As Homer, Lisa, and her friends watch the announcement of the year's Nobel Prize winners, they are astounded to hear that Krusty the Clown has won the Peace Prize. Krusty picks Homer to accompany him to Oslo for the awards ceremony, since Homer will laugh at anything Krusty says, and Homer decides to take Bart with him. Their plane lands not in Oslo, but in The Hague, and it is revealed that the Peace Prize announcement was a ruse to bring Krusty here so he could be tried by the World Court for his deplorable public behavior over the years. Homer and Bart search desperately for any evidence to show that Krusty has made a genuine contribution to humanity, and eventually argue that his refusal to perform at a particular show led directly to the South African government's decision to release Nelson Mandela from prison. Even though it is obvious that these two incidents were coincidental and irrelevant, the court accepts this argument and frees Krusty, who immediately seeks out the nearest place to buy drugs — the courthouse cafeteria — and agrees to bring some back for the presiding judge.

Meanwhile, since Lisa is annoyed over not being able to go to the ceremony, Marge surprises her by sending her to a performing arts camp for a week. Here she eagerly immerses herself in music and theater, meeting several campers who love to break into song (Michele, Monteith, Riley) and two guitar-playing hipster counselors, Ethan (Clement) and Kurt (McKenzie). When Marge takes her home at the end of the week, she has trouble readjusting to normal life and looks for a chance to express her newly awakened creative side. She runs away from home and seeks out Ethan and Kurt in "Sprooklyn," described by them as being the artistic hotbed of Springfield. However, she soon learns that they have grossly exaggerated; the area is a run-down slum and they actually work at a sandwich shop. They encourage her to return to her family and think about trying to make an artistic name for herself when she is older. As Marge arrives to take Lisa home, they show off a mural that they have painted in her honor, which takes up one entire side of a building. Ethan asks how they got up there so quick as they were outside their flat a minute ago. Kurt responds it was the magic of art and the two fly off (as seen on the DVD cover of their television series).