Music, dancing, food, family activities & more ... It's Saturday at the Mahoney Center, 110 Cedar Street. Performances include: Sin Fronteras (Spanish & Indigenous Quechua), Edwin Vargas Jr. (Guitarist/Singer) and Kathleen Maldonado (Bomba/Plena) plus there will be an extensive vendor market. (Click for a flier in Spanish.)

Third and fourth graders from Waddell traveled to Bushnell Park in Hartford on Tuesday to see Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet that represents a 10-year-old Syrian refugee child displaced from her home due to war and disaster. A global symbol of human rights, Little Amal has travelled over 6,000 miles in 15 countries and been welcomed by more than a million people. We will have more photos on the district Facebook page.

• Meetings are usually on Monday but tonight the BoE will assemble for a meeting that will include an update on what's already been an eventful school year, especially weather-wise. The meeting is at Lincoln Center and starts at 7 p.m.

• The MHS marching band (which includes some Illing students) will be playing at the UConn game (against FIU) Saturday. It's Band Day at Rentschler Field and MPS will be part of a collective state-wide high school group that will play a Taylor Swift medley.
• 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.

The next History Walk is Sunday at 1 p.m., starting at the front steps of Town Hall and then heading across to Center Memorial Park. Next Wednesday night, the Sports Hall of Fame Exhibit opens at Leisure Labs at Mahoney Center.

Thursday, Sept. 14
8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. -- Red Cross Blood Drive at North United Methodist Church, 300 Parker St..
7 p.m. -- BOE meeting at Lincoln Center.

Friday, Sept. 15
11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. -- First Responder Recognition Luncheon at the GMCC, 20 Hartford Rd.
7 p.m. -- Home Again: A Tribute to the Music of Carole King at Cheney Hall.

Saturday, Sept. 16
8 a.m. - noon -- MACC Manchester Farmers Market at the Forest St. parking lot. Rain or shine through Oct. 28.
8 a.m. - 1 p.m. -- Household hazardous waste collection at 321 Olcott St.
9 a.m. - 1 p.m. -- Insulator Club meet open to the public at 300 Bush Hill Rd.
11 a.m. - 3 p.m. -- Fire Dept Open House: Past, Present and Future at 75 Center St.
11 a.m. - 3 p.m. -- Manchester’s Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration at Mahoney Rec Center, 110 Cedar St.
Noon - 4 p.m. -- Third Annual Local Board Game Designers Fair at Mary Cheney Library.
7 p.m. Wild Taxi: A Tribute Concert to Yusef, Cat Stevens & Harry Chapin at Cheney Hall.

Sunday, Sept. 17
1 p.m. -- 23 Walks: Center Memorial Park starting at the front steps of Town Hall, 41 Center Street.
1 - 4 p.m. -- Cheney Homestead open house, 106 Hartford Rd.

Monday, Sept 18
5 - 7 p.m. -- Parent Advocacy Workshop at Northwest Park Early Childhood Center.
6:30 p.m. -- Learn to Salsa Dance at Whiton Library.

Tuesday, Sept 19
6 - 7:30 p.m. -- Manchester Youth Commision meeting at 41 Center St.

Wednesday, Sept. 20
Noon - 5 p.m. -- Red Cross Blood Drive at Manchester Community College, Great Path.
4:30 - 7:30 p.m. -- Northwest Park Farmer’s Market at 448 Tolland Tpke.
6 - 7:30 p.m. -- Teen Blindfold Taste Test at Mary Cheney Library.
6 - 8 p.m. -- Sports Hall of Fame Exhibit Opening, Leisure Labs at Mahoney Center, 110 Cedar St.
6:30 p.m. -- History of Connecticut Food at Whiton Library.
7 p.m. -- Boy Scout Troop 25 Joining Night at 11 Center St.

ALSO:

There will be food, crafts, music and more at the Hilliard Fest this weekend; the annual MACC 'Fill The Freezer' drive starts today.

• MACC’s 6th annual ‘Fill the Freezer’ event is today starting at Urban Lodge at 4:30 p.m.. Click here for details.

• Celebrate Manchester’s 200th anniversary with food, crafts, music and more at the Hilliard Fest from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

• Witness history at a Civil War Reenactment on Saturday and Sunday at Wickham Park.

• Downtown Scarecrow registration deadline is Monday. Scarecrows will be displayed on Main St. from Oct. 7 - 29.

• Manchester Road Race registration is under way (1818 have signed up through Wednesday) and you can find the registration form here, plus some key dates leading up to the race by clicking here.

• Before and after school programs are available through the Manchester Early Learning Center. Click here for more info.

• Labworks for Teens is a free program for students in grades 9-12 that begins on Sept 25.

• The Teen Center at YSB (63 Linden St.) is open Monday - Thursday from 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. Click here for details.

NW Park will be buzzing a week from Friday; the CCGC Fall Fest is Saturday, Sept. 23 and the Elks have a special event Sept. 29.

• The town has a big 'Light Up The Sky' drone show at NW Park on Sept. 22 and the details are here.

• Manchester Land Trust’s Giant Tag Sale will run from Sept 22 - 30 at 300 Bush Hill Rd.

• The CCGC Family Fall Fest will include a petting zoo and bounce house. Click here for more details.

• 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 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.

• 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: Our 'OneManchester Planner' has more listings through the end of the year. Click here to check that out.

OTHER NEWSLETTERS and CALENDARS:

Better Manchester Magazine: Read about ‘A New Age of Golf’ at Manchester Country Club, ‘September Events Spotlight’ (there are plenty) and take a tour of Charter Oak Park with one of the park’s rickshaw pilots.

Manchester Historical Society: Porter St. School pic from 1914 (plus a story on Porter himself); open house and history walk info, and note that the History Center will be closed Saturday.

Manchester Matters: Free Family Events, Recreation Registration, Energy Assistance Program and more. Click here to subscribe.

• WORK_SPACE: Co-working spaces, Gallery/Exhibit photos and information and more

• Downtown Manchester Special Services District

• Town of Manchester Downtown Calendar

• Cheney Hall's LTM Calendar and Tickets

Manchester Greater Together Community Fund has issued an open call to apply for grant funds. Click for info.

Weather has been wrecking havoc on the outdoor season so far, but the MHS volleyball team has played both of its scheduled matches and will take a 2-1 record into Windsor tomorrow evening. Click here for the complete MHS fall sports schedule and here for more Manchester sports pictures.

ALSO:

• Visit the Manchester Sports Hall of Fame at its new home at the Mahoney Center and take in the exhibit opening on Sept. 20.

• 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

Elisabeth Bennet (1881-1959), known for her heroism but also responsible for establishing the first school library in town, is the second Manchester legend to be memorialized by sculpture -- the first being Olympian Joe McCluskey (1911-2002), whose image is opposite Highland Park Market. The third installment will honor author Emily Cheney Neville (1919-1997). Read more here.

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Town Troubadour Bill Ludwig and Town Historian Susan Barlow had parts is this morning's program, which also featured remarks by Mayor Jay Moran and a song performed by Bennet Academy Students.

• 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.