BUSY BUSY BUSY. This time of year that’s especially so, and while we believe that our newsletter is the single-best weekly source of All Things Manchester, we also know that sometimes you need even more. So today we are launching a new feature -- a comprehensive collection of links to other newsletters, calendars, social media sites etc. that we’ve assembled in what we call The Annex. It also includes a special new flashback photo feature (tied today to World Peace Day) and you can scroll down for more.

The town held an event last Saturday to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 every year and is a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the American Latino community.

Festivities included music, dance, vendors and more both inside and outside Mahoney Rec.

The event was sponsored in part by the Manchester Latino Affairs Council.

The month-long celebration encompasses the independence days of several Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua on Sept. 15th, Mexico on Sept. 16th, and Chile on Sept. 18th.

Last Thursday's BoE meeting invited a review of summer programming and this chart highlights some of the many successes. The next school board meeting is scheduled for Monday and the agenda will include the spring date update and a youth voice survey.

ALSO:

• Project Graduation is running a mums sale (click for details) and also holding a 'Pink Flamingo' fundraiser (those details are here.)
  
• Remember -- students in grades PK - 12 will again follow an early dismissal schedule on Wednesdays beginning Oct. 4 and ending June 5, 2024.

Those of you who follow the district Facebook page know we this year are featuring staff members who are cited in our employee recognition program. So far we've honored Sarah Nessing (an administrative assistant at MHS) and Christian Walker (a behavior tech at Bennet). Click through to learn more about Sarah and Chris.

As COVID continues to circulate, the district continues to follow CDC protocols. If your child tests positive for COVID, they will need to stay home for the first 5 days, and (when fever-free) return wearing a mask for the next 5 days. Please notify the school nurse of your positive result.

As always, please take simple actions such as staying home when sick, washing hands, and covering your mouth when coughing and sneezing, as this will help in limiting the spread.

As a reminder, MPS does not provide COVID test kits.

Tomorrow night -- a big event at NW Park that includes a drone show; Next Wednesday -- another meeting about the the creation of a brand identity for the town.

Thursday, Sept. 21
10 - 12:30 p.m. -- Veteran’s Coffee House at Army & Navy Club, 1090 Main St.
10 a.m. -- MARC’s 24th Annual Charity Golf Tournament at Manchester Country Club.
5 - 8 p.m. -- Thursday open house at WORK_SPACE, 903 Main St.
5 - 8:30 p.m. -- The final ‘Off-Main Experience’ of the season at Purnell Place.
6 p.m. -- Taste of the Park Dinner Series: Cabin Garden, at Wickham Park.
6:30 p.m. -- History of Black Bears in Connecticut at Whiton Library.

Friday, Sept 22
10 a.m. -- Preschool Playgroup at Mary Cheney Library.
5 - 9 p.m. -- Lights in the Sky - A Drone Show Event at Northwest Park, 448 Tolland Tpke.
7 - 8 p.m. -- Comedy at Cheney Hall.

Saturday, Sept. 23
8 a.m. - noon -- MACC Manchester Farmers Market at the Forest St. parking lot. Rain or shine. through Oct. 28.

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. -- Manchester Source to Sea Cleanup Event at Center Springs Park.
11 a.m. - 3 p.m. -- Family Fall Fest at 1075 Tolland Tpke.
2 - 3:30 p.m. -- Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration at Mary Cheney Library.

Sunday, Sept 24
9 a.m. - 2 p.m. -- Train Show at Elks Club, 30 Bissell St.
11 a.m. - 2 p.m. -- UR Community Cares Cornhole Tournament fundraiser at Urban Lodge.

Monday, Sept. 25
9:30 - 10:15 a.m. -- ABC Storytime at Mary Cheney Library.
2 - 5 p.m. -- Labworks for Teens at Leisure Labs, 110 Cedar St.
7 p.m. -- BOE meeting at Lincoln Center.
6 - 8 p.m. -- Fall Knitted Coaster workshop with Mary Curley at Mary Cheney Library.

Tuesday, Sept. 26
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. -- Take Apart Tuesday at Mary Cheney Library.
6 - 7 p.m. -- The Family Place program at Mary Cheney Library.
6:30 - 7:15 -- Pajama Storytime at Whiton Library.

Wednesday, Sept 27
9:30 - 10:15 a.m. -- Toddling Tots at Mary Cheney Library.
10:30 - 11:15 a.m. -- ABC Storytime at Whiton Library.
4:30 - 7:30 p.m. -- Northwest Park Farmer’s Market at 448 Tolland Tpke.
6 - 7:30 p.m. -- Teen Game Night at Mary Cheney Library.

6-7:30 p.m. -- Dream Manchester general focus group at WORK_SPACE

• The Elks Club will honor the combined services of the Eighth Utilities District and Manchester Fire Rescue EMS as its 2023 Citizen of the Year on Sept. 29. Click here for details.

• The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the newly renovated Bowers School will be on Sept. 30 at 141 Princeton St. Click here for more details.

• The 4th annual Rotary in Motion will be held at Charter Oak Park on Sept. 30.

• The Town of Manchester is hosting ‘Talk To The Architect’ library design conversations on Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. and 19 at 10 a.m. at Mary Cheney Library.

• Rebuilding Together of Manchester will host a family friendly comedy event at the Elks Club on Oct. 19. Click here for details.

• Starting on Oct 19, WORK_SPACE will host ‘The Listening Room’ on the third Thursday of the month.

• The annual Manchester Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner will be held on Nov. 4 at Georgina’s Restaurant in Bolton.

• State Election Day is Nov. 7. Absentee ballots will be available starting on Oct 7. Click here to find out more.
• The Town of Manchester’s leaf collection program begins on Nov. 14. Click here for route information.

NOTE: The Annex has links to newsletters , social media accounts and more, including the 'OneManchester Planner', which has even has more calendar listings for the months ahead. To get to The Annex, click here.

The MHS girls came back from a two-goal deficit to tie Newington 2-2 on Tuesday and the boys improved to 2-1 after beating New Britain 5-nil on Monday. Both teams will be back on the field this afternoon - the girls host Wethersfield while the boys travel to Hartford Public.

Click here for the complete MHS fall sports schedule and here for more pictures from the games.

ALSO:

• Visit the Manchester Sports Hall of Fame at its new home at the Mahoney Center

• Tylon Smith Jr. is offering a basketball clinic for boys and girls in grades K-12 at Verplanck School this fall. Click the link for registration info.
• The Manchester Knights have flag, tackle and cheer spots still available. Click the link for details.

In martial arts, check out programs offered by:

• Impact Marial Arts
• Hidden Dragon Karate
• White Tiger Taekwon-Do

We do our best each week to construct the town's most comprehensive calendar but let's face it --- Manchester is incredibly busy so we have created a spillover space to share even more resources with links to newsletters, calendars, social media sites and more. Plus a bonus .... a flashback photo feature from Paul Ofria.

Paul has been visually documenting life in Manchester for years and each week in The Annex will share a favorite photo and his comments about it. Today, we're sharing photos from last year's Pinwheels For Peace event at Illing -- which each year is help on or around World Peace Day. (Also known as the International Day of Peace, it's actually today but IMS will plant its pinwheels tomorrow). Click through to The Annex to learn more.

• NOTE: OneManchester is compiled by the school district's communications office but is dependent on contributions from people and institutions throughout the town and school district. So if you have something that you think people would want to know about, please let us know. Photos, fliers, links, tips, whatever -- please share with Paul Ofria at pofria@mpspride.org.