etterBmanchester

A Space to

MEETLEARN

CREATEWORK

page 4

WORKING TOGETHER

page 9

PROGRAM & EVENT

GUIDEpage 14

etterBmanchester

Volume 7 Edition 3 Winter/Spring 2017-18

Better Manchester Magazine is an official publication of the Manchester Public Schools & the Town of Manchester Department of Lei-sure, Family and Recreation dedicated to bridging communication among Manchester policy mak-ers, service providers, and the public.

SUBSCRIPTIONMailed to all Town of Manchester residents and available at townofmanchester.org and mpspride.org

PUBLISHED BY:Town of Manchester Department of Leisure, Family and Recreation & Manchester Public Schools

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFChristopher J. Silver

EDITORIALRosaleen TorreyJim FarrellJames CostaSamantha Bell

COPY EDITSamantha Bell

ILLUSTRATORMeghan Williams

ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHYPaul Ofria

CONTENT DESIGN & LAYOUTNicolas S. Arias

CONTACT INFORMATIONTown Hall Customer Service 41 Center StreetManchester, CT 06045(860) 647-5235

ADVERTISE IN THIS PUBLICATIONJournal Inquirer, AdvertisingRoseAnn Read, Account Executive(860) 646-0500 Ext. 260rread@journalinquirer.com

Innovative. Forward thinking. Outside the box.

When you think of these words, what comes to mind? There are a lot of good an-swers but my guess is no one’s first thought was: “local government.”

But when 65% of children who enter kindergarten this year are being educated for a job that doesn’t exist yet [see “Working Together,” page 9], it is vital for our towns and schools to rethink the way they prepare their children and their com-munity for the future of work. This issue of Better Manchester Magazine explores how a new grant and a new position are providing opportunities for Manchester Public Schools to develop its “wider learning ecosystem” outside the classroom.

The cover story [see “A Space to Meet, Learn, Create, Work,” page 4] shows why WORK_SPACE, Manchester’s municipally-operated meeting and cowork-ing space is the premiere micro-conference center East of the River and how the Town’s partnership with Manchester Community College and the Manchester Community College Foundation makes it one of the best places in Connecticut to Meet, Learn, Create and Work.

And when you’re done reading about it, come see for yourself at WORK_SPACE’s Launch Party on January 29! (That’s just one of the perks of living in a Town that isn’t afraid to think outside the box.)

I’ll see you there!

Christopher J. SilverEditor-In-Chief, Better Manchester MagazineDirector, Department of Leisure, Family & RecreationTown of Manchester

Editor’s Message: THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Winner of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities

Municipal Excellence Award

Holiday Gift Ideas at MANCHESTER COUNTRY CLUB

THE 2018 MCC GOLF PASS This is a great gift for the golfer in your family!

4-DAY GOLF PASS UNLIMITED PLAY Monday through Thursday anytime during the 2018 season for ONLY $425.00!

7-DAY GOLF PASS UNLIMITED PLAY Monday through Thursday anytime AND Friday through Sunday at 12:00 PM or later for ONLY $545.00!

All 2018 Golf Pass members will automatically be entered to win one of two FREE golf passes for the 2018 season as well! Win-ners will be announced in the spring of 2018.

Cart fees apply: $14.00 for 9 holes or $23.00 for 18 holes.

GIFT CARDS ARE AVAILABLE ALL SEASON LONG!

Give the golfer in your family a gift card for Manchester Country Club for the 2018 season!

Gift cards are valid for golf, cart fees, golf shop merchandise, and instruction as well as the Waterview Cafe. (Open year round!)

CONTACT THE MCC GOLF SHOP FOR MORE INFORMATION 860.646.0226 X1

GIVE THE GIFT OF

GOLF THIS HOLIDAY!

CONTENTS A Space to Meet, Learn, Create, Workpg 4

Working Togetherpg 9

Market Nights Seeking Vendorspg 13

Department of Leisure, Family, & Recreation Program and Event Guidepg 14

These days when Leonard Wik goes to work, he opens a glass door on downtown Main Street into an open air gallery. One of the staff—usually either Lori or Glenda—greet him warmly at reception. Sometimes

he lets them know that he’s expecting a client later that day, feeling confident that his guest will receive a warm welcome at the door and assistance finding his office. Upstairs he enjoys coffee and conversation with one of his coworkers before he makes his way into his office ready for the day.

Just another morning in corporate America…

Except Leonard doesn’t work at a corporate office. He’s a licensed insurance agent working independently out of WORK _ SPACE,

Manchester’s municipally-operated Meeting & Coworking Space, and his “coworkers” are others like him, independent contractors and entrepreneurs—fellow WORK _ SPACE members—who share a kitchen, common space, front desk, and all the supports and ame-nities WORK _ SPACE provides.

For Wik, who had been working out of a home office for over two decades, the benefits of the space are tremendous. “Since I’ve joined, I’m already seeing results in the form of more face to face meetings,” says Wik. “I’ve worked in Manchester this entire time but having a downtown office is so much more convenient for cli-ents. The location, the welcome guests and clients receive—I just can’t recommend it enough.”

Continued on page 6.

A Space to

MEETLEARN

CREATEWORK

4 // Better Manchester Magazine Winter-Spring 2017-2018

A NEW MANAGER AT WORK _ SPACE

Over the course of my fifteen-year career

as a Life & Career Coach, I have come across so many professionals seek-ing an antidote to their feelings of overwork, un-derappreciation, and lack of fulfillment in corpo-rate America. It has been a stimulating challenge to

help clients identify their dreams, clarify their goals, develop actionable strategies, and create a structure of success.

It is now my distinct joy to be a part of a manage-ment team committed to fostering this sense of pos-sibility, positivity, and productivity in my home-town. With 2.5 floors of office, meeting, and event space and an extremely hospitable and attentive staff, WORK_SPACE welcomes entrepreneurs and creative professionals seeking an innovative atmosphere, col-laborative culture, and stimulating energy in which to meet, learn, create, and work.

We hope that you will come and visit us to take a tour, spend a day getting some work done, or host a meeting or event. And please, put our grand reopen-ing event on your calendar for Monday, January 29th so we can introduce you to our members, our space, and our plans for the future.

See you soon,

Stacey ZackinWORK _ SPACE Manager

WORK _ SPACE associates Lori Dusza & Glenda Hernandez are the friendly faces responsible for greeting guests, members, and meeting room patrons during hosted hours. Lori is a long-term Town of Manchester Recreation Di-vision employee, and a favorite swim instructor, with a back-ground in office management. Glenda Hernandez joined the team while continuing her role as Bennet Leisure Center Fam-ily Fun Night coordinator and working toward a degree in Early Childhood Education at Manchester Community Col-lege.

3RD FLOOR LOFT

1ST FLOOR

2ND FLOOR

KEYDEHN GALLERY

SEMINAR ROOMS

CONFERENCE ROOMS

PRIVATE OFFICES

WORK_SPACE COMMONS

DEDICATED DESKS

KITCHEN SPACE

VISCOGLIOSI ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER

BATHROOM

DEHN GALLERY

CONFERENCEROOM 1

SEMINAR ROOM 1SEMINAR ROOM 2

WORK_SPACE COMMONS

DED

ICAT

ED D

ESK

V.E.C.

CONFERENCEROOM 3

CONFERENCEROOM 2

KITCHEN

WORK _ SPACETHE TEAM

WELCOME TO WORK _ SPACE

Winter-Spring 2017-2018 Better Manchester Magazine // 5

Coworker Memberships

Monthly Fee Building Access Keys/Fobs Conference

Room CreditsSpace

DiscountsMailing Address

Guest Day Pass $20 M - F, 10 AM - 4 PM 0 0 N N

Student $50 24/7 1 0 N N

Daytime $80 M-F, 10 AM - 4 PM 1 0 N N

Nights & Weekends $100M- F, 4 - 10 PM

S/S, 6 AM - 10 PM 1 0 N N

Full-Time $125 24/7 1 6 Y Y

Dedicated Desk $200 24/7 1 8 Y Y

Private Office (small)* $500 24/7 2 5 Y Y

Private Office (large)* $600 24/7 2 6 Y Y

Private Office (premier)* $750-950 24/7 3-4 6 Y YCoworker Benefits: Wi-Fi, print/fax/copy/scan, coffee & tea, and free parking at the Cottage Street parking lot. * = 1 parking pass for the Purnell Place parking lot

MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS Become a Member Today!

WHAT IS WORK _ SPACE?In the heart of downtown Manchester, WORK

_ SPACE (formerly known as Axis901 & MCC on Main) is 2.5 floors of Main Street real estate dedicated to providing small businesses, non-profits and entrepreneurs with space to meet, space to learn, space to create, and space to work.

WORK _ SPACE is a welcoming, flexible, and affordable Meeting & Coworking Space com-mitted to: providing a unique, centrally locat-ed meeting, workshop, and conference space for businesses, nonprofits, and creative pro-fessionals; supporting new and seasoned en-trepreneurs with educational and networking opportunities; providing a venue for artists and creative professionals to make and share their work; and hosting shared workspace for profes-sionals to house and grow their businesses.

Unique among Connecticut coworking spaces, Manchester stands out as a municipally-man-aged enterprise operating as part of a broader economic development strategy. “WORK _

SPACE is one of the things that makes Man-chester unique,” says Director of Planning and Economic Development Gary Anderson. “En-trepreneurs and small businesses are vital to the local economy. WORK _ SPACE exists to en-courage and support their success.”

6 // Better Manchester Magazine Winter-Spring 2017-2018

A SPACE TO MEETJust off I-84, a little north of Hartford, WORK _ SPACE is a con-venient midpoint between Boston and New York City. Its location makes it an ideal spot to host a regional conference (with plenty of break out rooms!) or serve as a rendezvous point between branch locations.

Ranging in capacity from 10—for one of the smaller meeting rooms—to 125—for a unique gallery and event space, WORK _

SPACE’s conference rooms are available to rent for businesses, non-profits, community groups, and individuals. Guests enjoy compli-mentary coffee, tea, and Wi-Fi; free parking in an adjacent lot; and a convenient downtown location, just steps from a burgeoning restaurant scene featuring farm-to-table, vegan, American, and in-ternational cuisine.

From the town’s perspective, WORK _ SPACE’s meeting rooms are a win-win: an opportunity to increase downtown foot traffic while generating revenue and business activity. Conference and event or-ganizers can feel good about choosing WORK _ SPACE, knowing that all rental fees go to support and educational programs and operating costs of WORK _ SPACE.

A SPACE TO CREATEWORK _ SPACE has its roots in a vision shared among the Town of Manchester, Manchester Community College (MCC), and the Manchester Community College Foundation of creating what MCC President Gena Glickman calls “an anchor for arts and en-trepreneurship” in downtown Manchester. MCC on Main’s Dehn Gallery remains core to WORK _ SPACE’s mission, providing an ideal space for creative professionals to host arts-based workshops and performances.

This year gallery co-curators and MCC professors Susan Clas-sen-Sullivan and Brett Eberhardt are offering an opportunity for a small group of students to receive hands-on gallery management experience at the Dehn Gallery. The professors encourage the pub-lic to join them for the first art opening of the New Year at 6:00 PM on Friday, February 2. Exhibit 222 will highlight student, alum-ni, and faculty work with a focus on social practice artmaking. (A sneak preview will also be offered in conjunction with WORK _

SPACE’s grand reopening celebration on January 29.)

Space Seating Capacity 1 - 3 hours (per hr) 3+ hours (per hr)

1st Floor Guest Member Guest MemberGallery 125 $175 $160 $160 $145

Seminar 1 & 2 30 $75 $160 $160 $145Conference 1 16/20 $50 $45 $45 $40

Entire 1st Floor 120 $325 $300 $300 $2752nd Floor Guest Member Guest Member

Conference 2 14/18 $50 $25 $45 $20Conference 3 10/16 $50 $25 $45 $20

MEETING, CONFERENCE & SEMINAR ROOM RENTAL RATES

Winter-Spring 2017-2018 Better Manchester Magazine // 7

A SPACE TO LEARNThe MCC Foundation’s Viscogliosi Entre-preneurship Center (VEC) is the home of WORK _ SPACE’s entrepreneurial educa-tional programs. In the past, the Center has offered a diverse slate of opportunities for entrepreneurs to tackle a variety of topics, from boosting their business’s social media presence to what it means to the unique challenges of women in entrepreneurship.

The Connecticut Small Business Develop-ment Center (CTSBDC) operates a branch at the VEC Center to provide entrepreneurs from the Greater Manchester area the op-portunity to receive small business coach-ing at no cost. CTSBDC State Director and Manchester liaison Emily Carter says the partnership is borne out of a shared entrepreneurial vision for Manchester and the greater Manchester community. “To-gether,” she said in a statement released last year, “we are better able to understand the unique needs of Manchester area small business owners and can help them solve problems and create opportunities further-ing their business or idea.”

A SPACE TO WORKWORK _ SPACE’s most innovative feature, and what makes it unique among meeting & conference centers East of the River, is its emphasis on coworking. Born out of the Silicon Valley tech scene in 2005, cowork-ing provides independent workers of all stripes—freelancers, start ups, independent contractors, and entrepreneurs—with the opportunity to attain a more collaborative

and more professional work environment.

Entrepreneurs who join a coworking space work alongside fellow "coworkers"—that is other entrepreneurs—sharing common space, work space, and other amenities. At WORK _ SPACE membership opportuni-ties are available at a variety of price points, with options ranging from shared desk space during hosted hours to 24/7 access with a dedicated office [See membership details, page 6.]

WORK _ SPACE is operated for the pub-lic good, and not for profit, membership is able to be offered at an affordable rate with discounts available for students. According to Phil Ly whose company I DO STREAM and LIVE EVENT STREAM employs over 10 staff members across the United States, one of the main benefits of membership is the opportunity to forge relationships with fellow entrepreneurs. “My business has been slowly building over the past 12 years, and during that entire time, our headquarters operated out of my house,” says Ly. “Since joining WORK _ SPACE I have enjoyed a much better quality of life, taking lunch breaks with other coworkers at one of the awesome downtown restau-rants. We talk about what it’s like being entrepreneur, share stories, and even leads. If WORK _ SPACE existed when I was just

getting started, it would have been so much easier for me.”

Stacey Zackin who took on the role of man-aging WORK _ SPACE in fall of this year plans to offer even more value to coworkers by providing them with opportunities to link up with Manchester’s broader business community. “It’s not just about providing space for entrepreneurs. It’s also about pro-viding the supports and know-how to help them accelerate their business to the next level.” She plans to draw on expertise of the VEC Center and CTSBDC, as well as her own professional background, to create a coaching-based, multi-week curriculum.

WHY WORK _ SPACE?“There is no space with a warmer welcome for entrepreneurs,” says Jamal Jimmerson, founder and executive director of the Mi-nority Inclusion Project and one of Hart-ford Business Journal’s 2017 “Forty Under Forty.” “I won’t name names,” he smiles, “but I’ve been to other coworking spaces in Connecticut, and they just don’t have the same vibe. We have all sorts of profession-als working here—a social media startup, women and minority owned businesses, nonprofits—and WORK _ SPACE wel-comes them all. The staff are kind, they care, and they really want you to succeed. Come check it out—you can’t go wrong!”

8 // Better Manchester Magazine Winter-Spring 2017-2018

WORKING TOGETHERBy Jim Farrell

ECOSYSTEM.

It conjures images of a rain forest, or a desert, or a coral reef—a place where things, living and not, interact with each other, a place that thrives, stagnates or even suffers depending on the balance of its ele-ments.

It’s not a word generally applied to communities or to school districts, but there it was, part of a recent announcement that Manchester had received a $300,000 planning grant from the Boston-based Barr Foun-dation to help develop its “wider learning ecosystem” and better posi-tion students for post-secondary success.

“The people, the businesses and institutions, the resources in our town—it’s all connected,” said Beth Hayes, who is the school district’s new director of school-business partnerships. “By working together, by creating more partnerships and stronger relations, everyone benefits. Not just our students, everyone.”

With assets of $1.7 billion, Barr is among the largest private founda-tions in New England and has contributed more than $834 million to charitable causes since 1999.

Manchester was among eight communities (there were 31 applicants) that received grants intended to find ways to redesign its high school model “to transcend the school walls and blend the lines between school, college, career, and the community” in order to help all stu-dents develop the competencies required for a 21st-century definition of student success.How will that happen?

That’s the question facing Hayes as well as Katelyn Miner, the princi-pal of Manchester High School (MHS), and others—including peo-ple outside the school district, such as April DiFalco, president of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Stacey Zackin, who oversees WORK _ SPACE, the town’s meeting, coworking and entre-preneurship space at 901/903 Main Street.

“We have a lot in place already,” said Superintendent Matt Geary, not-ing that the district’s mission statement includes creating partnerships in an effort to prepare all students “to be lifelong learners and contrib-uting members of society.”

School District is Building Partnerships with Local Businesses and Institutions

Winter-Spring 2017-2018 Better Manchester Magazine // 9

Geary, who served as principal of MHS from 2012-14, noted that MHS students have for years had opportunities to earn college credits from Manchester Commu-nity College and the University of Con-necticut. The high school also has part-nerships with local businesses such as the Northeast Family Credit Union (there’s a mini-branch in the high school cafeteria staffed at lunchtime by student interns), ECHN’s Manchester Memorial Hospital and more. And it recently underwent a re-organization that included the creation of themed academies for students in grades 10-12; options include Medical Careers, STEM and Design, Education and Public Service, Performing Arts and Communi-cation Academy and so on.

“We are committed to personalizing the learning experience for all of our students in the district, and this becomes increas-ingly important in the upper grades,” he said, adding that the Barr Foundation grant will help Manchester take “the next step” in developing anytime-anywhere learning opportunities.

Geary and others say the district is com-mitted to finding ways to further tap into community assets and create a menu that includes:

• Anytime-anywhere learning opportunities that en-able students to participate in experiential learning and build social capital in the community; and in-crease the school’s capacity to provide comprehen-sive, holistic programs of study.

• Career development experiences that promote stu-dents’ awareness of their interests and options, and deepen student engagement in school through con-necting the relevance of their coursework to their future plans.

• Early college experiences that expose students to the environment of post-secondary education and enable students to earn college credits while com-pleting the requirements for their high school di-ploma.

“The possibilities are endless,” said Hayes. “That’s what makes this all so exciting. You can take almost any segment of the Manchester community—especially the business commu-nity—and find ways to make connections that

benefit both our students and the community at large.”

As just one example, she pointed to restaurants and their role in the Manchester “ecosystem.”

Five years ago, the Chamber of Commerce be-gan sponsoring a "Chef ’s Challenge" fundrais-er that has become extremely popular. Held at Cheney Hall, the event brings chefs from local restaurants together to compete by preparing their favorite dishes for judges (and hungry guests).

This year, just weeks after beginning her new role, Hayes met with DiFalco to discuss ways that MHS students might get involved—and that conversation led to nine students who

were part of the high school’s culinary program each being assigned to serve as a sous chef preparing food for the participating restaurants.

“Our students did a phe-nomenal job,” Hayes said. “All of them were well-pre-pared, because the culinary program at the high school is very strong. But there’s nothing quite like working with actual professionals—and that’s what this day was all about.”

Emery Santora, general manager of The Main Pub, said she was impressed with the student—junior Sammi Zhang—who was assigned to her team as they prepared miniature salmon burgers.

“She went above and beyond to help out,” Santora said. “We were so impressed. I don’t know if she got a grade for the day—but it would have been an A+

from us.”

Among the chefs who competed that day was Ben Dubow, who works for Manchester Area Conferences of Churches, which recently opened Bistro on Main Street in the space for-merly occupied by Landmark Café.

Beth Stafford, the executive director of MACC, said she is excited about having MHS students work at the restaurant as interns, or employees, or through any other creative arrangement that might work.

“When we work together, everyone benefits,” said Stafford, who joined Hayes recently for a tour of MHS facilities that include its Silk City

“The future of Manchester is the high school students, and we should do everything we can to make their learning experiences as meaningful as possible.”

-Tris Carta

Students from Manchester High School assisted chefs from area restaurants at a recent fundraiser.

10 // Better Manchester Magazine Winter-Spring 2017-2018

She once worked for Travelers as an insurance

underwriter and contract analyst.

She has an masters in busi-ness education.

She taught business classes at Manchester High School.

With that sort of back-ground, Beth Hayes was an obvious choice when the district appointed her as the director of school-business partnership. However, she says her work as a school administra-tor—including two years as an assistant principal at Manches-ter High School and three years as principal of Illing Middle School—is just as important as she strives to build productive partnerships with businesses and institutions around town.

“My work as a school administrator has really reinforced for me that students are more likely to excel when they are provided with authentic, real-world learning experiences that prepare them for success in a rapidly changing and diverse world,” she said.

“Students do best when their learning is personalized, indepen-dent and connected to their interests and goals.”

Since July, Hayes has been going full bore, meeting dozens of members of the local business community and using her contacts around the school district to create and plan opportunities for students to job shadow, serve as interns or otherwise explore and contribute outside of the walls of MHS.

“Beth’s unique background and experience in the business world and in education made her the ideal candidate to support the next level of work in this area,” Superintendent Matt Geary said.

Hayes was at MHS from 2006 through 2014 and in addition to being promoted to department head (leading a staff of seven), she was in charge of the school’s Perkins Grant programs (pro-viding career and technical education) and was the the College Career Pathways coordinator, overseeing a program through which students earned college credit at Manchester Community College while still in high school.

“We have an excellent foundation,” Hayes said, adding that the district and, in particular, teachers at MHS have an extensive history of working creatively and collaboratively to give students many opportunities outside the walls of its school buildings.

Hayes said the district’s goal is to ensure that every student at MHS has the opportunity to extend their learning in real-life settings that let them demonstrate how academic content applies to work settings.

“I have found that business and community members are not only willing, but are very eager, to build or deepen partnerships with Manchester Public Schools,” she said.

Cafe—a bistro at the high school where students prepare and sell meals and more to MHS staff members.

Hayes noted that there are hundreds of food services establishments in Manches-ter (that includes everything from restaurants to nursing homes to gas stations that sell coffee to, yes, even school cafeterias.)

“It’s a huge industry—locally and nationally,” she said, adding that the food ser-vice industry is just one of many possible pathways to pursue as the high school seeks to build more and better partnerships.

She cited, though, the oft-quoted statistic that says 65% of children who started kindergarten this year will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist.

“We really need to develop programs to ensure that students are flexible, resilient, adaptable and able to think and communicate in new and different ways to solve problems,” said Hayes, who also recently met with WORK _ SPACE’s Stacey Zackin.

Hayes and Zackin are planning two events for early next year that will bring cur-rent and future entrepreneurs together.

Another example: Two students from the video production department at MHS served as moderators at a Chamber-sponsored Board of Directors candidate fo-rum in October.

Beth Stafford (right) stands next to Beth Hayes during a tour of the MHS culinary facilities.

MEET BETH HAYESSCHOOL DISTRICT’S NEW DIRECTOR OF

SCHOOL-BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPSHAS AN IMPRESSIVE BACKGROUND—

AND PASSION FOR HER WORK

Winter-Spring 2017-2018 Better Manchester Magazine // 11

The Barr Foundation grant—and the creation of Hayes’ position—have the district posi-tioned to do more in the area of business part-nerships, and there are positive developments

in the town’s Adult and Continuing Educa-tion world. The department recently received a $40,000 Workforce Readiness grant by the State Department of Education designed to promote the self-sufficiency of adult students by:

• strengthening their response to the needs of a rap-idly changing labor market;

• providing exposure to, and experience in, relevant industry sectors/career pathways through their aca-demic and career shadowing experiences;

• and ensuring that the state has workers with the necessary skills, competencies and credentials to ac-cess “middle skill” jobs and living wages.

Jim Spafford—a former MHS principal who is now the Adult and Continuing Education Department’s director of Business Services and Partnerships—said the funds will be used to support students who lack sufficient mastery of basic academic skills, do not have a second-

ary diploma, or its equivalent, and/or would benefit from exposure to, and experience in select career pathways.

Spafford, like Hayes, is constantly trying to create connections that might lead to opportu-nities for students.

And both say many people in the community are happy to help.

For example, Manchester dentist Tris Carta says his office is looking forward to beginning to offer job shadowing experiences to students interested in exploring careers in dentistry.

“The future of Manchester is the high school students,” Carta said, “and we should do ev-erything we can to make their learning experi-ences as meaningful as possible.”

“The possibilities are endless,” said Beth Hayes, the school district’s new director of school-business partner-ships, who arranged for MHS students to participate in the Chef’s Challenge. “That’s what makes this all so exciting. You can take almost any segment of Manchester community—especially the business community—and find ways to make connections that benefit both our students and the community at large.”

12 // Better Manchester Magazine Winter-Spring 2017-2018

Neighborhoods and Families Division153 Spruce Street • 647-3089 • reconline.townofmanchester.org

WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING THE FOLLOWING LOCALLY GROWN OR

PRODUCED ITEMS:

• MILK & DAIRY PRODUCTS• MAPLE SYRUP• HERBS• GRAINS, NUTS, SEEDS, & BEANS• LACTO-FERMENTED VEGGIES• GLUTEN FREE/CONVENTIONAL BAKED GOODS• VEGAN MILKS, CHEESES, & BAKED GOODS• LOCALLY ROASTED COFFEE• HANDCRAFTED KITCHEN TOOLS, TEXTILE PRODUCTS, & DECORATIVE ITEMS• OTHER ARTS & ARTISANAL ITEMS

Seeking Vendors for the 2018 Market Season

Farmers, artists, & artisans are invited to fill out an application for the Summer 2018 Market Season.

Applications are available at facebook.com/SpruceStreetMarketCT

or by calling (860) 647-3089.