Pro Portsmouth Unveils 2015 Market Square Day Logo

With the 38th Annual Market Square Day Festival & 10K Road Race just around the corner, Pro Portsmouth unveiled their 2015 event logo and discussed the City’s premier Downtown festival at their offices in the West End, according to a press statement.

Pro Portsmouth’s Executive Director Barbara Massar thanked the many area businesses who make Market Square Day possible – longtime Festival and Race Supporting Sponsors Liberty Mutual Insurance, Access Sports Medicine, Oakhurst Dairy, Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Coca Cola of Northern New England.

Festival and Race Sponsors also include People’s United Bank, Runner’s Alley, Northeast Credit Union, Lyons Law Offices, SIS Bank, Backyard Farms, PowerAde and Dasani.

Artist Tanner Birr’s design was chosen from over 50 submissions and will be featured on all Race and Volunteer T-shirts as well as the Festival T-shirt which will be available at the Pro Portsmouth booth in Market Square during the event. The second and third place designs were submitted by Carolyn Vibbert and Abby Suchocki; fun fact: Abby designed the winning logo for Children’s Day 2005.

Although the site has been live for several weeks, Massar made a point of acknowledging the fact that their “new” site was a reality thanks to the talented team at Harbour Light Strategic Marketing and Savvy Software. “We went through a major re-branding project back in 2011 and now with this new site, Pro Portsmouth is more user friendly across all platforms. It’s bright, informative and truly representative of all we do.”

It takes a village to make Market Square Day happen - a variety of Volunteer opportunities are open. Information regarding Volunteering for MSD is available by contacting Stacy Libby at 433-4398 or volunteer@proportsmouth.org

The Market Square Day Historic Walk takes place on Friday, June 12, at 6 p.m. The Walk begins at Market Square in front of the North Church. “The Walk was the creation of the late, great Bruce Ingmire, and although he last gave the tour in 1992, we at Pro Portsmouth are proud to carry on the tradition,” stated Massar.

Market Square Day features entertainment throughout the day on two stages. Various acts will fill the Downtown with music. Noted Massar, “This year’s musical offerings take on a very diverse sound with TJ Wheeler and Friends closing out the festivities on the Main Stage at Pleasant Street.”

An abundance of crafters, local businesses and food vendors will set up ‘shop’ on the streets of Portsmouth. Over 150 will be on hand for this year’s festival.

Parking restrictions do take place in Downtown Portsmouth beginning at 4 a.m. on Saturday, June 13. Streets will be posted on Friday, June 12th to indicate where parking is prohibited during the festival. Parking restrictions will be enforced and vehicles will be towed at the owner’s expense. The Parking Garage offers a flat fee of $5 from the hours of 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and $3.00 from 2 to 4 p.m.

Free Shuttle service provided by STA/Pro Portsmouth runs from the overflow Lot at the Fox Run Mall (across from the JC Penny/Lens Crafters side of Mall) to the Hanover Street Bus Station across from the Hilton Garden Inn (Hanover Street Bus Stop) in Downtown Portsmouth. The shuttle runs from 8:00am – 4:30pm; details online at proportsmouth.org/MSDparking.cfm

The event, often referred to as the unofficial start to Summer on the Seacoast, attracts 2,000 runners and competitive walkers for the 10K race and 60,000 festival-enthusiasts to the heart of the City. The Road Race starts at 9am in Market Square. The Festival runs from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m.

Market Square Day is produced by Pro Portsmouth. Pro Portsmouth, Inc. is a 501c (3) organization serving the Seacoast area. Its Mission is to promote the arts, culture, history and community of the area through such events as Children’s Day, Market Square Day, Summer in the Street and First Night Portsmouth.

For more information on the group, including volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, visit proportsmouth.org