I would say the price spike in December 2013 is what sparked the interest of many of the newcomers.
I don't think many people knew about it before then

This was when China audience become aware and btc news were all over the place in Asia.

probably in the 2011, where the price jumped x25 if i recall correctly, and also the advent of the gpu mining, after the first software released by artfroz

Nah, the spike didn't happen in Dec. 2013, but on November 2013 (29th of November 2013 to be exact)

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/11/29/bitcoin-hits-record-1242-as-it-nears-value-of-ounce-of-gold/

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The ath could probably caused massive interest from the general public, probably due to the amount of bitcoin per US Dollar. Also, the different news about bitcoin probably raised awareness from the masses, too.

In the area where I live most people in the general public relate bitcoin to crime. Most of the bitcoin news in the major media relates to cyber crime, exchange fraud, silk road trial, etc., etc. So yes, there is attention from non-enthusiasts but it's generally a negative impression.

To make matters worse, try to logically explain to your dear neighbor why he should run out and buy bitcoin so he can make purchases with it. When he asks why he should take the additional step of buying bitcoins so he can then buy something that he could have bought anyway without the additional step, tell him because it's fun and easy.

Would the setting up of Silk Road be such an event?
The target audience of SR would definitely not have been just crypto enthusiasts.
Further down the line, media coverage would have increased awareness about Bitcoin.

I think when mass media started reported on bitcoin or slightly before that. There have been several big news items on bitcoin. We could say that this time is in the future because some big things will happen in bitcoin space.

The day Silk Road makes bitcoin worth something.

The day the Chinese start paying attention and use it to laundry money out of their country.

The average person has no incentive to use Bitcoin until certain places offer discounts for doing so. Businesses should know that as they expand their sales in Bitcoin then they have the benefits of no charge backs and lower transaction costs so they should be looking to incentivize Bitcoin use by offering a break on their prices for it. W/o more of that happening or being able to only get a certain thing by paying w/ Bitcoin, then there is no use for the general public to use it. Most upwardly mobile people that are natives of a country don't have relatives in other parts of the world where they'd use Bitcoin for remittance. Aside from that, they only way folks will want Bitcoin is if they know of the deflationary effect and that by holding it, they'll become wealthier over time. Sorry to say, that is what will turn heads, not the technology at this point.