New Year's Eve Celebrations Near Danbury

With the City of Danbury recently canceling their First Night celebrations after 25 years, local folks are looking for a safe and inexpensive alternative.

City Center Danbury’s Executive Director P.J. Prunty told the News Times they canceled the event due to dwindling attendance numbers.

Just a 45 minute drive from Danbury is Westport-Weston’s First Night. Their performance schedule for this year’s celebrations is jam-packed with fun! This year they will shoot the fireworks from a barge in the river, at 7:30 p.m.

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Buttons are now on sale for $15 a button (children age two and under are free). You can purchase your buttons at any of the businesses below or by clicking here.

• Saugatuck Sweets
• Westport Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport
• Historical Society, 25 Avery Place
• Westport Public Library
• Trader Joe’s
• Oscar’s Deli
• Weston Hardware

Schedule of First Night Events for 2016

Downtown Over the Saugatuck

• FIREWORKS • 7:30pm

Christ & Holy Trinity Church - Seabury Center

• THE GROOVE DUO • 6:15 - 7:00pm. The Groove Duo is a group of veteran musicians, performing a variety of music with their jazz sensibility. Come and get your groove on!

• “SOMETHING’S COMING” Broadway Baritone BEAU ALLEN anticipates the New Year in song. 7:30-8:15 p.m. A popular performer at Cobbs Mill Inn, Beau has appeared in 3 Broadway Shows: THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, and TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA. His credits include leading and featured roles in regional theaters including Fred Graham/Petruchio in KISS ME KATE, Daddy Warbucks in ANNIE, and King Arthur in CAMELOT. Beau recently appeared at the Ivoryton Playhouse as Mr. Simmons in MEMPHIS. Beau is also very proud to be a part of the Senior Choir at SOUTHPORT CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. Many thanks to Joan Lowry and Barbara Pierson for this very special opportunity.
• CHRIS COOGAN • 8:30-10:00pm. Chris Coogan returns to First Night. Always a favorite, Chris plays jazz and standards and your requests, weaving it all into a seamless, joyful tapestry.

Branson Hall

• AL BROZEK- FAMILY SQUARE DANCE • 5:45 - 7:15pm. Al Brozek is a veteran square dance caller who has guest called for square dance clubs throughout New England, New York and New Jersey. Be prepared to spin your partner around the floor, dance up a storm and have some fun with your family!
• SQUEAKY CLEAN • 8:30- 10:00 pm. Get your dancing shoes on and get ready to move to the music of the family-friendly rock and roll band SQUEAKY CLEAN. Their program will feature the best loved songs of the Golden Years of Rock and Roll, suitable for everyone from babies to seniors, including “Rock Around The Clock” “Lollypop” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and, of course, “Splish Splash.”

Westport Public Library - McManus Room

• DENNIS THE TRAIN MAN • 4 - 6:00pm. The very popular Dennis the Train Man returns with his collection of trains and tales to tell about them. Included this year is Amtrak, Thomas the Tank Train, the New York City Subway and the very special Harry Potter Hogwarth’s Express!!!

Westport Public Library - Main Room

• SURVIVORS SWING BAND • 3 - 4:30pm. Remember when you listened, sang, and danced to the great old tunes of the 1920’s through 1940’s? Has it been awhile? Let the Survivors Swing Band revive those memories for you and get your toes a-tappin’ and fingers snappin’ in the process! Do you want to dance, too? Get up and go for it!
• SARA WHEELER AND THE LITTLE GROOVE. 4:45 - 5:30, 5:45 - 6:30pm. Little Groove is an interactive music experience for children. The show is designed for children 7 and under. Children will have fun using real instruments such as drums, shakers, and tambourines. They will also interact with puppets, bubbles, balls, pom poms, and parachutes! Children enjoy being a part of the musical experience, using their bodies and voices to sing along to catchy songs.

Old YMCA Building

• ALLEGRA FARMS • 4 - 9pm Horse drawn carriage rides. A short break during fireworks.

Saugatuck Elementary School

• Gym: INFLATABLE PARK • 4:00 -9:00pm. A room full of inflatables for children to play and jump around while parents take a “breather.” No one with face painting will be permitted into the park, so please enjoy the fun before you enjoy the entertainment in the cafeteria while getting your face painted or grabbing a bite to eat.
• Cafeteria: BALLOON ARTIST • 4:45-8:45 p.m. Bibi the balloon artist will entertain your children with lovely balloon sculptures that will bring a smile to their faces!
• Cafeteria: VANESSA TRIEN AND THE JUMPING MONKEYS. 4:15-5:00pm, 5:30-6:15pm Boston-based singer-songwriter and children’s performer, Vanessa Trien, has become a local rock star among the young and young at heart. The “Nessa Groupies” sing and dance in the aisles at her packed shows with her lively band, the Jumping Monkeys, and can’t get enough of her three award-winning children’s CDs, including ‘Carnival Day’, ‘Hot Air Balloon’ and her latest release ‘Bubble Ride’.
• Cafeteria: WASHBOARD SLIM AND THE BLUELIGHTS • 6:45 - 8:45pm Washboard Slim and the Blue Lights are bringing jug band music into the 21st century. The music the Bluelights perform is at the very root of traditional American popular music. A typical Bluelights performance might include original music, early jazz, blues, swing, standards, jug band, gospel, pop music from the turn of the century and roots rock’n‘roll. Starting in 1986, they continue to perform at festivals, concerts and clubs throughout North America.
• Cafeteria: BILL HERNANDEZ CARICATURIST. 5:15-8:15 p.m. With over 21 years of professional experience and his ability to entertain an audience, Bill has established himself as one of the best and fastest caricature artists and entertainers in the United States. Bill is not just a caricaturist, but also a full time professional cartoonist, illustrator and owner of Graphics Interactive, LLC. Bill’s caricatures are FUN and flattering - capturing a person’s personality and likeness in a flash. His speedy pen and entertaining ways will assure any event to be “one to remember!”.
• Cafeteria: AMAZING FACE ART • 5 – 8pm. For an additional $3.00 you can literally be transformed. Amazing Face Art is truly amazing and kids and adults will be thrilled by their artistic creations. Amazing Face Art provides face and body painting, airbrush art, for any event in Connecticut and surrounding areas. It’s your children’s skin!! They only use the safest and highest quality face paints in the market. They are hypoallergenic, non toxic and FDA approved. Easily washes off with soap and water.
• Auditorium: JONATHAN GEFFNER VENTRILOQUIST • 5:15 - 6:00, 6:15 - 7:00pm. Westport is eagerly anticipating the arrival of a gang of “dummies” to help usher in the New Year. Assisted by renowned ventriloquist Jonathan Geffner, these endearingly hilarious puppets will perform their highly acclaimed show, “Puppet Power!” two times on Tuesday, Dec. 31st, New Year’s Eve, as part of the First Night Westport celebration. Jonathan was the ventriloquist consultant for Tina Fey’s 2013 movie, Admission. His unique ventriloquial and comedic talents have mesmerized audiences world wide. Don’t miss this side-splittingly funny show, suitable for ages 3 through 103, as Jonathan’s masterful vocal skills and hands bring his captivatingly wacky sidekicks to “life.”
• Auditorium: MAGIC GENIE • 7:45 - 8:45pm. Get ready for the thrill of your life. Here comes the Magic Genie. He has traveled around the world and has developed a presentation of magic that is astonishing, unbelievable and incredible. And, he plans on teaching you how to do some of it!!!

Westport Town Hall

• Room 201 & 201A: BIGELOW TEA HOUSE OF THE NEW YEAR MOON WITH FORTUNE TELLERS, PALM READERS, PSYCHICS, TAROT CARD READERS. 6:00 - 9:45pm. Wondering about the future? Worried about the present? Want some clues? Warm up with a cup of tea and have our experienced group read and interpret your palm, fortune or how your stars align. There is a $10 charge for 10 minutes and $1 for every additional minute. www.ctpsychics.com/
• Lower Auditorium: WESTPORT COMMUNITY THEATER. 7:00 -7:30pm, 8:45 - 9:15pm
• Auditorium: SILVER STEEL BAND. 7:45- 8:30, 9:15-10 p.m. The Award Winning Silver Steel is a Steel Drum Band based in Bridgeport, CT, directed by Jim Royle and assistant director Brian Ente of the Jim Royle Drum Studio. Silver Steel delights audiences with our infectious rhythms resulting in spontaneous dancing, uncontrollable joy, and perpetual smiles wherever we play! You can find Silver Steel playing many of your favorite Caribbean favorites as well as Latin, Rock, Soca, and Calypso styled music from Trinidad and Tobago. Jubilant crowds enjoyed arrangements of Santana, Disney, Jimmy Buffet, and The Who during our 2015 summer season, including our first appearance at The Norwalk Oyster Festival!
• Auditorium: The Hoot Owls • 6-6:45 pm. The Hoot Owls are the glee club for the Y’s Men. They have 20 members directed by the well-known musician and performer, Chris Coogan. They do about 15 performances a year with old songs and show tunes that their audiences know and love.

Toquet Hall

• SCHOOL OF ROCK • 8:00 - 10:00pm. School of Rock is the nation’s leading after-school music program, focusing on performance-based rock music education for kids age 7-18 and adults too! The school teaches guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals and aims to get students rocking both on stage and in life. With locations all over Connecticut and the U.S., there’s a school close to you! Check out SchoolofRock.com for more info and to schedule a free trial lesson today.

Westport Historical Society

• MARK NAFTALIN • 6 -8 pm
• Blues pianist Mark Naftalin, who was the original keyboardist in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, has recorded and concertized with John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Percy Mayfield, Buddy Guy, Van Morrison, and many other blues and rock greats. Mark will be accompanied by longtime Fairfield-County percussionist Barry Urich, who has backed Jose Feliciano and Lester Chambers (of the Chambers brothers) , and who is known for his many performances with area favorites Blue In The Face and The Twinkies. www.bluespower.com

Jesup Green

• WARMING FIRE • 6 - 10 pm
• STARGAZING WITH THE WESTPORT ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY • 4 -10 pm. Join the all volunteer members of the Westport Astronomical Society on the green for the very last views of Westport’s night skies in 2014. WAS members will have several telescopes for beautiful views of our first quarter Moon and the rest of the visible heavens beginning at sunset (depending on the weather). Check out the website www.was-ct.org

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