BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Preparations are underway in Burlington for the annual New Year’s celebration known as Highlight. Here’s what you can expect if you’re headed to the Queen City to ring in the new year.
The city of Burlington will usher in 2025 with fireworks, music and dozens of events.
“We are really pleased with our programming. It’s like there’s something for everyone out there from 12:00 with Circus Smirkus all the way till 12:30 in the morning at Foam Brewery and other places. We have a great lineup in store for everybody,” said Zach Williamson, the Festival and Events director at Burlington City Arts.
Thirteen hours of events are planned and spread out across the city, from City Hall to the Waterfront where there will be fireworks, music and the burning of a wooden Champ.
“In the family way, we do have our fireworks actually happen at 8 p.m. So we preempt the true strike of midnight a little bit with our fireworks at 8 o’clock. But we do have four different venues that go across into the 12:30 hour, so,” Williamson said.
There are more than two dozen music, theater, comedy and art events, some family-friendly, others geared toward adults. Most will have food and drink available for purchase, as well.
Even though we’re still a day away from New Year’s Eve, the setup has already started for popular events like Circus Smirkus at City Hall.
“It’s a really fun tradition. We hear every year that people get turned away because the seating capacity is limited and it’s always a full house… Smirkus has been performing on New Year’s Eve in Burlington for 20 years at this point, so it’s real great tradition and we’re happy to be here,” said Josh Shack of Circus Smirkus.
Some events fill up quickly, so it’s recommended that people get to venues like City Hall and the Vermont Comedy Club early.
“Last year, we had about 6,500 people. It sounds like a lot. We got to remember this event is almost 13 hours long, so people spread themselves out. Some people come in the afternoon, some people come in the evening. We are on track to sell about that same number of tickets this year,” Williamson said.
In order to get into all the Highlight events, you must have a button. You can purchase them online or at the door to any of the events for $18. Kids under 5 are free.
There will be a shuttle running to get downtown so you don’t have to park.