Today, Mayor Joyce Craig, along with the Manchester Transit Authority (MTA), announced the opening of four additional times for free holiday lights Trolley Tours for families on MTA’s Molly Trolley.
The trolley will offer additional tours of holiday lights on four dates in December: Saturday, December 11th, Sunday, December 12th, Saturday, December 18th and Sunday, December 19th. All tours will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Initially, Mayor Craig and MTA announced free holiday lights Trolley Tours on those four dates at 4:30 p.m., but tickets sold out within two hours.
“We saw an overwhelming response to our first round of tickets we released for the holiday lights tour. I’m so grateful to everyone at MTA who worked to double the amount of tours families can take to see the holiday lights displays across Manchester,” said Mayor Joyce Craig.
The Trolley Tours will depart from JFK Coliseum (300 Beech Street) and take participants to select holiday lights displays around Manchester. Tours are expected to take approximately one hour.
Tickets are limited and available on a first come, first serve basis. Reserve tickets.
Anyone interested in showing off their holiday light decorations can sign up to enter the Second Annual Manchester Holiday Lights Contest. Nominations are open until Thursday, December 9.
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Today, Mayor Joyce Craig and the Manchester Transit Authority (MTA) announced that for the entire month of December, all stops along Route 8 will be offered free of charge.
Mayor Craig and MTA began this offering during the holiday season in 2018, and are pleased to continue this tradition for the entire month of December.
"Downtown Manchester, the businesses along South Willow Street and the Mall of New Hampshire are all excellent places to do holiday shopping. By making travel free along Route 8, we’re hoping to give people riding the bus to go to work or shopping a stress-free experience for the holidays,” said Mayor Joyce Craig. “I’d like to thank everyone at MTA for working with my office to offer free travel along this route during the holidays since 2018.”
MTA’s Route 8 begins service at 5:30am and the last return to downtown Manchester is 6:25pm.
“Just this year, our South Willow St route is offering 30 minute frequency, eight times a day, on the hour from 7:00am to 5:00pm. This is one of MTA’s first routes to have increased frequency and the passenger ridership counts are proving successful,” said Ryan Renauld-Smith, Assistant Director, MTA.
MTA is encouraging Manchester residents to use the bus to access shopping on South Willow St. to mitigate traffic congestion. MTA also has pushed out their app, RouteShout 2.0, which allows passengers to have bus arrival time and bus location in real-time. In conjunction with a Free Fare on 8, there is no need to stand around wondering when the bus will arrive, download the app and hop on the bus.
MTA Route 8 makes thirteen regular loop stops -- the Downtown Manchester Doubletree Hotel, Michaels/Burlington Coat Factory Plaza on South Willow Street, Walmart on Gold Street, the Mall of New Hampshire, South Willow Street, and Downtown Manchester.
Full list of route stops and times.
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Saturday Basketball, sponsored by the Manchester Parks & Rec Division is returning to Beech St. School! Kids from across Manchester can join us on Saturdays from December 4th until March 26th.* There are designated 90 minute blocks for each age group. Pick-up games are encouraged, but there will always be a half-court open for shoot-around. Stop by and register!
Age Groups and Times
7-8 year olds 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
9-10 year olds 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
11-12 year olds 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
13-17 year olds 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
*No Saturday Basketball on December 25th or January 1st due to the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Manchester Water Works (MWW) has scheduled a conversion of the disinfectant chloramine used in our water treatment process to chlorine to begin December 7, 2021 and continue through March 31, 2022. During this time, you may notice a slight change in the taste and smell of your drinking water that has no harmful effects.
Periodically MWW switches the disinfectant from chloramine to chlorine for a maintenance of our water distribution system. Early on during the conversion MWW will also conduct selective hydrant flushing to enhance water quality. This procedure is a common practice for many U.S. public water systems that use chloramine as a disinfectant and the practice is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which regulates the safe use of chlorine and chloramine.
MWW routinely collects and tests water samples to monitor for chloramine and chlorine levels throughout the distribution system and will continue to do so during this period. Should you notice a change in the taste or smell of chlorine, MWW recommends:
- Run the cold water tap for two minutes. Run it for five to 10 minutes when water is not used for several hours.
- Refrigerate cold tap water in an open pitcher. Within a few hours, the chlorine taste and odor should dissipate.
- There are available filters that may reduce the chlorine taste and smell. MWW recommends using those that are either installed onto your faucet tap or using a pitcher-style filter. The filter should meet NSF certified safety standards and you should replace the filter as recommended by the manufacturer.
Individuals and business owners who take special precautions to remove chloramine from tap water, such as dialysis centers, medical facilities and aquatic pet owners, should continue to take the same precautions during the temporary switch to chlorine. Most methods for removing chloramine from tap water are effective in removing chlorine. Individuals with special health concerns should consult a health care provider on the use of tap water.
For more information, please review the Information Sheet on our website:
https://www.manchesternh.gov/Departments/Water-Works
Or contact the MWW Laboratory at (603) 792-2855 (Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
Today, Mayor Joyce Craig, along with the Manchester Transit Authority (MTA), announced free Holiday Lights Trolley Tours for families on MTA’s Molly Trolley. The trolley will offer free tours of holiday lights on four dates in December: Saturday, December 11th, Sunday, December 12th, Saturday, December 18th and Sunday, December 19th. All tours will begin at 4:30 p.m.
“This is a fun opportunity to celebrate the holiday season -- ride the trolley and see the holiday lights displays across Manchester,” said Mayor Joyce Craig. “This is just one of many free, family-friendly activities happening across the Queen City this holiday season, and I want to thank Manchester Transit Authority for making this festive activity possible!”
The Trolley Tours will depart from JFK Coliseum (300 Beech Street) and take participants to select holiday lights displays around Manchester. Tours are expected to take approximately one hour.
Tickets are limited and available on a first come, first serve basis. Reserve your tickets
This is the latest holiday event announced by Mayor Joyce Craig, following last week’s announcements of the Manchester Holiday Parade on December 4th at 4:00pm and the Second Annual Manchester Holiday Lights Contest.
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You can now find everything you need to know about the proposed redistricting plans for the city of Manchester on our City Redistricting page. The Board of Mayor & Aldermen will hold a public hearing on December 7, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chambers at City Hall for those Manchester residents wishing to provide feedback on the redistricting proposal. Those interested in the process by which a municipality is redistricted every ten years are encouraged to review the comprehensive 2020 Census Redistricting Report for Manchester on the Redistricting page using the link above.
If you have further questions on the process prior to the hearing, please contact the City Clerk's Office at (603) 624-6455 or by email at cityclerk@manchesternh.gov.
Today, Mayor Joyce Craig announced the second annual Manchester Holiday Lights Contest. Run by the Mayor’s Office and sponsored by Manchester Radio Group, this friendly contest encourages Queen City residents to decorate their homes and show off their holiday light displays for all to enjoy.
“After all the great holiday lights we saw around Manchester last year, we’re excited to continue this new tradition in 2021,” said Mayor Joyce Craig. “I’m looking forward to seeing all of the decorated homes throughout the city!”
All those interested in participating in the Manchester Holiday Lights Contest, can complete a registration form beginning Monday, November 22nd and ending at 5:00pm on Thursday, December 9th. Forms can be completed online, or printed and returned by email to mayor@manchester.gov or by mail to ‘Mayor’s Office, 1 City Hall Plaza, Manchester, NH 03101’.
All participating lights displays will be included in the public Manchester Holiday Lights Map, and prizes will be awarded to the top vote-getting holiday lights displays.
Judging forms will be available starting on Friday, December 10th, and must be completed and returned by Monday, December 20th at 5:00 pm.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday, December 22nd via Facebook Live.
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Parade begins at 4:00 p.m., following the BASC Santa Claus Shuffle at 3:00 p.m.
Today, Mayor Joyce Craig announced the City of Manchester will host the annual holiday parade on December 4, 2021. The parade was about to be cancelled earlier this week, but the City, in partnership with various community organizations and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, stepped forward to ensure the parade continues.
“The Holiday Parade is a great way to kick off the month of December,” said Mayor Joyce Craig. “The parade didn’t happen during the pandemic, so we’re looking forward to bringing one of Manchester’s beloved holiday traditions back downtown.”
John Clayton and Peter White will emcee the parade from Veteran’s Park in downtown Manchester. Currently, Memorial, West and Central High School marching bands will be participating and The National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 44 will be on hand to collect letters to Santa. Other participants include the Palace Theatres, the Manchester Fire Department, the Manchester Police Department, UNH Manchester, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Manchester Transit Authority, Santa Claus and more!
“We look forward to participating in this parade every year,” said Tim Roberts, President, National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 44. “We’ll have letter carriers walking the route collecting letters to Santa. We hope many people come downtown on December 4th to participate in the fun!”
Click here to sign up to participate in the 2021 Holiday Parade
The Holiday Parade will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 4. The parade will begin immediately following the BASC Santa Claus Shuffle, presented by Millenium Running.
“Our team at Millennium Running is excited to continue the tradition of having thousands of santas running and walking on Elm Street in the BASC Santa Claus Shuffle,” said John Mortimer, Owner and Founder, Millennium Running. “Kicking off the City’s Holiday Parade with the Santa Claus Shuffle that benefits the Safe Sports Network is a great way to kick off the holiday season.”
More information on the BASC Santa Claus Shuffle
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Happy Fall!
Please enjoy our Fall Newsletter and continue to enjoy our parks and recreational facilities.