A look back at ‘The Loop’: Manchester Connects seeks to reboot city’s image

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Bubbles and a giant Connect Four game on Elm Street during The Loop. Courtesy photo

MANCHESTER, NH – The sound of jazz music and chatter rang up and down Elm Street Saturday morning during “The Loop” Kickoff Event by Manchester Connects, an urban renewal initiative. Balloons, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk brought color and vibrancy to City Hall Plaza, and Sara Jacobs of the Manchester Connects Organizing Committee, says she hopes it will draw the public together and get Manchester back to where it used to be.

“Manchester Connects is really all about building connections between the Millyard and Downtown,” said Jacobs, “It’s about economic development, it’s about making our city more walkable. We want people to want to be in Manchester, we want to have a vibrant downtown.”

“The Loop” is a marked pathway that highlights the physical link to get from one destination to another, and includes way-finding to help navigate sites, history, and stories along the way. It is meant to be a public space for arts, culture, and placemaking where things can happen and people can gather.

The pathway features 17 stops throughout, each stop is significant in Manchester’s culture and history. Some stops include the Mill Museum, City Hall, WMUR, and the Gaslight District.

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Chalk drawing at City Hall Plaza while the music played. Courtesy Photo

“This is just the idea of what we can do for Manchester, “said Jacobs, “We can do something like this every weekend, having music, having food trucks, just a fun, warm space to be in.”

At the event there were sign-up sheets available for those who want to contribute to the cause and see Manchester fulfill its potential.

“Manchester Connects needs our whole community to get involved,” said Jacobs. “Today is about building awareness to get some interest in Manchester Connects. There’s many different activities that Manchester Connects is going to be focused on.”

Other projects Manchester Connects has underway are parking initiatives, bike paths, running paths, kayaking, entertainment, and even a railway that would travel from Manchester to Boston.

Dan Bérubé, another organizer of Manchester Connects, who is chairman of the Manchester Arts Commission and proprietor of Jupiter Hall, believes the key to the city’s comeback lies in the expression of arts and culture.

Bérubé  teamed up with local artist Keith Trahan to plan a series of painted murals all over the city, to bring color and personality back to Manchester. They both said they wanted to make Manchester “the city of murals.”

“It’s supposed to be a cityscape, it’s a very abstract piece. What our present is, it’s very sad, and this figure here shows the sadness, the tears,” said Trahan as he points to his mural on the corner of Elm and Stark streets featuring a the image of a face, half covered by a bandanna, “and I have the Notre Dame Bridge, bringing us into the future, as what I want it to be, as more beauty.”

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Lots of interactive stops along The Loop. Courtesy Photo

Trahan, an opioid survivor, explained that the theme for the murals represents the “past present and future” for Manchester and depicts how he would like to see the city move forward.

“We can’t turn a blind eye to it, it’s part of our city now,” said Bérubé, referring to the substance abuse problem that has ravaged Manchester over the past several years, “Murals tell stories. Arts and culture is the single biggest answer to all of the issues that we face here. If we focus on that, everyone is our community can work together.”

Bérubé and Manchester Connects is part of the initiative encouraging the people of Manchester to get involved with the arts by participating in the Manchester Waves flag initiative, to adopt a symbolic city flag for Manchester. Even though the current “flag” is simply the city seal printed on a white background, it has never been formally adopted. Bérubé believes that a new, compelling design would provide city residents, business owners, and students with a memorable visual reminder of Manchester. This campaign has already received 300 submissions, and the public will be able to vote on whether to adopt one of the three final flag designs, which will be on the General Election ballot in November.

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Everyone can get involved with Manchester Connects and help plan future events.

The next big event for Manchester Connects won’t be until spring, but in the meantime volunteers will be working tirelessly to make Manchester a place that will draw people in, not scare them away. Bérubé encourages the public and local businesses to help them carry out their vision.

“My message is, for all businesses who read this, to work with us to build a city with arts and culture,” said Bérubé, “and to provide opportunities for our youth and those that want to stay here and discover how arts and culture can help them improve their lives.”

Manchester Connects is always welcoming volunteers. If interested, visit http://eepurl.com/c7u8Rz.

For  more information about the significance of the new flag for Manchester, visit www.mhtflag.com.

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