Musketaquid Arts & Environment Earth Day: Celebrating the Confluence of Art and Nature in Concord on April 30

Compiled by The Bedford Citizen

Happy Earth Day!

The Citizen spent a good part of Earth Day with Bedford artist Sing Hanson whose studio at The Umbrella Art Center in Concord is near the epicenter of preparations for the Musketaquid Arts & Environment Earth Day Celebration ~ Celebrating the Confluence of Art and Nature that will take place in Concord from 9:30 am until 2 pm on Saturday April 30, 2016 .

A splendid array of events is planned, and the public is invited to participate free of charge.

• At 9:30 am River Ceremony ~ By the river’s edge, behind The Old Manse at North Bridge.  Singing, drumming, and the launching of Earth Floats at the water’s edge. Come early to make your own Earth Float.
• At 11 am ~ Earth Day Parade ~ Procession from The Old Manse to The Umbrella Community Arts Center ~ Giant puppets, stilters, dancers, music, costumes, banners, community groups, families, and friends parade down Monument and Main Streets. Come early to watch the parade set up! Participants are invited to Adopt-A-Puppet to carry in the Parade. The Musketaquid website shows the collection of giant puppets to reserve and carry in the parade.  Made by artists and community members and groups, these beautiful puppets offer individuals and groups a fun opportunity to celebrate our local plant and animal species! To reserve a puppet, click here.
• At 11:45am ~ Arts & Environment Festival ~ On the front lawn of The Umbrella, with music, local food, kids and community activities, and table exhibitors.

Click each of the images below to see it at full size.

The Umbrella Art Center’s Art and Agriculture Project

In addition to the Musketaquid program, The Umbrella Art Center is also celebrating the culmination of the first year of its Art and Agriculture program where Concord farms and local artists were paired for a year’s worth of collaboration.

Hanson was paired with First Root Farm where she worked alongside the farmers and studied crops, particularly rainbow chard. To learn more about the project read https://thebedfordcitizen.org/2015/08/18/bedford-artist-sing-hanson-shines-in-concord-at-her-studio-and-at-first-root-farm/