Manchester's Community Art in Action

MANCHESTER'S COMMUNITY ART IN ACTION

"Good men through the ages tryin' to find the sun

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And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain?"

~John Fogerty

I keep finding myself saying, the greatest art is made in the most challenging of times.

On Silk City Fest day, we woke up and looked out the window and saw some clouds and drizzle. And then we looked at our weather apps that were all determined to tell us that water was not falling from the sky.

Our volunteers all arrived. The tents and tables came. One team showed up with a big inflatable rainbow. We converted an art gallery and some conference rooms into a children's play zone. Our main stage arrived. We plugged in the sound system and we had a party.

Someone early in the fest referred to the drizzle as "dry rain" and I repeated that line to people all day.

I saw smiling vendors and attendees (some with umbrellas, many just happy to be roaming amongst the aisles and listening to the incredible live music we had all day).

I saw people dancing in the dark as our headline act played an encore set as a thank- you to everyone who stayed to the end.

I saw so many volunteers from organizations all over town work harder than I ever would have asked them to.

And most importantly to me, I watched Manchester families and friends come outside on a grey day and play together. That's the power and joy of art.

Thank you, Manchester, for being with us, rain and shine.

Bill Ludwig is the founder of nonprofit Imagine Manchester, current chair of the Manchester Arts Commission and Town Troubadour Emeritus.