There's something essentially human about marking milestones — looking back, taking stock and moving forward with the expectation that what's ahead will be better than what's behind. As early 18th-century poet and satirist Alexander Pope famously wrote, "Hope springs eternal."
That's all well and good, Alex, but we're staring down 2024 here, and you never navigated a modern U.S. presidential election year. Hope and good cheer seem in short supply as we face political divisions, wars, racial inequity and climate change, among many other challenges, around the world and at home in Vermont.
But here's the deal: For better or worse, we're all in this together. Our problems arise from the people packed together on planet Earth — and the solutions will come from them, too. This New Year's Eve, let's usher in 2024 with as much of Pope's hope as we can muster, and let's do it together.
Our towns will be filled with makers, artists, musicians and other performers, ready to welcome the New Year with a bang — a literal bang of fireworks, in some cases. Burlington's Highlight and St. Johnsbury's First Night North are the two signature celebrations, but smaller parties are happening all over the state, too. From a roaring twenties-themed send-off in Greensboro to a kid-friendly countdown in Norwich, there are dozens of ways to join with your neighbors in revelry.
Will celebrating big on December 31 mean we'll face the New Year with optimism, resolved to tackle 2024's challenges with renewed vigor and fresh ideas? Here's hoping.
Burlington celebrates its sixth year of community-curated New Year's Eve festivities, with many events crowdsourced through the Bright Ideas Project, funded by VSECU, and coproduced by Burlington City Arts and Signal Kitchen. At more than 12 hours of programming along a walkable route of eight indoor and outdoor venues, partiers of all stripes can find their groove.
Circus Smirkus sets a high bar for indoor fun with three shows at Burlington City Hall Auditorium before the venue transforms into Swiftie Central. She's TIME magazine's Person of the Year for a reason, so count on the Taylor Swift Eras Tour Dance Party to be a crowd magnet, with DJ Love Doctor running through the record-setting tour's full three-hour set list on vinyl.
At Waterfront Park, Cirque de Fuego follows a jaw-dropping fire show with a crowd-favorite tradition: a controlled burn of a Champ effigy, designed by sculptor Chris Cleary. It's a symbolic sayonara to the outgoing year.
Those performances are what BCA communications director John Flanagan calls "obvious blockbusters," but he encourages revelers to check out other "more understated goings-on," such as the Illuminated Sculpture Garden by artists Clay Mohrman and Phoebe Lo at Waterfront Park and Specter, a series of glowing orbs around town created by artist Pete Edwards. The interactive spheres invite you to speak your hopes for the future — or anything you feel like telling them, really — and they'll respond through light.
Need to catch your breath? Don't miss Spiritual Soundings: Woodland Echoes at BCA Center. Scrag Mountain Music founder and co-artistic director Evan Premo and flutist Michael Laughing Fox Charette of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa perform an ambient-style musical meditation that invites deep listening and connection.
A few other Highlight highlights: Big Gay New Year at ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain; Skylark, chamber music paired with poetry, at the First Unitarian Universalist Society; make-and-take art activities at BCA Center; illuminated artmobile the Fluffy Bus and live music from psychedelic Latin masters Mal Maïz, indie rocker Greg Freeman and soul/funk/blues outfit the Nth Power at Waterfront Park; and family-friendly sets at Vermont Comedy Club.
Break out your noisemaker, put on your big plastic 2024 glasses and don't miss the 8 p.m. waterfront fireworks!
The merrymaking starts an hour earlier than usual this year at First Night North, possibly because organizers needed extra time to fit in more than 175 performers at nearly 70 shows popping up all around St. Johnsbury.
If you're an early bird who won't make it to midnight, Vermont's longest-running New Year's Eve festival offers plenty of front-loaded options to prevent FOMO. If you're ready to party 'til the ball drops, there's a Midnight Dance Party on Main Street, where ribbon-twirling revelers count down to the raising of the giant Ball of Lights. That's right: In St. J, the massive ball — built at the Foundry makerspace and larger than the one in New York City's Times Square — goes up.
Alyx the Magician kicks things off with a 3 p.m. show at the St. Johnsbury School before joining the on-site Family Fun Fair. She'll continue to perform strolling tricks while families check out crafts, a snake exhibit and an obstacle course.
Care for some music? Take your pick from more than a dozen genres. Artists include father-daughter folk duo the Bob & Sarah Amos Band at United Community Church, world music guitarist Hiroya Tsukamoto at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Abenaki singer-songwriter Bryan Blanchette at the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum and traditional Celtic group Islay Mist Ceilidh at South Church Hall.
Circus arts collective Cirque Us joins the lineup for the first time with a high-spirited performance — key word: high. The troupe needed an indoor venue that would accommodate its soaring acrobatics, so aerialists, jugglers and clowns will let loose in the lofty St. Johnsbury School gym.
Other headliners include musician-poet Toussaint St. Negritude, storyteller Djeli, martial arts-dance fusion outfit Didê Capoeira VT, the United Community Handbell Ensemble and high school a cappella stars the St. Johnsbury Academy Hilltones.
Nine straight hours of action means you'll likely need to refuel at some point. Your indoor pop-up and outdoor food truck options are vast, including pancakes; steamed pork buns; mac and cheese; Cuban, Filipino and Puerto Rican specialties; and fresh-made doughnuts.
Free shuttles run in continuous 15-minute loops among the dozen venues, so check the schedule and plan your itinerary — or hop on and off spontaneously and see what surprises await.
Highland NYE Masquerade: The Roaring '20s
A Prohibition-era bash — but with plenty of cocktails. Sunday, December 31, 8 p.m.-midnight, at Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro. $30. Info, 533-2000, highlandartsvt.org.
Last Night Fireworks in Taylor Park
An ooh-and-ahh-inspiring display of lights to send 2023 on its way. Sunday, December 31, 7 p.m., at Taylor Park in St. Albans. Free. Info, 524-1500, facebook.com/downtownst.albans.
New Year's Eve at Grizzly's
Live music, fireworks and a Champagne toast for the 21-plus crowd. Sunday, December 31, 8 p.m., at Grizzly's at the Base Lodge in Stratton. $40. Info, 297-4371, stratton.com.
New Year's at Noon
A morning of activities geared toward families with kids through age 12, with countdown celebrations every hour until noon. Sunday, December 31, 9:30 a.m.-noon, at the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich. $11 for members; $15 for nonmembers; free for children under 2. Info, 649-2200, montshire.org.
New Year's Eve With Mihali
Family-friendly fun featuring reggae singer-songwriter Mihali and an early Champagne toast countdown. Sunday, December 31, 7:30 p.m., at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury. $20-40. Info, 382-9222, townhalltheater.org.
'Oh What a Night'
A museum fundraiser with music by Route 5 Jive, dinner and desserts, a Champagne toast, and a bonfire. Sunday, December 31, 8 p.m., at the Main Street Museum in White River Junction. $35. Info, 356-2776, mainstreetmuseum.org.
A Toast to the Hive: New Year's Eve Party!
A raw bar, special cocktails, small plates, dancing to live music and a DJ, and a midnight toast. Sunday, December 31, 6 p.m.-midnight, at Barr Hill in Montpelier. $20-25; free for kids 18 and under. Info, 472-8000, sevendaystickets.com.