FIRST NIGHT HARTFORD 2025 RETURNS WITH LIVE MUSIC, ART, FOOD & TWO TRADITIONAL FIREWORKS SHOWS–AND AN ORIGINAL BUTTON DESIGN

HARTFORD, CT – October 10, 2024 – First Night Hartford is back to ring in 2025 for its 36th annual New Year’s Eve tradition! This year’s celebration invites you to enjoy Downtown Hartford’s rich ecosystem of arts & culture, small businesses, kids’ activities, nightlife, and our Bushnell Park main stage. This community-wide celebration, to be held Tuesday, December 31, 2024, starting at 2 pm with live music and kids’ activities, includes traditional fireworks displays at both 6 pm and midnight. Thousands of people from around the Hartford region and beyond participate in First Night Hartford activities each year. 

First Night Hartford’s lasting traditions include commissioning original designs by the Hartford region’s multi-talented graphic artists for each year’s all-access buttons, which offer admission to kids and adults for over 15 partner venues in addition to the free live music and other programming in Bushnell Park. 

First Night Hartford’s 2025 all-access button, with its distinctive whale-themed design, was created by Michael Costello, a Brooklyn-based illustrator and animator who grew up in the Hartford suburb of Farmington and says, “I gained a much deeper appreciation for my hometown and the region when I moved back as an adult out of necessity at the beginning of the pandemic. This is my fourth year working on the First Night Hartford team, and I am incredibly excited to be designing this year’s button.

“The whale is an homage to Conny, the life-sized replica sperm whale that sat at The Children’s Museum in West Hartford before he was taken apart last year (on The Children’s Museum website, Conny uses male pronouns). I think everyone in Greater Hartford visited Conny at some point during the 38 years he was around, and it’s not often you come across a giant whale squirreled away in the middle of suburbia, so the memories stuck. It’s a surreal experience in the collective consciousness of Central Connecticut. It’s intergenerational as well: my father remembers Conny being built when he was a teenager. It made sense to memorialize Conny through another one of Hartford’s long-standing traditions, the original First Night Hartford button design.”

ezEvent will serve as First Night Hartford’s primary ticketing partner for the all-access buttons and serve as a community sponsor for this longtime Hartford region tradition. “As a company based in the Hartford region, we’re proud to partner with this outstanding event,” says ezEvent’s Jeremy Lorch. “There’s no better way to kick off the year than with thousands of friends and family at First Night Hartford, and there’s no simpler way for event organizers to manage their events than ezEvent.”

Several of Downtown Hartford’s arts & culture hotspots host First Night Hartford activities ranging from live music performances, DJs, dance, comedy, improv, theater, craft activities, film, and more. Community partners lined up so far include Bushnell Park Conservancy & Carousel, the Winterfest Hartford ice skating rink, TheaterWorks Hartford, Sea Tea Comedy Theater, Connecticut’s Old State House, and several popular restaurants, bars, and shops. Purchase of an all-access button is required to attend the indoor FNH 2025 programming while the outdoor main stage, dual fireworks displays, and Winterfest ice skating are free to all in attendance. Buttons are available online at ezevent.com/Event/first-night-hartford-2025-tickets-8328 and will be available throughout the day of the event at all FNH venues including the First Night Hartford Union Station Great Hall Headquarters. Attendees are encouraged to start their day at Union Station to pick up buttons and enjoy a kids’ craft, live DJ, vendors, a silent auction, and 50/50 raffle. Additional vendors and food trucks are located on Trinity Street by the main stage in Bushnell Park. 

Stay connected for announcements on First Night Hartford’s Facebook, Instagram, and website. 

First Night Hartford 2025 is generously supported by the Roberts Foundation for the Arts, The William and Alice Mortensen Foundation, Eversource, the Connecticut Office of the Arts, ezEvents, and other sponsors along with media partners Hartford Courant and Cafeteria Media, venue partnerships, and community investments. 

About First Night Hartford

Since 1989, First Night Hartford has been the Hartford region'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 tradition 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. First Night Hartford, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, also produces Hartford Bonanza, a newer music and fireworks tradition held each Independence Day Weekend in Bushnell Park. 

About ezEvent

ezEvent is a seamless, fee-free ticketing platform dedicated to helping event organizers, venues, and artists streamline their event management. With customizable tools and personalized support, we make it easy to create unforgettable experiences, from intimate shows to large-scale events. At our core, we are passionate about being able to support our local communities and music scenes, helping local talent thrive and building connections between artists and their audiences. Whether you're running a venue or organizing a gig, ezEvent is committed to making the process as smooth as possible.

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