29th year of Starry Starry Night in Orange ushers in new ice sculptors
Published: 12-14-2024 9:54 PM |
ORANGE — Ice sculptures returned as a feature of Starry Starry Night in 2023, a year after insufficient funds meant they couldn’t be ordered in time, and this year, organizers have enlisted two new artists to carve the popular pieces.
Cody Stosz, from Amherst, and Nathan Peterson, of Leverett, will be on hand earlier in the day on Dec. 31, to prepare the sculptures for the 29th rendition of Starry Starry Night, a regional celebration of New Year’s Eve. Festivities are planned from 6 to 10:30 p.m.
“That’s a fabulous thing for families to come to,” Dottie Verheyen, the Orange Revitalization Partnership’s chair of the Starry Starry Night Committee, said of the sculptures.
The installations are part of a slew of sights to see. The night consists of performers, ranging from bands to magicians to dancers and more. The performances are on a rotating schedule at venues throughout town. The full schedule is available at starrystarrynight.org/performers.
“I love seeing the people and the happiness that it brings,” Verheyen said. “I’m kind of hoping it will snow the week before. That would be cool.”
Sandra Fawn, who sits on the Orange Revitalization Partnership’s board of directors, said the Inside/Out Dance Company’s performances at Orange United Methodist Church are a big draw and “it’s always a packed a house.”
Other performers will include Adam S.Z. and the Inner Fiyah, The Can Collectors, Elvis Presley impersonator Denis Cormier and comic mime artist Robert Rivest. Fireworks conclude the festivities at 10:30 p.m.
“I think Starry Starry Night is a really valuable and wonderful community resource for the families and for everybody to enjoy on New Year Eve,” Fawn said. “Everything about it is special, what can I say?”
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The Orange Revitalization Partnership started Starry Starry Night in 1995 and the event is made possible through the generosity of local businesses, town cultural councils throughout the North Quabbin region and donations from residents.
“There were some folks in town that had been to Boston and then down to Hartford and seen … First Night and loved it, and knew that they couldn’t afford the rights to a First Night celebration,” Verheyen said of the event’s origins. “So they came up with the name Starry Starry Night and voilà. Lots and lots of volunteer man-hours and it’s continued.”
The event will include free hot cocoa at Dave’s Arcade at 1 East Main St. Also, Starry Starry Night is when the Orange Merchants Group will announce the winner of its sixth annual lamppost-decorating contest. People can vote for their favorite lampposts at bit.ly/4aqmWB5. Voting concludes on Dec. 27.
More information about Starry Starry Night is available at starrystarrynight.org or by emailing Fawn at sandrafawn@gmail.com.
To make a donation to support Starry Starry Night, send a check to the nonprofit Orange Revitalization Partnership, P.O. Box 347, Orange, MA 01364.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.