Painted fire hydrant. Courtesy/Los Alamos MainStreet

MAINSTREET News:

Los Alamos MainStreet is looking for interested parties to participate in a fun, new art contest to coincide with the Los Alamos ScienceFest taking place Sept. 5-13.

If you are any artist, you can help make our town more beautiful and bring pedestrian traffic to downtown by painting selected fire hydrants in the Los Alamos MainStreet district down Central Avenue!

Up to nine fire hydrants may be painted and may include:

• In front of the Bradbury Museum
• Across Central Avenue from CB FOX, in front of 106 Central Ave. (Fusion
• Multisport)
• On the lawn at Fuller Lodge, on Central Avenue. (The hydrant nearest the
• elephant statue.)
• In front of the Municipal Building, 1000 Central Ave.
• At the northeast corner of Central and Oppenheimer (in front of the library
• parking lot)
• Near the stage at Ashley Pond, near the NW corner of 20th and Trinity)
• Bathtub Row in front of Fuller Lodge Art Center.

All hydrants must be painted by Sept. 5. Voting will take place and winners will be announced Saturday, Sept. 13 at the ScienceFest Expo Day at Ashley Pond. Votes may be cast at the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce or the day of Sept. 13 prior to announcing of the winner.

Prizes for first, second and third place will be awarded, in the form of Chamber Checks for $75, $50 and $25.

All paints will be provided by Los Alamos MainStreet according to Los Alamos County Utilities.

Fire hydrants will remain painted until their next regularly scheduled repainting.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE TOP PART REMAIN ITS ORIGINAL COLOR! Fire hydrants are color coded so that fire personnel know at what pressure the hydrant is rated. While small accents or design elements may be permissible on the top (bonnet) it is of utmost importance that the original color remain unchanged.

For more information, contact Joanne Kozuchowski at 505.672.9007 or kozuchow22@gmail.com

Interested parties should submit a rough sketch of their design idea(s) by Wednesday, Aug. 27. Selected artists will be notified thereafter. Paints will be available, and hydrants should be painted by Sept. 5. 

When thinking of a design, it is recommended to tie in with the location of the hydrant, i.e. a science theme (scientist) in front of the Bradbury Science Museum, a gumball machine across from CB FOX, fireman across from the Fire Department at the Muni building, a librarian in front of library, a boy scout by Fuller Lodge, a theatrical theme near the stage, etc.

Use the templates provided by Kozuchowski to sketch your design and return it:

• in person to Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce, 109 Central Park Square
• by email to kozuchow22@gmail.com
• by mail to:

Los Alamos ScienceFest, Sept. 5-13, is a weeklong festival that celebrates Los Alamos, as a center of science and creativity. The festival features an exciting line-up of interactive demonstrations, creative competitions, dynamic speakers, community tours and educational-flavored social gatherings to engage families and youth in science. Learn more at LosAlamosScienceFest.com

Los Alamos MainStreet produces Los Alamos ScienceFest in partnership with Los Alamos Creative District and Los Alamos County. A committee of community partners, organizations and local businesses leads the festival.

Los Alamos ScienceFest is sponsored in part by The Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce, Los Alamos National Bank, Horizons Sustainable Financial Services, Positive Energy Solar, Hubble Electro-Mechanical, BMW of Santa Fe, The Education Plan, Los Alamos Medical Center, First National Santa Fe, and Lumenscapes 360.