Year two of Community Palette blends competition, community and corruption.

Community Palette brings in elements of a business plan competition, a crowdsourcing fundraiser, a party, an election, an all-day arts bazaar, a moveable feast in a fixed location and a high-grade talent show.

There are similarities to TED Talks, the slogan of which is “ideas worth spreading.” The slogan for Community Palette could be “projects worth funding.”

That began in a flurry of social media and website posts, and it culminates, in the actual world, this Saturday at Sand City’s The Independent (the location of the aesthetically kindred Independent Marketplace) over a span of nine hours and starring more than two dozen creative types. Here’s how it works.

The public was invited months ago to nominate, on Facebook, artists, artisans and entrepreneurs to enter the competition. A committee of eight people – including Kristi Lovik of EcoCarmel and Nicholas De Luca of OAS Design Group – evaluated the nominees and sent invites to the ones they deemed met their criteria per the website: “Community Palette is a not-for-profit organization that advocates for local economic, social and cultural sustainability.”

Kierstyn Bachmann-Berlin founded Community Palette. The inaugural event happened February last year.

“The community nominates, votes, selects what they want to see,” she says. “The [committee] is like a filter. A huge thing for me is sustainability – sourcing, production methods, materials, overall goals. How are you being responsible?”

There are 25 competitors – Bachmann-Berlin calls them “artists” to accentuate cooperation (and for lack of a more inclusive word) – who were approved Jan. 1 and have been busy getting their projects ready for the big show. They will set up tables to showcase their projects, and be given a mic for 5 minutes to pitch their project to the audience as the one most worthy of the prize money ($7,500 for first place, $2,500 for second) that will grow their enterprise.

“THE PEOPLE READY TO GROW DO WHAT IT TAKES. THE OTHERS DON’T BOTHER.”

The competitors hew a familiar set of values: creative, artisanal, individualized and sustainable. Impulsive young painter Forrest Eggleston is one; so is Kari Bernardi of Super Natural Foods Company. Yves Goyatton is the only sculptor, Sandy Greenfield the only musician and Perry McCormick the only poet. Several food purveyors, fashionistas and photographers are in contention.

They’ve all provided bios by which the audience can understand what they do and what they want to do next, and vote accordingly. The bio of Carrie McWithey – self-described artist, crocheter and the sole proprietor of Fringe Outerwear – seems to summarize the ethic of the whole thing.

“People are tired of crap,” she writes. “Perceptions of value are changing. Getting more for less is no longer a concept people appreciate. Artisan, hand crafted, and local are replacing these old fashioned, unsustainable ideas… All of these things add value.”

She wants to win the competition so she can hire others to help fulfill the demand for her hats, bags and shrugs.

Deb Flores, a Salinas mother of three, has been selling handmade natural bath and body products for two years.

“I did amazing that first year,” she says. “I was shocked.”

Although her demand and sales were doing fine, she thought her philosophical approach could use improvement. She used to package her products in plastic jars; Bachmann-Berlin helped her transition to sustainable glass.

“The people ready to grow do what it takes,” Bachmann-Berlin says. “The others don’t bother.”

She admits the voting system is buggy. She calls it a “corrupt democracy” because votes for the winning proposal can be purchased ($10 for three votes, $20 for 9 votes, $100 for 40 votes), either online or live at the event. She would like to bring in grants and sponsorships to avoid the inherent inequities of that system, but says that’s how all the competitors want it for now. Last year’s winner had “four times the ticket sales” as her nearest competitor.

Sponsors and volunteers have been indulgent. The Sand City City Council is letting them close down a street for food vendors; top local chefs are working cheap to whip up a $500-a-head fundraiser dinner (already sold out); for one recent “zero-waste” prep party, 40 volunteers showed up. Nearly everyone is donating their time and skills.

But all that may be more information than the public needs to enjoy the array of creative stuff on Saturday. It’s programmed with an eye to families (Bachmann-Berlin has kids) in the daytime, like a children’s fashion show at 12:30pm and a DJ workshop for kids with DJ Hanif Wondir at 3pm. Later, after the sold-out VIP patron’s dinner, the grown-ups can get their own fashion show and dance party on at 7pm before the winners are announced at 8:30pm. Outside, among the food vendors, expect picnic tables, a lounge area, fire pits for nighttime, interactive sculptures. And all throughout, these creative competitors will be showing off and talking about their work.

“This is a social experiment at this point,” Bachmann-Berlin says.

COMMUNITY PALETTE happens noon to 9pm Saturday at The Independent, 600 Ortiz Ave., Sand City. Free to attend ($10 suggested donation). www.communitypalette.com