BERLIN – The town will once again host a New Year’s Eve celebration — this year featuring a laser light show, ball drop and children’s festivities — on Friday.
Despite rising COVID-19 cases, Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall said he’d consulted with the Worcester County Health Department this week and the event was set to go on as scheduled.
“The health department advised they’re not advising anyone to cancel anything but to stress masking and social distancing and the use of hand sanitizer,” Tyndall said Tuesday.
On Dec. 31, the town will once again host two New Year’s Eve events—one at 5 p.m. for families and another at 10 p.m. for adults. For the first time, the festivities will feature laser light shows set to music.
“This was a different approach to showcasing something spectacular for the Town of Berlin,” said Ivy Wells, the town’s economic and community development director.
The town welcomes families to Main Street at 5 p.m. on Dec. 31 for music, a laser light show and ball drop. DJ Big Al Reno, who will be set up on the town’s stage, will entertain the crowd as kids enjoy bubbles and cow bells.
“The Berlin cow bell will be back again this year to ring in the new year,” Wells said.
The event culminates with a ball drop at 6 p.m., which Wells said was timed to coincide with midnight in Berlin, Germany. She said this was the third year the town had hosted a family oriented event prior to the midnight ball drop.
“The family one has become just as popular if not more popular than the later celebration,” she said.
At 10 p.m., as 2022 nears, the town will host a second celebration. The later event, which features beer and wine sales benefitting the nonprofit We Heart Berlin, will include music with Big Al Reno as well as another laser light show. Wells saw the show prior to lining it up for this year’s festivities and believes it will be a crowd pleaser and easier to set up than the fireworks often requested.
“It looked like something people will enjoy on New Year’s Eve,” she said.
After last year’s events were canceled because of COVID-19, Wells believes area residents are looking forward to ringing in the new year in downtown Berlin.
“It is outdoors,” she said. “You can join in the festivities or watch from a distance.”
For more information on the New Year’s Eve events, visit berlinmainstreet.com.
