Power Hour of Fun at the MAH
There are many ways to process the upcoming Inauguration Day on January 20. One minute of yelling at the top of your lungs with 150 other people may be one of the most cathartic. Luckily, this will be just one of the stress-relieving, ice-breaking, joy-inducing activities taking place at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History this coming Friday during Power Hour of Fun.
MAH Community Manager and founder of Power Hour, Elise Granata.
This participatory time-based event provides one non-stop hour of 60 different social and artful experiences, happening back-to-back every single minute. Power Hour of Fun was founded in November 2014 by the MAH’s Community Manager, Elise Granata. The event was initially designed to bring people together in celebration for Granata’s birthday party. Since then, she has developed the concept into a large-scale, interactive event that has been a sensation at conferences, events and parties around the Bay Area and New York.
The event aims to bond people through coordinated activities and artistic expression. Power Hour produces a similar effect to the surprise performances of New York-based Improv Everywhere’s “MP3 Experiments”, and the dramatic acts of Erwin Wurm’s “One Minute Sculptures”. In a world full of repression, boundaries, and division, Power Hour’s playful environment gives participants the freedom to break through any limitations for a rare, transformative experience of comedy, creativity, and connection.
At the beginning of Power Hour, Granata will start a video displaying instructions for each action, such as “Speed Figure Drawing”. As the group follows each prompt, hilarity ensues. Participants will arm wrestle with strangers, meditate with friends, high-five 100 people in a minute, play hide-and-go-seek, and 56 other fun-filled activities. Each synchronised burst of activity lasts only one minute, but all offer an opportunity to be wild, imaginative, and social. The experience lasts one hour and is sandwiched between a warm up and cool down party.
Power Hour is the January feature for the MAH’s ongoing 3rd Friday Festivals, one of the museum’s creative collaboration events. The monthly Festivals present programs around specific themes related to Santa Cruz County arts and culture, and are designed to connect diverse organizations, artists, and visitors of all ages. Other Festival events scheduled in the 2017 months to come include local guest speakers, poetry and book arts, community activism and social justice, the history of Santa Cruz, and music making.
In the mean time, get ready to make new friends and let your adventurous freak flag fly this weekend. Last year, Power Hour of Fun sold out the MAH. This year the event is expected to sell out again fast, so get your tickets online in advance!
3rd Friday Festival
POWER HOUR OF FUN
Friday, January 20th | 6-9pm
$10 General, $5 MAH Members
6-7pm: Arrive, play warm-up games in the galleries and museum lobby, grab a drink at the bar.
7-8pm: POWER HOUR
8-9pm: Cool down party.
See what Power Hour looks like here:
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