Manchester Street Festival Canceled for 2015 Due to Bridge Replacement

Run Manchester Fun Run, 2014.

Last week, organizers made public the decision to postpone the Manchester Street Festival for a year. Scheduled for the first Saturday in August, this event includes Run Manchester and in the past has included a juried art fair, marketplace, vintage car show, bed races, rubber duck race and all-day live music.

The festival–which usually occurs on both sides of the Main Street bridge and Adrian Street, on which the detour will occur–would have to be relocated if it were to go on this summer. Even more problematic, the race route would not only be unable to use the Main Street Bridge but would be unable to use the Duncan Street Bridge as that can’t be closed because of the detour, confining the race to one side or the other side of the village.

Organizer Amelia Woods stated that since it is logistically impossible to hold the event with the downtown divided, that the event organizers decided they’d rather run the risk of losing momentum than put on a poor event this year. She also stated that the street festival will be back in 2016, the 1st Saturday in August, and they are looking for people to get involved in planning.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.