ORANGE — Just as the parade of people carrying stars, blowing kazoos and yelling, “Happy New Year” to onlookers reached Memorial Park, heavy snow began falling.
But instead of finding shelter, small crowds of people huddled together and looked upward, as fireworks of red, green and gold exploded, illuminating the falling crystals.
The 24th annual Starry Starry Night New Year’s Eve celebration happened Tuesday, featuring live entertainment, ice sculptures, a bonfire, parade and fireworks.
“I’ve heard about this for years, and I knew I had to see it for myself,” said Brian Young, who grew up in Athol, but came down from Brattleboro, Vt., to experience Starry Starry Night.
Zeke Winter, also of Brattleboro, Vt., said he appreciated the variety of things to do and see at Starry Starry Night.
“It’s been really fun,” Winter said. “We got to see Trevor the Games Man and an illusion-magician guy. The best was Danny (Forlano, the comedian who performed at Town Hall).”
Along with Town Hall, several of Orange’s churches opened their doors for performances, with people bouncing between the different venues throughout the night.
At the Central Congregational Church of Orange, the Athol-based, father-son trio The Glovers had the crowd clapping along to songs like Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” and Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are.”
“Billy Joel is like my favorite, so this was so cool,” said Bill Curtis, of Athol, who added that Starry Starry Night is a great opportunity to see local talent and enjoy traditional “first night” celebrations without having to travel.
“You know, you can go to Worcester or Northampton, but there are people here with a lot of talent,” he continued. “There are places to go right here.”
Stage on Main, 17 South Main St., a volunteer-run arts center, opened this year and was a new Starry Starry Night performance venue, hosting Athol rapper Izzy Raw.
“It’s very different,” said Candi Fetzer, of Orange, noting that Izzy Raw’s brand of hip-hop might not be what some would expect at a Starry Starry Night performance.
At around 10 p.m., the traditional Parade of Stars also made its way from Town Hall to Memorial Park, led by professional stilt-walker Trevor the Games Man, who barely took a breath in between booming out “Happy New Year” repeatedly.
Others in the parade carried large, cut-out silver stars, or blew kazoos in memory of the late Kenneth Reynolds, who was the Starry Starry Night parade coordinator in 2016 and 2017.
“I wouldn’t miss this. It’s awesome,” said Trevor the Games Man, a Seuss-esque striped top hat perched atop his head.
At Memorial Park, three ice sculptures awaited, carved by Mark Bosworth, Mike Legassey and Susan O’Sullivan.
Children took turns hopping onto the ice-sculpted bench, or taking pictures with the owl, its ice shimmering with the multi-colored reflections of the Memorial Park Christmas lights. People gathered around the sculptures and along the Millers River for the fireworks display above the Fire Station.
Starry Starry Night is put on by the Orange Revitalization Partnership, and facilitated by volunteers and sponsors. According to this year’s organizer, Crystal Parent, more help is needed to run the event in the future.
The 2020 event will be the 25th annual, and the organizing committee is looking for more volunteers, both for planning the event and for the night of the event itself. To get involved as a Starry Starry Night volunteer, contact Crystal Parent at orp.starrystarrynight@gmail.com.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.