Thousands upon thousands of glistening bubbles drifted through the skies at 3 p.m. today in front of the African Memorial Museum in the middle of University and Queen Street West.

A crowd of more than 100 young and old bubble blowers gathered for Bubble Battle T.O., the first event of its kind in Toronto.

“We decided to throw this event in order to get people outside of their homes and away from their televisions,” says Lori Kufner, co-founder of Newmindspace, an open group that focuses on interactive public art.

After attending a meeting for the Toronto Public Space Committee in 2004, Kufner realized a new ideology - one that challenged her to consider what it would be like to create events in the city for the purpose of cultural intervention.

Conspiring to inspire, Kufner and Kevin Bracken of New York organized large-scale public pillow fights - free for all ages to participate in.

“A pillow fight, for instance, isn’t so novel, but when in a public space, it becomes quite spectacular,” says Kufner.

These events encourage a renewed sense of fun and playfulness for the people involved, she says.

“Anyone who doesn’t understand this is missing out on a great thing,” says Verity Eaton, 17. “My favorite part is parents bring their children to watch and join in. The kids look so happy.”

After five years, the Newmindspace concept is blowing up.

Thanks to the Newmindspace “do-it-yourself guide,” cultural intervention fans have started similar efforts in over 90 cities in North America and Europe.

The larger goal is to make this a sustainable effort.

“We want these types of interactive events to become just as popular as regular cultural activities, such as sporting events or going to the movies,” Kufner says.