FIRST NIGHT HARTFORD 2022 TO TAKE PLACE ACROSS A DOZEN VENUES IN DOWNTOWN HARTFORD
FIRST NIGHT HARTFORD 2022 TO TAKE PLACE ACROSS A DOZEN VENUES IN DOWNTOWN HARTFORD, WILL INCLUDE PERFORMANCES, ACTIVITIES, ART, AND ITS TWO TRADITIONAL FIREWORKS SHOWS
HARTFORD, CT – December 14, 2021 – First Night Hartford is back for 2022 with in-person and live broadcast fun. On Friday, December 31, 2021 from 2 p.m. to midnight, an art walk scavenger-hunt leads you through a series of intentions to set the tone for the new year. Several of Downtown Hartford’s arts and culture hotspots as well as reimagined vacant spaces host activities ranging from live music performances, dance, comedy, improv, theater, face painting, crafts, and more. Each venue will feature a visual art piece and New Year intention word, selected in collaboration with artists and venues. Community partners include the Bushnell Park Carousel, Winterfest Hartford Ice Skating Rink, Hartford Public Library, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, CT’s Old State House, SeaTea Comedy Theater, Christ Church, XL Center and the Hartford Wolf Pack. With performance partners and artists to include: Nightfall, Dwayne Keith Experience, Nekita Waller, Dreamvoid, Rosanna Karabetsos (Hartford native and Brooklynette), The Other Voice, Nutcracker Suite and Spicy to name a few. The visual artists include Andre Rochester, Jena Fenton, Muva Mya, Deka Henry, Lindaluz Carillo, Mercury, Kevin Basura, Ashley the Creator, Vash, The Collective NH, and Dave Boraski.
This year, for the first time, a central main stage on Trinity Street, beneath the Soldier and Sailors Arch, serves as a central gathering place for entertainment, food vending, information, and the best vantage point for viewing the fireworks. At 6pm and 12am live music will accompany the light show. The 6pm show will kickoff with the arrival of the beloved and traditional People’s Parade (curated by Nightfall and featuring the drums of Hartford Proud) and the 12am show will kick the new year off with the Dwayne Keith Experience and features from musicians performed across the day.
Buttons can be purchased online on the First Night Hartford website or in-person at Winterfair: Hartford’s Holiday Market, and Highland Park Market. Updates can be found on the Facebook event page here or the First Night Hartford page here.
Mainstage Schedule (Soldiers and Sailors Arch)
2:00pm- Event Kick Off–Dwayne Keith Experience
2:30pm- Nutcracker Suite and Spicy
3:00pm- Hartford Proud
4:45pm- Dreamvoid
5:15pm- Sonia Morant
6:00pm- Parade arrival and Fireworks
6:15pm- PopTart’s Community breakdance cypher and celebration of competition winner
7:15pm- Nekita Waller
8:00pm- The Dance Collective
8:30pm- Featured Artist from Funny Bone Records
9:30pm- Live broadcast of The Other Voice at Center Church
10:30pm- Live DJ set
12:00am- Fireworks and Dwayne Keith Experience
About First Night Hartford
Since 1989, First Night Hartford has been Hartford's New Year's Eve party; a friends and family-friendly, multicultural, artistically unique New Year's celebration with countless professional musicians, artists, performance groups and exhibits that inspire thousands of people of all ages to attend each year. The First Night marks the passage from the old year to the New Year with art, ritual and festivity. First Night Hartford’s mission is to broaden and deepen the public's appreciation of the visual and performing arts through an innovative, diverse and high-quality program that offers the community a shared cultural experience that is accessible and affordable to all.
