Vermont Travel Notes

Back from a couple of weeks of vacation followed by busy days of cleaning up after the insulation company blew new "dense-pack" into the attic, reorganizing the items we took out of the attic, moving them around from room to room to make way for guests, putting them back into the attic, followed by some quick wall painting and a few small repairs, and somewhere in there I got over a cold, put up the Christmas tree, mailed holiday cards, and wrapped a couple of presents, plus the day-to-day details of running an inn such as answering inquiries, taking reservations and emailing confirmations.

One way I got all that done was by slacking on this blog. Now I have a one inch stack of topics ready to be written about. Number one on the list is New Year's celebrations. Three cities in VT have First Night celebrations.

Originated in Boston in 1976, First Night celebrations have spread to many other cities in the US plus Canada and New Zealand.

First Nights are family friendly events that are alcohol and substance free.

Burlington's First Night has a New Year's eve parade, music performances, plays, circus acts, dancing, eating, and fireworks at venues throughout the downtown, all within walking distance of each other

This is a large event put on by a non-profit organization with 3 full time directors, a board of 14 members, many corporate sponsors, and 500 volunteers.

Other First Nights nearby are Montpelier, and a little farther away in St. Johnsbury, where they are proud to raise a lighted ball at midnight instead of lowering it as they do in some other cities.

Admission ranges from $10 in St. Johnsbury to $15 at Burlington for adults.

(c) 2008 Jeff Connor