MANCHESTER, NH – Thursday and Friday, Sept 15-16, are the last two days to take advantage of downtown Manchester’s free Mini-Mural Monster Search. The brainchild of Monica Leap, founder and director of Studio 550, this free activity popped up as a new twist on this 10th anniversary year of Studio 550’s Monster Hunt.
We had the pleasure of entertaining a 7-year-old to give our daughter some time off. There is no better way to keep a child off video screens, active, engaged and burning a few calories, than a brisk walk with fun surprises every few minutes. If you haven’t tried it, just print out a map here, head downtown and pop in and out of the 10 participating businesses.
Some monsters are harder to spot than others. Our monster-in-training enjoyed the chocolate we bought him at Granite State Candy Shoppe. We timed it to be the halfway point in case of lagging enthusiasm. He also responded well to a rapid accumulation of 10 stamps and a completed map ready to turn in with his name for the contest.
If you miss the monster search, you will still have one last opportunity to see all 10 together at the Studio 550 booth this weekend at the Manchester Citywide Arts Festival Street Fair on the Opera Block of Hanover Street. Closed to vehicle traffic between Elm and Chestnut streets, Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., this family-friendly event will include an art market, interactive experiences, live performances and food trucks.
An Opening within An Opening – New Galleries & Collective Working Space
The adults might also want to visit Mosaic Art Collective. The Collective was founded by Elizabeth Pieroni Schulte, a proud Central High School grad who moved away… and came back!
They are hosting a grand opening Saturday September 17th from 5pm to 8pm in their space above The Spotlight room. Their first group show, “Full Circle,” features southern NH artists responding to the theme Full Circle and what it means to them. Also opening that night is SEE/SAW Art, a 120 square foot exhibition space located within Mosaic. It is owned and operated by Amy Regan, co-founder of Rochester Museum of Fine Arts. She opens with “The Locals,” a show of artists working in and around Manchester, NH. See work by Claudia Rippee, Colby Goon, Matt Pidgeon and Jason Bagatta.
Ink Link Sponsors Artists at the Street Fair – Show some Social Media #InkLink Love
The Manchester Ink Link is proud to sponsor three up-and-coming artists that will be participating at the weekend Street Fair. Look for their booths with a Manchester Ink Link logo.
Take a photo or take a selfie with any of those three artists and post it to Facebook and or Instagram with the hash tags #inklink #communityart and give us a shout-out. Help us continue to amplify the message of the growing Arts and Culture scene in Manchester.
What else is cooking?
Here are some additional stops we made along the way while tracking down those mischievous mini-mural monsters :
