MANCHESTER, NH -The Office of Mayor Joyce Craig has announced they are co-hosting the inaugural Manchester Park(ing) Day Celebration with Queen City Bike Collective, Café La Reine, and Bookery Manchester on Friday, September 17.
Park(ing) Day is an art project where cities, for one day, turn parking spaces into community spaces for art, play, and activism. The event began in 2005 when three friends turned a San Francisco parking space into a pocket park. In the years since, the event has expanded all over the world, and aims to start a dialogue about how best to use public space in cities.
“It’s always exciting to have unique events in our downtown,” said Mayor Joyce Craig. “Outdoor dining has been great for our community and the atmosphere on Elm Street, and I love to see that idea being taken a step further. I’m looking forward to stopping by all of the installations this Friday.”
Manchester’s celebration will take place in three downtown parking spaces. The main event will be a bike-friendly pop-up hosted by Queen City Bike Collective, a local bike advocacy non-profit. It will take place in the outdoor dining area of Campo Enoteca (696 Elm Street) from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Queen City Bike Collective volunteers will be offering bike parking and passing out information throughout the afternoon and evening.
“We are really excited to have a chance to do this pop-up event in the heart of downtown,” said Abby Easterly, Executive Director of Queen City Bike Collective. “We look forward to talking to people who may not yet be familiar with everything we are hoping to do to make Manchester a safer, more affordable place to ride a bike.”
Café La Reine and Bookery Manchester will be participating by adding interactive features to their outdoor dining spaces. Café La Reine (915 Elm Street) will host morning chess from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, and Bookery Manchester (844 Elm Street) will have hopscotch from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. All three events are completely free and open to the public.
“The Bookery is excited to participate in the first Park(ing) Day in Manchester. This is a great opportunity for more residents and visitors to see all our downtown community has to offer,” said Liz Hitchcock, Owner of Bookery Manchester.
“We are excited to welcome everyone downtown to our patio at Café La Reine for some coffee, great food, and chess,” said Alexandra Horton, Owner of Café La Reine.
Sign up for the Facebook event here.
