· Catamount Arts
Catamount Arts and First Night North 2027 celebrate the 33rd year of Vermont’s favorite and longest running New Year’s Eve performing arts festival. Featuring over 150 performers in over 75 shows in a dozen St. Johnsbury venues, First Night North presents a full eight hours of fun for the entire community.
Thanks to generous community sponsorship, student admission is free! The First Night North committee is thrilled once again to welcome more families than ever with free admission for all children accompanied by adults.
The eagerly anticipated festivities, presented by Catamount Arts in partnership with the First Night North committee and countless community supporters, will take place Thursday, December 31st. The fun begins at 4pm with early bird entertainment for all ages, including a hilarious one-man circus, rousing Scottish dance, the pancake supper, silent disco, and Family Fun Fair. At 5, First Night North picks up speed, as ten more venues open with live music, juggling, magic, planetarium shows, and a vast variety of food and refreshment options!
Celebrants with enough stamina for the full eight hours of live entertainment will have dozens of all-ages, family-friendly attractions to choose from, including storytellers, face-painting, aerial acts, hypnosis, and even more dance, magic, and music, culminating in a community countdown to the New Year, the raising of the First Night North Ball of Light, and a midnight dance party to welcome 2027.
Musical acts include a wide range of soloists, duets, choirs, and bands offering nearly every imaginable genre: bluegrass, folk, jazz, Celtic, blues, R&B, Tibetan, contemporary, classic rock, and more. Over a dozen brand new acts are scheduled in addition to longtime First Night favorites.
This year’s festivities will also include Reiki, tarot readings, a gallery show at Catamount Arts, and the annual car raffle drawing, where one lucky ticket holder will win a brand new Volkswagen Jetta!
There will be plenty to eat throughout the festival, both indoors and out, as food trucks, community centers, and venues up and down Main Street prepare a variety of tasty treats ranging from full dinners to desserts and snacks as well as First Night’s beloved pancake-and-sausage supper.
Patrons are encouraged as always to sample a variety of shows among multiple locations, and RCT’s electric buses will help by running free shuttle service among performance venues. Buses can be flagged down anywhere along the route.
First Night North has been designated a Vermont Signature Event by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and is very much a community function, relying not only on regional performers, businesses, organizations, and vendors, but on a large and dedicated team of volunteers. Volunteers get free First Night admission in exchange for one two-hour shift.
For more information about First Night North 2027, including the complete schedule of performers and how to purchase admission, sponsor free student admission, or become a volunteer, check the web site at www.firstnightnorth.org, call 802-748-2600, or visit the Catamount Arts box office on Eastern Avenue in St. Johnsbury.