Highlight Announces Full Lineup for New Year's Eve

Dec 31, 2019

Burlington City Arts and Signal Kitchen announce the full lineup of Highlight, Burlington’s citywide revelry of art and ideas, featuring over 40 artists at over 20 downtown venues. One button, which costs $10 for adults and $5 for kids, grants access to every event.

New editions to the day-long celebration include the Hokum Brothers’ Get Happy Hour at the Echo Center, Sleight of Hand with magician Chris McBride at Foam Brewers, Dwight + Nicole’s Sound & Color at the Unitarian Universalist Church, a 1% for the Planet auction at The Skinny Pancake, and The Lighthouse, which ties together Main Street Landing events with artists from the Cyber Zoo and Illuminated Collective along with DJs in the Black Box Theatre.

These new events add to an already stellar lineup of performances, parades, circuses, fire shows, workshops, and more. Beginning at 11:30 am with Noon Year’s Eve and STEM Activities at the Fletcher Free Library and running until well after midnight, Highlight is geared for all ages and interests.

Additional kid-centric offerings include three performances of Circus Smirkus at Edmunds Middle School, Girls Rock Vermont at the Flynn’s Flynn Space, The Mister Chris and Friends Band at the Echo Center, Kids Stay and Play at the brand new YMCA, and so much more.

Notable live music performances include Bluegrass and Honkytonk with Brett Hughes and Friends at the Soda Plant, The Nochevieja Festival, presented by Mal Maiz and celebrating Vermont’s Latin American Culture, Jennifer Hartswick and Friends ringing in the new year at The Skinny Pancake, and tons more.

And with The Moth Storytelling, performances by Inconceivable Theatre, Pechakucha Night, Cirque de Fuego accompanying fireworks and bonfires on the waterfront, and family friendly improv comedy shows at the Vermont Comedy Club, there is truly something for everyone at Highlight 2019.

As part of Highlight’s mission to expand access to all corners of the community through its programming, unique events include Around the World in the O.N.E., which celebrates New Year’s on the hour every hour between noon and 5 pm as the new year reaches different parts of the globe, at the Old North End Community Center. Nightshade on New Year’s, at the BCA Center, is a multicultural program following the diaspora of pan-African sounds and flavor to North America, featuring music by Mauritanian songwriter Daby Touré and supporting artists, and an immersive tasting menu from emerging Burlington chefs.

Highlight enters its second year as Burlington’s citywide New Year’s Eve celebration, following the conclusion of First Night’s 35-year run, in 2017. Much of the 2019 Highlight lineup came together through the Bright Ideas Project, ensuring the event offers crowd-sourced, one-of-a-kind experiences and performances to kick off the New Year while connecting Vermont artists to audiences. Last year, over 6,000 attendees experienced Highlight’s inaugural celebration.

The full Highlight schedule, ticketing, and other information is available at highlightbtv.org.

Highlight is produced by Burlington City Arts and Signal Kitchen, and is presented by lead sponsors VSECU, the University of Vermont, Burlington Telecom, the Waterwheel Foundation, and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and Dealer.com.

About Burlington City Arts

Burlington City Arts is dedicated to connecting community to the arts through creation, experimentation, and education in all forms of contemporary art. BCA offers exhibitions, special events, classes, workshops, and many other activities in Burlington.