QUECHEE, Vt. -
A special delivery to the Quechee Gorge Village: a refurbished and artistically-inspired piano that will now call a shopping plaza home.
The Hopkins Center, a performing arts theater at Dartmouth College, is behind the project.
"Someone who had been in New York when they did this project in New York said wouldn't it be crazy if we had 50 pianos," said Erin Smith of the Hopkins Center.
The Hop, as it is known, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
It didn't take long for players to put the instrument to good use.
"It really ties in beautifully with our property," Robin Neil said.
Neil owns the property in Quechee and jumped at the chance to be one of the 50 sites in the Upper Valley selected to host a piano. In fact, she even offered an impromptu performance of "Chopsticks."
"There's budding musicians in all of us, so we welcome everybody to come and play," Neil said. "Even if it's 'Chopsticks.'"
On Monday another piano was shipped to the Tip Top Café in White River Junction.
All of the instruments were donated, some in better shape than others. They were fixed up and local artists put their stamp on the project.
"There are so many artists and musical people in the Upper Valley and it is just going to be great to have music filling the hallways. Hopefully it will come down to where we work," said Angelina Tagliatela of White River Junction.
The Tip Top piano can be drawn on with chalk, as well as played.
"Lots of families come in to the pottery place, so hopefully some kids will get excited about the piano and maybe it will inspire them to start taking music lessons," Tagliatela said.
"We picked places where people would be outside and find the piano, where people are congregating," Smith said.
The pianos will be available for the public all of July and then some businesses may be keeping them longer than that, helping to spread one of the missions of the HOP-- music all year long.
Click here for more on the Hopkins Center Hands on Pianos project, including a list of the piano locations.
