Youth, environment focus of Merced Art Hop

Empowering young people is the theme of Merced’s latest downtown celebration of arts and culture.

Merced Art Hop is from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 16, along Main Street, generally between G and N streets. Dozens of businesses throughout the downtown will host artists.

This time around, the quarterly celebration of self-expression is teaming up with the Merced County Office of Education. The organizers worked to gather youth-oriented service groups, which will represented at the event.

Bob Hart Square and other landmarks will host several hands-on art activities, including stick painting, egg decoration, magazine collage and coffee-filter projects. There also will be activities with mini-art books and yarn.

The Hop is also incorporating Earth Day into the events. The day set aside to be mindful of conservation and stewardship of the planet is a week away.

Art Hop organizers raise funds year-round to pay for the event – free to all hop-goers – which draws thousands of people downtown. The event celebrates self-expression through art, dance, music and more, but it also introduces its visitors to shops they may not otherwise see.

The Epekel Gallery, Art Hop’s own gallery at 1733 Canal St., features the work of students during the event.

The Merced Multicultural Arts Center will have its doors open for its exhibit, the 10th annual Arts Merced Printmaking Show. There is no charge to visit the center anytime it’s open.

Saturday is forecast to be sunny with a high temperature in the upper 70s, according to the National Weather Service.

For more, go to mercedarthop.org.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Youth, environment focus of Merced Art Hop."