The art of the trade will be on display with SparkMV, a new event where kids are invited to experience a variety of trade work and get their hands dirty with tools.

The event takes place Oct. 26 at the Agricultural Hall from noon to 4 p.m. SparkMV is hosted and sponsored by the Martha’s Vineyard Builders Association, Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellowship, Specialty Builder Supply and others. Many trades will be on display, from electrical to HVAC systems, insulation to flooring, all for the kids to get the experience. 

The aim of the event, organizers said, is to encourage the next generation to explore careers in the trades. 

“The idea is to give kids and families hands-on experience of tools and materials and direct person-to-person contact with the vibrant community of tradespeople we have on the Island,” said Newell Isbell Shinn, former president of the builders association.

The building blocks of the event started from conversations with the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, ACEMV and MV Youth, about how to better connect the Vineyard’s younger population with careers in the trades.  

“We as a society have been so focused on college across the region,” Mr. Isbell Shinn said. “The high school apparatus is set up to prepare people through that system. The whole range of career options and possibilities that don’t include going to college are kind of an afterthought, so the conversation that’s been going on is how do we get that message out to kids and families?” 

SparkMV coordinator and Vineyard Vision fellow Anna Koppel is passionate about integrating the trades more fully with the Island’s youth.  

“There’s so many people who are retiring or aging out of the trades and nobody is coming to replace them,” she said. “What does that look like for our future here? On an Island that relies so much on trades, between construction and agriculture, I think that we need to shift the narrative of what it means to be in the trades.” 

This event is part of a larger national movement called TradesUp, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to connect people to the trades with a variety of different programs.

Ms. Koppel is excited to see kids light up while working with their hands.

“My little girl loves to help Daddy fix something and have a wrench in her hand,” she said. “I hope that [SparkMV] will create a renaissance of new interest, love and passion in the trades.”