MEDIA RELEASE: First Night Hartford Celebrates 37 Years of Arts, Culture & Community on New Year’s Eve
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hartford, CT — December 29, 2025 — First Night Hartford returns for its 37th annual New Year’s Eve celebration on Wednesday, December 31, once again transforming Downtown Hartford into a vibrant, inclusive festival of arts, culture, and community. As Connecticut’s longest running New Year’s Eve tradition, First Night Hartford 2026 invites thousands of residents and visitors to experience one of its most robust and dynamic programming lineups ever.
This year’s celebration spans dozens of indoor and outdoor venues throughout Downtown Hartford, anchored by First Night Hartford HQ in Union Station’s Great Hall (open 2–10 pm), where attendees can pick up all-access buttons, festival guides, and merchandise—-and bid in the silent auction, shop from community vendors, meet up with friends and family, access real-time festival information, and sign up to volunteer.
Highlights of First Night Hartford 2026 include:
First Night Hartford’s Mainstage on Bushnell Park’s Trinity Street, hosted by Emmy-nominated news anchor Keith McGilvery, featuring:
4 PM - Academy Modern Band (Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts)
5:20 PM - Natasha Ramos & The Casuals
10 PM - Indigo Folly, winner of the inaugural FNH + ezEvent Battle of the Bands
11 PM The Rahsaan Langley Project
Two signature fireworks displays at 6 pm (family fireworks) and midnight, lighting up the Hartford skyline, sponsored by the William and Alice Mortensen Foundation
Live music, DJs, and performances across downtown, including jazz, folk, RnB, Irish music, karaoke, improv comedy, silent disco, and vinyl DJ sets at venues such as Sea Tea Comedy Theater, Hartford Public Library, Black Eyed Sally’s, Trumbull Kitchen, ONE Bar + Kitchen, TheaterWorks Hartford, and more.
Commissioned for First Night Hartford 2026 is an immersive, interactive art experience, PETRICHOR, a light and sound installation by artist Mercury at 69 Pratt Street. The Magic Mural Art Wall & Countdown Clock by RiseUP is back, as are Night Fall’s all-ages participatory art activities at five venues. With Night Fall, the Hartford Hot Several will lead the annual People’s Parade to the 6 pm Family Fireworks.
Robust family-friendly programming throughout the afternoon, with hands-on art-making, storytelling, magic shows, drumming, improv, history programming, and performances at locations including Union Station, Hartford City Hall, CT’s Old State House, Center Church, Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford Prints!, ArtSpace Gallery, and more.
Outdoor winter fun in Bushnell Park, including free ice skating at Winterfest Hartford, free carousel rides courtesy of the Bushnell Park Conservancy, food trucks and vendors along Trinity Street, the CITA Park Beer Garden (21+), our inaugural Health & Wellness Hub, luminary-making, and The Last Mile walk/jog/run to kick off the New Year.
Official First Night Hartford 2026 all-access buttons grant admission to all indoor venues and activities and are available online and at select city locations. Buttons are $5 for children (ages 3–16) and $15 for adults (17+).
In addition to the festival, First Night Hartford is hosting The First & Last Ball, a New Year’s Eve benefit party at the Bond Ballroom from 9 pm to 1 am, offering a top-floor view of the midnight fireworks, with entertainment by My Life Your Entertainment and DJ Craig G. Proceeds help make possible both First Night Hartford 2026 and Hartford Bonanza 2026, two beloved community traditions independently produced by First Night Hartford, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
FNH 2026 attendees are encouraged to check out artist details, food truck and vendor lists, shareable programming, and family-friendly activity highlights on First Night Hartford’s social channels and to visit firstnighthartford.org for schedules and updates as New Year’s Eve approaches.
First Night Hartford 2026 is made possible with support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, and generous sponsorship from the William and Alice Mortensen Foundation, Roberts Foundation for the Arts, Believe in Hartford Foundation, J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Ensworth Charitable Foundation, Betty Knox Foundation, George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation, Ticket Network / ezEvent, Eversource, AARP Connecticut, Telefunken, All American Waste, Amphenol, Planet Fitness, City of Hartford Health & Human Services, Comma Vintage, iHeart Radio, Hartford Courant, and additional community partners.
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About First Night Hartford
First Night Hartford, Inc., is a 37-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that produces two beloved annual community celebrations in Bushnell Park — First Night Hartford on New Year’s Eve and Hartford Bonanza on Independence Day Weekend — showcasing the capital city’s arts and cultural ecosystem while promoting civic joy, social cohesion, and community pride. In 2026, Hartford Bonanza will serve as the statewide festival for the 250th anniversary of American democracy,
Press Contact:
First Night Hartford, Inc.
Jeff Devereux
firstnight.hartford@gmail.com
(860) 251-9651