a circle of kids play a game in a blackbox theater

Arts Spotlight: Andy’s Summer Playhouse

NICOLE S. COLSON Andy’s Summer Playhouse board and staff provide full access to programming—but it’s the kids who are running the show. “They are running tech boards during the performance, they are building the set and gathering costumes,” said artistic director Jared Mezzocchi.  As its website explains, Andy’s is a youth theater in Wilton that

stage full of kids of all ages in costume

Arts Spotlight: MoCo Arts

NICOLE S. COLSON MoCo Arts is empowering the youth of Keene by helping them find themselves through arts education. MoCo Arts is a family-centered nonprofit arts education organization in downtown Keene. They offer classes in dance and theater for students ages 6 months to 18+ years (select classes for adults). During the summer, MoCo runs

a stage full of kids dancing in different colored costumes under blue lighting

Arts Spotlight: New Hampshire Dance Institute

NICOLE S. COLSON No matter where they come from, their family background or skill level, when NHDI students take the stage at the end of the week and show what they’ve learned to an audience—they are all dancers. The non-profit arts and education organization known as New Hampshire Dance Institute offers year-long, summer and residency

Free Events on the Arts & Culture Calendar

The Discover Monadnock arts and cultural calendar has several broad arts categories. These make your favorite types of events easier to find! Search for dance, music, comedy, theatre, spoken & written word, nature, film, and more. For those who enjoy all the arts but prefer to stay close to home, filtering by town is also

Friends of Public Art/17ROX: Arts Spotlight

NICOLE S. COLSON Georgia Cassimatis saw the city of Keene as a blank canvas, the creatives who work here as artistic media, and her organization as the connecting bridge to everyone. Creating access to art for all was her goal when she founded the nonprofit group, Friends of Public Art. Similarly, removing barriers for artists

Arts Spotlight: Peterborough Folk Music Society

NICOLE S. COLSON By definition, folk is the people’s music—and Deb McWethy gives the people what they want, helping to make the art form accessible to everyone. As the founder of the Peterborough Folk Music Society (PFMS), McWethy has planned an annual performance series in Peterborough for the past 25 years. It’s been her mission

Advocate for Your Local Parks with These Strategies

by Luke Murray Public parks are invaluable additions to many communities across the U.S., but unfortunately, they are often underfunded or aren’t maintained the way they should be due to a lack of city or state employees. That’s why so many citizens have become public park advocates, ensuring that their local spaces are safe spots

Artists: Find support in the Monadnock Region

Article by Abby Holt Getting discovered as an artist is hard work. While there are a lucky few that wind up in a “right place, right time” situation, most of us have to live up to the starving artist persona. Fortunately, there are ways that we can set ourselves up for success. Many artists find