colorful circles sensitive to the touch.

And then there’s Los Angeles-based artist Miwa Matreyek‘s presentation of two of her projected animation performances, “Myth and Infrastructure” and “This World Made Itself,” at the CAC. (Check out her TED Talk here.) As she told me in the Advocate piece:

Magic and transformation are what I’d like audiences to experience. Because what I do falls between two distinct mediums, I often perform at film and theater festivals, and at science museums and planetariums. So to perform for a wider audience that’s not specific to a film festival or dance event or a science event will be pretty exciting for me. It’s not that different from a magic-lantern or shadow-puppet show.”

But then there’s the really ambitious effort over at the recently opened Ashé Power House Theater, whose facade will place hose to another projection that’s a project completely by international Portuguese arts collective OCUBO and New Orleans’ own Terrance Osborne along with private school St. Martin’s and Ashé’s Kuumba Institute.

Outgoing ACNO head Kim Cook sees projection mapping as a way to also connect the dots when it comes to lighting and public safety and hopes LUNA Fete can start a dialogue about making the city a safer place to navigate on foot at night.

I’m not sure how that all will play out, but I do know that last year’s LUNA Fete did a masterful job of tapping into a familiar vibe by bringing crowds to an area (Lafayette Square) revered as a favored Mardi Gras parade viewing spot, at a time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas when the shopping season is just kicking into high gear. Cook also hopes this event will not only bringing together older New Orleanians with one of its hippest recent migrants (the tech sector) while building this into something huge by the time the New Orleans centennial rolls around in 2018. Again, not sure how that will happen, but it sure is fun to watch New Orleanians come together to be dazzled.

Let’s just hope no one brings their own brand of fireworks to the show. We’ve had enough of that already.