This year’s Epcot International Festival of the Arts should be bright and light thanks to creative hands-on activities and innovation with Disney World’s latest Figment-inspired popcorn bucket.

That new container, which features the purple dragon and the triangular Journey Into Imagination building, literally lights up, officials said.

“You’re seeing the ‘Beacons of Magic’ show reflecting on the glass panels of the pyramids” of the pavilion, said Dave Kesting, general manager of food and beverage and festivals.

“It is stunning. …. It is probably our most complex popcorn bucket to date,” he said.

The containers, branded with Festival of the Arts typography and sold with rainbow-colored popcorn, will again be available through mobile order rather than having parkgoers wait in a long line.

And while that festival element is … creative, it probably wouldn’t be considered the artsiest part of the arts fest. Kesting said the event is built on three pillars: the visual, the performance and the culinary arts.

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“You’ll have a whole group of people that are coming for a totally different reason than another group of folks,” he said. “I think that’s what makes this festival probably the most complex and has more depth. … Not only do you get to see the visual arts, you get to meet the artisans.”

Disney has established a QR code, seen in the festival passport and other Epcot spots, that connects to a schedule of artist appearances. More than 100 artists will be present during the 39 days of the festival, which runs Jan. 12-Feb. 19.

That’s in addition to the singers in the festival’s Disney on Broadway concert series. That kicks off Friday with performances by Caissie Levy and Patti Murin, who played Elsa and Anna in the “Frozen” musical’s opening night on Broadway in 2018.

“You’re seeing Broadway stars that, unless you’re traveling to New York, you’re not gonna see some of these folks,” Kesting said.

The festival has fresh takes on some crowd-participation elements this year, from new designs for Expression Session (aka the paint-by-numbers mural) to chalk-art experiences.

“Kids can do chalk art, as well as we have professionals do chalk art every day,” Kesting said. “On the weekends, we have brand-new 3D chalk art, and then guests can actually step in these 3D pictures that the artisans draw.”

The lineup of Artful Photo Ops, the larger-than-life walk-in paintings, has been expanded to include scenes based on the 2023 film “Wish,” penguins from “Mary Poppins” and a forest scene from “Sleeping Beauty.”

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And, as always, the art factor plays into the festival’s food offerings. There are more than two dozen new items across 16 Food Studios menus this year, including grilled pork belly, roasted beets with goat cheese and passion fruit-filled mango cheesecake.

“It’s so pretty, you don’t want to eat it,” Kesting said. “But at the end of the day, you do.”

Most activities and performances of the festival are included with regular Epcot admission. The food and beverages are available for purchase.

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